I’m Alexander Moseychuk, pastor of the New Life Church, Bakhmut city, Ukraine. I am in the center of all military events, and there is a lot of grief and need here. Every day, hundreds of people are waiting for a kind word and a good deed from me. I am divided between all this grief. I pray the prayer, “Our Father, Thy Kingdom come” in every heart and in every family.
What Does a Pastor in Ukraine Do During War?
Guidelines has worked with Pastor Alexander Moseychuk since the early 1990s.
Here is his report from his Help to Survive Ministry, April 2023
Ministering in Many Ways:
Helping the Hungry:
Helping the Hungry: Hungry people from cities and villages make one request: “help us survive”. We go to them, preach the gospel and distribute food aid. These are such cities and towns as Chasov Yar, Kurakhovo, Konstantinovka, Novogrodovka, Konstantinopol, Dachnoie, Andreievka, Ilyinka, etc. People are very open to the gospel and communication with believers and gladly accept the New Testaments. After that, we use the method of personal evangelism, visit people and help them understand and accept the gospel.
Evacuation of the Population:
Evacuation of the Population: After each shelling, people decide to leave. To do this, they beg me to take them out of the combat zone to a safe place. I have to change all plans and take people to safe cities and towns. Once I took 3 families out in one day. They are very grateful today.
Assistance to the Ukrainian Military:
Assistance to the Ukrainian Military: The Ukrainian military are in very difficult conditions, especially near the cities of Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Kremennoe, as well as along the entire front line. Many Christian brothers defend Ukraine. They need sleeping bags, mattresses, and instant food. Our sisters from the Church bake delicious pies, and I try to organize delivery and visit those who protect our country.
There is a huge shortage of chaplains in the Ukrainian army. One commander invited me and my assistants to come and hold meetings with the soldiers. The purpose of these meetings is to carry the gospel and raise the morale of the soldiers. Once every two weeks we go to a military unit, talk on spiritual topics, sing songs and pray with the guys for their safety, salvation and for Ukraine. I noticed that there were no unbelievers in the war, everyone believes in God, and they pray themselves and with us.
Help for Migrants:
Help for Migrants: Hundreds of migrants from Bakhmut and other cities come to a new place of residence and start life from the beginning. They need food, clothes, shoes, blankets, pillows, bedding, dishes. With this request, they turn to us. We collect and provide people with such assistance. We do this from the heart, as for the Lord. I often travel to other cities, where these things are cheap, and we get the necessary things to serve people. Therefore, part of my life is spent in movement. Movement is life, and life is movement.
Service in the Hospital:
Service in the Hospital: In the frontline town of Kurakhovo there is a hospital where civilians and military people are treated. They get there as a result of shelling by the Russian army. The leaders of this hospital heard about the Help to Survive ministry and asked us to bring clothes for the victims. Many people do not have clothes to put on because everything burned down along with the house. Along with clothes, we bring food to sick people, have fellowship with them and share the Word of God. Thank God that people open up, give thanks, tell their stories and ask to pray for them.
Pastor Alex Shares Stories
God’s Protection from Death:
Once one pastor and I visited the military guys not far from the front line. We brought them what they needed, had good fellowship with God, and prayed together. This meeting was indoors. The soldiers had to go on a mission so we said goodbye. They got into their car, and we got into ours. Suddenly the shelling began. One hit was not far from their car. We froze, sitting in the car. Suddenly the next hit was not far from our car. We prayed. The shelling ended. The soldiers got out of the car and said: “Thank you very much for being with us. It was only God who saved us. Now we will trust only in the Lord.” Praise God!
The Orthodox Priest:
One day we came to the village of Andreievka with our mission. People listened to the Gospel with joy, took New Testaments and received food. In this village there is an Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. An Orthodox priest found out about our meeting, he was very indignant that people came to listen to the preaching of the gospel from evangelical believers and began to accuse people that they had betrayed the Orthodox faith. He began to intimidate people by saying that he will not bury people according to Orthodox customs when people turn to him.
Surprisingly, people were not afraid and told him the following: a war has been going on for a whole year, but your Church has not provided us with any help, and evangelical believers come to us with a kind word and a good deed. If you do not bury us, then we will turn to pastor Alexander and he will bury us.
The priest ceased to be indignant, and we come to this village, preach the gospel and see how the words of Christ come true: “So let your light shine before people, so that they, seeing your good deeds, glorify your Father in heaven.” Matt. 5:16