Lifeword Global Partner and Pastor Pasha Onatsko continues to care for refugees in the middle of the war between Russia and Ukraine. When the fighting first began, he, his wife and their four children left their home in Ukraine but later returned to the city of Kiev to take care of those who need help. He said, “Right now, there are lots of people receiving Christ. Church buildings that have basements are now permanent shelters, and people just keep coming. Some only want food, but many are interested in spiritual food.”
For Onatsko, that spiritual food comes in the form of videos. For a while, he was unable to produce media of any kind, but he has begun producing videos to reach those who may have lost hope.
He said there are many stories of refugees attending evangelical churches and then coming to Christ. One example is a church not far from Kiev that has gone from a congregation of 120 to 1,200. Although some come for the wrong reasons, many come to hear messages of hope.
There are other examples of people searching for happiness, like a family of three non-believers (grandmother, mother and granddaughter) who left their home to escape the bombing zone with the help of two churches along the way. After arriving safely, they were invited to attend a church. They have not yet made a decision to follow Christ, but Onatsko says, “Now they can hear what God is doing and how he is impacting people in this tragic time.”
The videos he produces are impactful and relevant to people needing the kind of peace only Jesus can offer, so he uses Scripture passages from every book of the Bible. He said, “God has inspired me to teach why the war is happening instead of talking about what is happening. I don’t want it to be about the war, because now everything is about the war. I explain that God is in control, that he offers hope, and he is impacting people positively in this hard time. The videos show that, in every book of the Bible, God offers hope to all people.”
Team Lifeword Info
Lifeword Sunday is Oct. 23! We hope your church is making plans to participate!
Register your church today at lifeword.org/lifeword-sunday. You will also find this year’s video and a media kit with additional resources that you can download to help you promote this special day.
Lifeword Sunday t-shirts are available for purchase. All proceeds go to Lifeword’s mission of sharing the love of Jesus around the world with “No Borders!”
If you need assistance registering, ordering t-shirts or downloading the video, contact Jennifer Harrell at (501) 329-6891.
