As Slavik Pyzh, president of Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary, sat across from me in TAB Media Group’s podcast studio, I could sense the heaviness of the weight he carries.
The needs are great, the situation seems hopeless and the pleas for help are endless, but he pushes forward.
God has given him a mission, and Pyzh wants to share it with all who will listen.
“We are praying for peace with transformation … not just peace,” he said, noting that peace without transformation is merely “war on pause.”
Pyzh expanded on the idea the next day as he shared with trustees of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission in Nashville.
“War is an opportunity to transform a nation,” he said. “We are praying God will give us peace, give us victory, but more than anything else [a transformed nation]. … I need to ask you to adjust your prayers [for that as well].
“When the war came, we were all searching. Why and what is the purpose? … God helped me put things together,” Pyzh shared.
The Lord is working among His people in Ukraine, he said.
The number of Protestants have grown from roughly 2% to 4%, and the seminary is expecting 700 new students, which will take the student body count to 1,500, he added.
The church plants and ministry outreach efforts stemming from the WeCare (humanitarian aid and spiritual health) Centers across Ukraine also continue to grow.
But still, the road ahead is long and difficult. A great deal of hopelessness and fear exists throughout the nation, and the number of people claiming to be atheists has doubled from 7% to 14%, he said.
Most of those in the atheism category are 18- to 25-year-olds because they can’t wrap their heads around the war and all it has taken from them, Pyzh said.
“This is not just a conflict, this is not just a war, this is a very critical determining time in our history and I think this will impact our future,” he explained.
“I don’t want to lose any opportunity. My plea is to help us. … I understand, people don’t want to think about war … in Ukraine, it’s difficult to forget about it, but [in the U.S.], it’s difficult to remember.”
To hear the full interview, go to youtube.com/tabmediagroup.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This editorial was written by Jennifer Davis Rash, president and editor-in-chief of TAB Media Group and appeared in the Sept. 19 edition of The Alabama Baptist newspaper. To subscribe, click here.
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