According to Mike Ray, the biggest problem facing International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries is how to prioritize their work, based on the high number of needs versus the amount of work to be done.
“There are far too many needs to ever try to respond to, so we must seek to know where He is leading us to work and where He is preparing a way ahead of us,” said Ray, an IMB strategy coordinator for the East Central region of Ukraine.
Ukraine has thousands of towns and villages that currently have no evangelical work.
“In [east central] Ukraine, which is about the same size as the state of Indiana, we have 3,000 towns that do not have even one Baptist church in them,” Ray said.
Despite these odds, the goal of the IMB missionaries and Baptist nationals is to plant a church in each one of Ukraine’s cities and towns.
According to Ray, churches are started in Ukraine from small groups that meet in a home, an apartment or a rented space. A nucleus is formed of people who attend to study the Bible and come to Christ.
“We try to assist in training and developing leaders, casting vision and helping through projects that draw people into contexts where relationships can be formed and the gospel can be shared,” Ray noted.
The missionaries have found that some projects are more effective at attracting Ukrainians.
Medical clinics, for example, draw large numbers of people to places where a new work is getting started. While receiving medical care, people hear the gospel, get Bibles and are encouraged to come back and visit a church service.
Backyard Bible clubs and Vacation Bible Schools have proven effective for reaching children and developing relationships with their family, Ray said. He noted that sometimes an outreach group will rent a large tent and hold services at night as well.
Other effective strategies include cultural and language exchange with students, sports projects and English-language projects.
American Baptists are also getting involved in the work. Volunteer teams from the United States often work alongside Baptist nationals and IMB missionaries to hold clinics and clubs.
After years of repression under communism, Ukraine’s new government promises religious freedom. But there is still resistance from many who have not had the privilege of hearing the good news of Jesus, Ray noted.
“Because of many years of communism, when it was forbidden to preach openly, evangelize or start churches, we often face very hardened soil in the lives of many people,” he said. “This soil takes time and patience to cultivate in order to see a harvest.”
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