Dear Brothers and Sisters, may the peace of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied to you!

We are turning to you in this time that is difficult for all of us. We as Christians have been witnesses to and participants in important changes in the spiritual and social life of our country. Today Ukraine is going through a difficult phase in its development. This process is accompanied by many crises and changes in the life of our country.

 

We give thanks to God for more than twenty years of freedom and the opportunity to develop our ministry in Ukraine and beyond. He has blessed the church in our country with the repentence of many people and the opening of churches. A new generation of pastors has been prepared. We have also received many other blessings which we have joyfully shared.

Now God is speaking to Ukraine in a special way. This is a time of analyzing the past, reflection on the present and special preparation for the future. There are many churches and Christians in Ukraine. At all times we have gladly served others, but now we you to serve Ukraine.

We emphasize our commitment to exclusively peaceful and legal handling of the situation in Ukraine, and we point out the necessity for everyone to hold to Biblical methods for solving our problems.

We are calling on the Christians of Ukraine and other countries to assume a proper Biblical position and refrain from intentional or ill-considered exacerbation of the situation. Many are in need of radically changing their attitude toward the things that are happening and starting to speak from the point of view of the Holy Scripture, and not from their fleshly sympathies and antipathies, political preferences or national consciousness. Only the Scriptures can unite us in our evaluation of events and preserve spiritual unity "...maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:3)

Considering the present situation we call on local churches to:

1. Thank God for this special time in our history, during which God is awakening the church in Ukraine, purifying it and preparing it for more responsible service in the world, while at the same time preparing it to meet Christ.

2. Pray more frevently in our families, churches, small groups, and in public places. To intercede for our country, its leaders, to pray for the coming Ukrainian presidential election. To ask God's protection, peace and blessing for Ukraine, to pray for its unity.

3. Pray for those in church ministry to responsibly teach and convey God's Word, through which the Holy Spirit strengthens us, reveals the true meaning of the events around us and fosters hope in difficult times.

4. Ask God for mutual understanding for our politicians, and to prevent war between the people of Ukraine and Russia.

5. Pray not to fall victim to the "information war", and in turn not to provoke division between Christians over differing opinions.

6. Not slander or insult the Ukrainian people, accusing them of "neofascism" and other things that are not true. Not divide Ukraine, artificially distinguishing between "our people" and "foreigners".

7. Resist in the spiritual battle any intention or plan for aggression, seizure or murder. Such actions are contrary to the Gospel and the will of God.

8. Share with people about true peace and unity in Christ, and not sow seeds of contention and division between Christians and countries.

9. As representatives of the Kingdom of Heaven, not vilify one another in personal conversations, Internet posts regardless of which country we live in and who our president is.

10. Not "worship" people in government in place of God, which is a sin before Him. Not worship the creation instead of the Creator and not politicize the Church of Christ, but continue to pray for the authorities "that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life". (1 Tim. 2:2)

11. See God behind everything that is going on, His guidance and the realization of His plans, and be confident in the exact fulfillment of Biblical prophesies that are coming to pass in our generation.

12. Strengthen our evangelical witness to the world, join in worship and praise of our Lord. Proclaim His lordship, regardless of our nationality, which is a demonstration of spiritual maturity, strength and worthy service of the children of God.

We call on you to support the appeal of the council of evangelistic churches of Ukraine and enable the establishment of peace and freedom for proclamation of the Gospel in Ukraine:

"In recognition of our responsibility before God and before future generations, condemning the aggression of the Russian Federation, we call on all the people of Ukraine, regardless of their religious beliefs and attitude toward religion, to be frevent in prayer to God for the restoration of peace and the cessation of provocations, fratricideand escalation of conflict in Crimea and other regions of Ukraine.

We call on all the people of Ukraine to join in intercessory prayer, we ask that they conduct prayer vigils for peace, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine in churches, in the central squares of all cities, towns and villages of our country. Remember the words of our Lord in the Holy Scriptures: "if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2nd Chronicles 7:14)

For many months now the Believers of Ukrainian churches have been praying daily and fasting before God for the peaceful resolution of the current uprising, which in large part has been caused by the distribution of provocational materials, and frequently outright lies concerning events in Ukraine and the true state of inter-church, inter-ethnic and inter-governmental relationships in Ukrainian society. For this reason, now we are calling for mutual forgiveness, reconciliation, repentance before God and one another, and also for the sharing of the message of love through personal conversations and all possible means, calling everyone to unanimity and enabling a good future for Ukraine..."

Valery Antonuk – pastor and Vice President of the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists