CRC Mission Agencies Ask for Prayers for Ukraine

Russia has declared war on Ukraine, invading and launching attacks early on the morning of February 24, 2022. Many lives have already been lost, and  the CRC’s mission agencies are gravely concerned for all of the people affected. 

Both Resonate Global Mission and ReFrame Ministries have ministry partners who have been working in Ukraine for years and ask you to join us in praying for the situation. 

Resonate missionaries George and Sarah de Vuyst and their family are safe in the United States, where George has been working to introduce the Healing Hearts Transforming Nations ministry in North America.

George has been in touch with Resonate ministry partners in Ukraine and reports that all are currently safe; however, many ministry partners live on Ukraine’s border where Russia invaded and the attacks are concentrated.

“Lord, we pray for those who have already lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods,” George wrote on the Network. “Comfort and provide for the needs of those who have been displaced.  Lord, we ask for mercy and we seek justice.  We pray that you would be at work in both.”

Lika in Kyiv

ReFrame’s Russian ministry partners include Lika R. (last name omitted for her privacy) who lives in Ukraine, in the capital of Kyiv. Early Thursday morning, as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of Ukraine's two breakaway regions, she and her mother began to travel west to their hometown. 

Lika was originally planning to be the keynote speaker at a ministry event in partnership with a church in a city southeast of Kyiv, which she will now join online if the event still takes place. 

ReFrame’s Russian ministry leader, Sergei Sosedkin, is currently in the United States while ReFrame’s other ministry partners are located in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia. 

"We don't yet know what this means for ReFrame’s radio and internet ministry, let alone for Ukraine, for Russia, or for the world,” added Sosedkin. “We will continue deriving our comfort from the good news of Jesus Christ and that God is still in control—even if we don’t see how that can be right now.”

Students in Lithuania

Resonate missionaries serving at LCC International University, a Resonate partner in Lithuania, ask for prayer for their community as well. Many students at the university are from Ukraine.

“We feel safe but many students are deeply concerned for their families,” said Steve Van Zanen, who serves at LCC and as Resonate’s Regional Mission Leader for Europe. He notes that many university alumni—former students who Resonate missionaries have taught and mentored—are also living in Ukraine.

You can find more specific prayer requests on Resonate’s website here and find live updates from ReFrame on this page.