The Church Amidst the War of Attrition: Ukrainian Evangelical Community in Search of a New Mission Paradigm

Abstract

The article is a comprehensive analysis of the struggles and challenges faced by Ukrainian evangelicals in the wake of the Russian aggression against Ukraine between 2022 and 2024. This analysis focuses on how the ongoing war has impacted the church’s overall mission and how it has adapted to a rapidly changing political and social environment. The author argues that with Ukrainian society experiencing significant social and existential challenges due to the ongoing war, the traditional model of mission work that solely focuses on evangelism and promoting Christian values as a counter to “neo-Marxist gender ideology” is gradually being replaced by a more holistic and inclusive approach to missionary theology and practice. This new approach emphasizes compassion, solidarity, social responsibility, and a prophetic vision for Ukrainian society after the war. Through this article, the author hopes to deepen understanding of how the role and mission of the Ukrainian Evangelical Church have evolved recently and outline a concept of missional theology that can be relevant for other communities facing significant social, economic, and political challenges.

1. Introduction

In the article, I intend to present my analysis of the evolving perception of the church’s mission within Ukrainian evangelicalism over the past decade in response to Russian aggression. To commence, I will provide a brief overview of the methodological principles underpinning my research. Subsequently, I will examine the transformation of the church’s mission within Ukrainian evangelical Protestantism across three pivotal periods following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, with a primary focus on the most recent decade.

The evolution of mission theology within the Ukrainian evangelical community has undergone significant changes within the past decade, particularly since the onset of Russian aggression in 2014. Understanding the historical context of Ukrainian–Russian relations is essential to grasping the current landscape. Before 1991, Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, which imposed a colonial status on Ukraine, suppressing its national identity and culture. This was exemplified by the mass repressions of Ukrainian intellectuals in the 1930s, the elimination of the independent Ukrainian church, and the devastating Holodomor of 1933, which claimed the lives of millions of Ukrainian peasants. The post-World War II period even further intensified the imperialistic nature of the USSR. The previously developed ideology of “proletarian internationalism” gave way to the concept of “Great Russia” as the “big sister” of the other peoples of the Soviet state.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the subsequent establishment of an independent Ukrainian state were met with resistance from Russia. Russia, convinced of Ukrainians’ ethnic, cultural, and historical proximity, viewed Ukraine as an integral part of the Russian state. Ukraine’s independence was perceived as a temporary and accidental turn of historical events that should be corrected as soon as possible. There were attempts to impose Ukraine pro-Russian foreign policy and undermine its sovereignty over the years. A policy of the Russian-backed regime of Viktor Yanukovych to restrict the rights and freedoms of citizens and ensure Ukraine’s gradual integration into Russia led to the Revolution of Dignity in 2013–2014. Taking advantage of the period of instability in Ukraine and guided by revisionist neo-imperial aspirations, Russia launched a covert aggression in the eastern region of Ukraine, Donbas, and annexed Crimea in 2014 to derail Ukraine’s integration with Europe and the Euro-Atlantic community. This culminated in full-scale Russian aggression in 2022.

2. The Current Status of Ukrainian Evangelical Churches

Before we delve into the methodology, let us examine the current status of Ukrainian evangelical churches and the key voices in their missiological training. In 2023, Evangelical Protestants comprised about 1.4% of Ukraine’s population (Yakymenko et al. 2023, p. 34). The largest Evangelical denominations are the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christian Baptists and the Ukrainian Pentecostal Church. In addition, there are several smaller denominations of Baptist, Pentecostal, and Charismatic traditions, the Association of Evangelical Reformed Churches, and German and Ukrainian Lutheran churches. Most Evangelical Protestant denominations are part of the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine, established in April 2005 as an interdenominational advisory body. The Council plays a crucial role in communicating a unified position of the evangelical churches of Ukraine on the most critical events and challenges of the country’s public life, church–state relations, and the role of churches in society, fostering a sense of unity and collaboration.

Missiological studies are primarily developed in theological educational institutions. Among these, the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary in Kyiv stands out, playing a pivotal role in this development. The Seminary has been successfully running the Mission in the City program for a significant period, and in 2022, it launched the Mission in Wartime program. UETS missiologists Ivan Rusyn, John White, and Fedir Raychynets have emerged as leading voices advocating for Ukrainian churches’ holistic, integral, and contextual mission.

Theologians of the Eurasia Mission, in particular Mykhaylo Cherenkov, Denis Gorenkov, Vladimir Ubeyvolk, and others, made a significant contribution to the development of the theology of mission as a transformative holistic presence in the professional and social sphere. The Christian Research and Educational Center REALIS’ theologians, including Sergiy Tymchenko and Andrei Meleshko, develop programs integrating mission studies with socio-political ethics. They emphasize theological perspectives on Christian involvement in socio-political life and work towards promoting the creation of a just society, social reconciliation, and peacebuilding. Due to the start of Russian aggression, several missionary training programs either ended or significantly reduced their activities. For example, in the spring of 2014, the missiology program at Donetsk Christian University, located in the territory captured by the Russians and turned into a military base, was stopped. Similarly, in 2022, the “Ministry of Missionary” program at Odessa Theological Seminary was suspended due to the threat of a Russian attack on Odessa.

2.1. Historical Methodology of Crisis

In the analysis of the transformation of understanding of the mission of the church by Ukrainian evangelicals, I will rely on the historical methodology of crisis. The term “crisis” is derived from the Greek verb krinô, which can mean (a) division or conflict and (b) decision or judgment. Both meanings may come into play simultaneously, for example, when discussing a decision that can end a conflict. According to J. Dodd, all these senses come to the forefront with the medical use of the term. At a “moment of crisis”, the patient is approaching the boundary that divides life from death, with “one foot in the grave” (Dodd 2004, p. 44). This moment is inherently unstable but also the “decisive moment” when life-or-death decisions are made. Additionally, “crisis” means an act of discrimination or the ability to discriminate or divide, disagreement and struggle, decision-making and judgment, or bringing an issue to its conclusion and resolution.

The concept of crisis has been used in philosophical, political, and medical terminology since antiquity. However, it was the German historian Reinhart Koselleck (1923–2006), a specialist in the field of the epistemology of history and the history of concepts (Begriffsgeschichte), who performed a conceptual analysis of the concept of crisis and defined it as a “structural signature of modernity” (Koselleck and Richter 2006, p. 372). According to Koselleck, since the late 18th century, there has been a dramatic increase in the use of “crisis” “as an epochal concept”, pointing to an exceptionally rare transition period after which much will be different. Turning points in history require a diagnosis as well as appropriate actions, without which the situation can become catastrophic and irreversible, regardless of whether it concerns individuals, society, or political processes. The concept of crisis, therefore, implies that there used to exist a normal healthy condition that has been disrupted and can either be restored by establishing the correct diagnosis and taking timely action or be exacerbated and lead to death or catastrophe. Whatever the field where the concept of crisis is used, we are talking about a decisive moment that makes us choose between two polar opposites. The cost of the right choice is justice or injustice, salvation or curse, life or death.

Koselleck argues that, in the late 19th century, “crisis” started turning into a fundamental historical and philosophical concept, making it possible to interpret the entire course of history as a diagnosis of the times, including knowledge of the past and forecast for the future. In this sense, the concept of “crisis” describes the process whereby the system is destroyed due to the collective effect of various conflicts that lead to a new post-crisis situation. Since this sequence of events may reoccur in new conditions, the concept of crisis as an act of crossing an important line might be viewed as an iterative periodizing concept, which makes up the basis for the periodization of history.

As a kind of borderline between life and death or between salvation and demise, crisis requires action. Failure to act during a crisis can be fatal. In this sense, a crisis can be described as an “experience of necessity” (Dodd 2004, p. 27), a situation where we can go no further without a fundamental change. Tangjia Wang urges us to remember that there are internal and external causes of crises, arguing that internal factors are much more significant (Wang 2014, p. 261). However, both individuals and groups tend to look for the causes of crises outside of themselves, in the outer world. Another danger stems from the fact that we often consciously or unconsciously ignore the signs of a coming crisis so as not to leave our comfort zones or forgo already-established traditions and practices.

The consequences of a crisis depend primarily on the ability to recognize its approach in time and respond appropriately. According to Dodd, “A crisis is thus dangerous and decisive at the same time, and the word can be used to express the danger, or the risk, inherent to a decision. It is also an experience of necessity: a crisis is a situation where we can go no further or carry on no longer without a fundamental change; for better or for worse, in a crisis, a decision must be made; it is a danger that must be resolved” (Dodd 2004, p. 44). Consequently, a crisis might be viewed not only as a threat but also as a catalyst for progress, a risk, and an opportunity. However, a crisis can turn into an opportunity only for those aware of its potential and looking for ways to cope with it. In this case, crises open ways for development and improvement, help us better understand ourselves, and teach us solidarity with others because, without concerted actions, we will be unable to cope with the consequences of crises.

Applying these methodological considerations to the history of the church’s mission will help us see the special role of theology in crisis situations. This role implies critical reflection. The words krisis and krinein derive from a common root kri, which means to distinguish, select, or sift. That is, a moment of crisis is also a moment of criticism, which makes the real problems faced by the church visible, facilitating their recognition and search for solutions. Thus, for the church and the mission, moments of crisis often also serve as watersheds of critical theological reflection because then the church is forced into an inner struggle, trying to re-examine its most fundamental premises concerning the ‘whys’ and ‘what fors’ of its existence in the world.

2.2. Missiological Methodology of Constants and Context

In this research, the historical methodology is coupled with the missiological methodology of constants and context developed by Stephen B. Bevans and Roger Schroeder (Bevans and Schroeder 2004). In the first chapter of their now classic work, the authors introduce us to the idea of constants in context. Based on their reading of the Acts of the Apostles, the authors show that by responding to the Spirit’s call to continue Jesus’ mission in new ways in changing socio-cultural contexts, the New Testament church learned to see itself as “missionary in nature”. It was the urgent need for a mission, that is, witnessing for the Kingdom of God in response to a specific historical situation, that helped the church realize its universal vocation. In other words, if being a church means being on a mission, then being on a mission for the church means being responsive to the ways of proclaiming the gospel in specific contexts, constantly “reinventing” yourself by facing new situations, cultures, and challenges. Therefore, the church’s existence is always connected with its expansion beyond itself across the boundaries of generations and cultures. However, the authors emphasize that despite the need to respond to the challenges of changing contexts, the church’s mission will always have some eternal constants—at all times, the church has had the same mandate: to bear witness to truth and salvation.

In the upcoming section of my article, I plan to employ a combination of methodologies to illustrate how the profound social and civilizational transformations experienced by Ukrainian society over the last three decades have led to crises in church practice and theology. These changes have also compelled the church to redefine its theological foundations to effectively address evolving societal frameworks.

2.3. First Stage of Mission Theology and Practice Development: Early Post-Soviet Period (1991–2004)

I describe this stage as the “early post-Soviet period” since it was the collapse of the Soviet socio-political, economic, and ideological system that conditioned the new context in which Ukrainian society found itself and in which the church was trying to carry out its mission. For an ordinary person, the collapse of the Soviet system was a real catastrophe—their entire life was uprooted, the political order collapsed, the values rooted in communist ideology were lost, the economy declined, and living standards dropped. At the same time, as is often the case, the revolutionary period opened up opportunities for building new states on the ruins of the Soviet system, discarding the planned economy in favor of open market relations and opting for democratic principles instead of the totalitarian political system. Some post-Soviet countries had worked their way up quickly and successfully and ultimately joined the regional European project.

In Ukraine, as philosopher Mykhailo Minakov argues, a post-Soviet society lingered for decades, preserving the experience of life in the illiberal and ideologically restricted Soviet world even in the new context of a free social system (Minakov 2024, p. 27). Therefore, the core dynamics of Ukrainian society over the years of independence were based on the desire to establish a new political agency, to break free from the Soviet experience at the individual and collective levels, and to ensure a democratic civilizational vector of development for the country. Unfortunately, the aspiration to build a sustainable democracy, a free economy, and the rule of law was overshadowed by the threat of sliding into autocracy, oligarchic corruption, and rejection of European prospects. The struggle between the tendencies towards justice and corruption, equality and violence, entrepreneurship and patronage has become a defining characteristic of Ukraine. This led to mass protest movements aimed at protecting the country’s new civilizational choice. These movements include at least three large-scale events—the Revolution on Granite (1991), the Orange Revolution (2004), and the Revolution of Dignity (2013–2014).

Another essential feature of this period was the introduction of democratic legislation in Ukraine that guaranteed freedom of conscience and religion, including the freedom to choose and change religion and preach and worship in public. After the anti-religious policies and state pressure were lifted, churches could move on from the survival mode they were used to and shift to the development mode.

What followed was an explosive revival of religious life and the development of religious organizations. From 1991 to 2001, the number of religious communities in Ukraine increased from 9944 religious organizations to 25,405 (Palinchak and Leshanych 2015, p. 206). Searching for new ideals, many people turned to both traditional Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches and more recent evangelical denominations. In her dissertation, Olena Nazarkina explains that during the 1990s, many people joining evangelical communities were at a stage of life where their value systems were being established. After the collapse of the Soviet system, they were in the process of a spiritual quest, and evangelical churches were open to welcoming young people during a time of “ideological vacuum” and moral crisis and helping them to overcome the social trauma caused by significant political, economic, and socio-cultural changes. Embracing religion as the alternative to the Soviet worldview, they found “a new moral compass to guide their ideas and behavior amid social confusion and economic collapse” (Wanner 2007, p. 131). The church community acted as a primary form of social connection for new believers, facilitating their following involvement in socially valuable forms of activity (Nazarkina 2003, p. 58).

Statistics demonstrate the rapid growth of evangelical associations, which slowed down only in the mid-2000s. For instance, in 1991, the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians–Baptists consisted of 1127 congregations, and by the end of the 1990s, it included 2134 congregations. The All-Ukrainian Union of Christians of Evangelical Faith (Pentecostals) had 1196 congregations in 2001 (Myakinchenko 2021, pp. 49, 50), while in 1990, it consisted of only 430 congregations (Mokienko 2018, p. 365).

It should be noted that the collapse of the Soviet system and the emergence of a new social context did not come as a moment of crisis for the evangelical churches. This is due to the fact that, firstly, the evangelical churches in the USSR were persecuted and oppressed, so the destruction of the atheistic system was perceived as an answer to their prayers rather than as a crisis; and, secondly, new conditions opened up so many opportunities for service and development to the evangelical churches that the challenges of life amid a socio-economic catastrophe faded away. It is partly due to the above reasons that the evangelical churches and newly established educational institutions made no attempts at critical reflection on this turning point in history and the place of the church in the new realities. Despite the changing context, the churches continued to adhere to traditional theological constants, allowing themselves a certain freedom with regard to missionary strategies and practices.

The missionary theology of Ukrainian evangelicals during this period was based on the approach to the mission as the salvation of souls and expansion of the church. Concerning the person of Christ, evangelical theology customarily tended to focus on the orthodoxy of doctrinal statements regarding his reality as the eternal Son who became the Son of Man rather than on the significance of the historical Jesus and the role of his life and messages. Christ is seen as the source of revelation, and the only way to salvation is to recognize him as your Savior. Therefore, the church’s main task is to proclaim his salvation and call people to repent. To the church, any ecumenical dialog, social work, or political involvement is utterly useless if it does not expedite the people’s conversion and their subsequent admission to the church.

To a large extent, the missionary zeal was due to a sense of the imminence of the second coming of Christ, stemming from dispensationalism, according to which, before the end of time, the righteous will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord, and sinners will be left to stand in judgment for their sins. Then again, salvation was seen almost exclusively as something happening only to an individual and only with their full consent when they make a deliberate decision to accept Jesus as their Savior. In addition, salvation is limited to the person’s inner, spiritual renewal and transformation, not requiring any transformation of social structures or the world as a whole. This soteriology stems from the view of man as an utterly sinful creature that has completely lost the image and likeness of God (Sannikov 2011, pp. 81–129). The attitude towards culture was dominated by a counter-cultural approach—Ukrainian evangelicals treated education and art with great suspicion as a manifestation of perverted human nature, opposing the gospel message and way of life. This is the theological basis upon which the missionary practice of the churches was built, almost exclusively focusing on the proclamation of the gospel. Expressing these beliefs, Andrey Puzynin notes that the “evangelical community is called to witness to the gospel of the Kingdom by speaking the truth in love within the framework of the current constitution of their country unless its provisions restrict the freedom to preach the gospel” (Puzynin 2014, p. 90).

The mission was mostly carried out through mass evangelization events, which often were patterned on the experiences of famous American evangelists. The most famous example of mass evangelism was the campaign associated with the visits of the American evangelist Billy Graham to the former Soviet Union. As early as 1988, he came to Ukraine to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Kyiv Rus’ and gave an evangelistic sermon. In 1992, he preached in Moscow at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium. Believers from many countries of the former Soviet Union gathered to attend this event. Afterwards, several international satellite broadcasts with Billy Graham’s participation were held and actively promoted at stadiums in major cities in Ukraine. The activities of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in the region were headed by Viktor Gamm, who was also the head of the Christian Revival Center. The Christian Revival Center also organized numerous evangelistic campaigns in the 1990s. In August 1992, Reinhard Bonnke, the founder of Christ for All Nations, visited Ukraine. The well-known Pentecostal preacher held two evangelistic meetings at the Dynamo Stadium in Kyiv, attended by people from all over Ukraine and other countries, including Poland, Latvia, Armenia, and Moldova.

In many churches, singing groups, choirs, and orchestras for ensembles were formed, and they performed in concert halls, community centers, and city squares, singing Christian songs and delivering evangelists’ sermons. New churches and missionary outposts were opened in settlements without evangelical communities. Other mission methods included various events (lectures, seminars) to promote a healthy lifestyle and Christian morality, as well as television and radio programs and the distribution of printed materials. In 1989, the first national Pentecostal missions were established. They were formed in regions with a traditionally high number of Christians of the evangelical faith. For example, the mission ‘Opportunity’ was established in Mariupol, the ‘Good Samaritan’ in Rivne, and the ‘Voice of Hope’ in Lutsk. A similar process took place in the Baptist community.

Olena Nazarkina quite reasonably notes that evangelicals’ missionary activity during this period was primarily implemented through “large-scale religious agitation and propaganda, which was carried out using the media and the latest technologies” (Nazarkina 2003, p. 121). Since Ukraine was submerged in a total socio-economic catastrophe, humanitarian aid was essential in attracting new people to church communities. It was sent mainly through churches and humanitarian organizations from the United States and distributed in orphanages, hospitals, and homes for the elderly. Assistance from Western evangelical organizations was also expressed in sending missionaries to Ukraine, the number of which, according to some estimates, was over 500 in 1996. It should be noted, however, that despite the important role played by Western missionaries in Ukraine, they did not always show a proper understanding of the peculiarities of Ukrainian Christian culture, which sometimes led to misunderstandings and complaints from representatives of traditional churches” (Nazarkina 2003, p. 121).

During this period, missionary societies established and directed by evangelical unions played a substantial role in evangelistic activities. Their charitable and evangelistic efforts were mainly focused on groups such as prisoners, alcohol and drug addicts, the elderly, orphans, the disabled, and other vulnerable populations. Some missionary organizations, such as the Light in the East Missionary Society, founded in Kyiv in 1991, have developed extensive charitable activities and gained independent status.

Regardless of all the successes that were achieved in the 1990s in the missionary activity of Ukrainian evangelicals, it is difficult to disagree with Mykhailo Mokienko’s conclusions in his study of the development of Pentecostal missional ecclesiology in Ukraine. Mokienko observes that Pentecostals tend to associate mission mostly with evangelism and view it as a form of church activity rather than a core reason for the church’s existence. In both the theological understanding and in practice, the concept of “mission” is closely tied to denominational structures and, therefore, is tightly regulated by them. The essential elements of church life, including liturgical practice, pastoral training, evangelism, and church planting, are perceived within this framework not as an expression of the church’s missional nature, which aims to promote the values of the Kingdom of God, but as a means of asserting the authority of the denomination and reinforcing its unity (Mokienko 2018, p. 363). These observations equally apply to other Ukrainian evangelical movements of this period.

3. Second Stage of Development of Mission Theology and Practice: Late Post-Soviet Period (2004–2014)

In the early 2000s, the socio-political context in Ukraine started to change. Firstly, the economic crisis of the 1990s was gradually overcome thanks to reforms, and hence, socio-economic conditions began to improve. At the same time, the issue of the finalization of the civilizational and international choice of Ukrainian society became extremely acute. In fact, both society and political elites were split into a pro-Western group, which focused on Ukraine’s entry into the European regional project, and a group that saw the future of Ukraine within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Space dominated by Russia. After all, the decision of the then President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, in November 2013 to abandon the European vector of Ukraine’s development sparked large-scale protests that boiled over in the Revolution of Dignity. Taking advantage of the period of instability in Ukraine in the spring of 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and resorted to hybrid warfare in the Donbas. These events might be considered the end of the post-Soviet period of Ukraine’s history when its civilizational and political choice crystallized as that of a European nation with a market economy and the priority of human rights. In the spring and summer of 2014, Ukraine managed to fight off Russia’s first attempts to undermine its national sovereignty and set about forming a civil society and carrying out the relevant social transformations.

The late post-Soviet period marked a crisis for Ukrainian Protestantism, involving several key aspects. First, the demand for new ideological and value orientations that surged in the 1990s in response to the collapse of Soviet mental and institutional forms significantly declined. Consequently, interest in evangelical churches as bearers of an alternative worldview and lifestyle also went down, which manifested itself in the decline in the quantitative growth of evangelical communities and associations (Sokolovskyi and Lavreniuk 2024, p. 268). Another factor that contributed to the slowdown in the growth of Protestant denominations in Ukraine was the regained influence of the traditional Orthodox and Greek Catholic Churches by the mid-2000s, which resulted in them unfolding missionary, charitable, educational, and theological activities. Victoria Liubashchenko, one of the most prominent researchers of Ukrainian Protestantism, argues that in this context: “Conservative communities, which constitute a large part of the Protestant brotherhood, especially in villages and towns, gravitate towards archaic methods of evangelization that no longer work in today’s dynamic society” (Liubashchenko 2020, p. 102).

Secondly, the 2004 revolution, for the first time, made it clear to the evangelical movements of Ukraine that they needed to go beyond church and evangelistic activities and work out their socio-political guidelines. Before that, evangelical churches in Ukraine traditionally had steered clear of politics and avoided involvement in state-building, the development of civil society, and the revival of the Ukrainian nation. They preserved strong relations with fellow believers in other post-Soviet countries, especially in Russia; regional denominational associations continued to operate. However, the events of 2004, when millions of Ukrainians took to the streets to protect their choice in the presidential election, showed that Ukrainian Protestants can no longer continue to operate in the cultural matrix of the former Soviet Union. Therefore, subsequent years witnessed a critical re-examination of the former apolitical and pacifist tradition, a search for some outlines of relevant political and social theology, as well as distancing from Russian ideological and cultural influences and Soviet cosmopolitanism. This was facilitated by the rise of national theological education, the appearance of the first theological journals, and an increase in the number of publications by national authors who tried to answer not only dogmatic questions but also the questions concerning the church’s public role in Ukrainian society.

The crisis of 2004 also prompted a revision of priorities in the key theological constants. From a broad perspective, Ukrainian evangelical theology began to push the boundaries of the narrow confessional framework, entering into a constructive dialog with the humanities and social sciences and other Christian traditions, as well as taking into account global theological trends (Denysenko 2016). Although revelation remained the only source of truth, theologians increasingly resorted to appeals to reason, considering human experience and the contextuality of all forms of theology. When trying to answer the question of who Jesus Christ is, the theologians of this period began to add some aspects of the “low” Christology to the traditional formulations of evangelical orthodoxy, focusing on the Jesus of history, on his perfection as an ideal person, and on his teachings as important moral principles for authentic human life.

In the previous period, the main and almost the only task of the church had been to preach the gospel for the conversion of sinners, whereas in the 2000s, calls for closer links between the external testimony of the church and its internal condition became more common: the church should lead by example; it should constantly work on the quality of its community, the vitality of its spiritual life, and the integrity of its internal structures. It is the only way for the church to serve as a credible witness to the power of the gospel in the world. Outlining the contours of the renewed ecclesiology of Ukrainian evangelicals, Baptist church pastor and theologian Fyodor Raychynets stated: “The church is an instrument of God’s mission. Such an understanding of the church’s mission implies not an escape from society (escapism or isolation) nor “dissolution-in” or “identification-with” society (assimilation, likeness), but a presence and involvement in which the church remains different and special, presenting an alternative to society and contributing to its transformation” (Raychynets 2011, p. 325).

In eschatology, the focus on the inevitability of God’s judgments and the fate of people in eternity began to be counterbalanced with the hope for God’s saving action in the world, which could transform the structures of human existence. Salvation, although aimed primarily at saving an individual and granting him eternal life with God, also has an immanent dimension; that is, it also concerns the modern socio-political reality in which the Christian lives and operates. Traces of God’s image are preserved in human nature, and, therefore, culture is not necessarily a manifestation of the fallen human nature; it can also be seen as man’s aspiration to restore unity with God. Therefore, theology must learn to interact creatively with national cultural material, thus giving life to authentic and contextual theological ideas.

While traditional methods of mass evangelization campaigns ceased to be effective and the improved standard of living reduced the need for humanitarian assistance, the priority in the approach to the mission of the church in this and, to a large extent, in the next period was given to the struggle for the “protection of Christian values” and countering the so-called “gender ideology”. In 2004, Ukraine again confirmed its European civilizational choice, but most churches, approving in general of the movement towards Western standards of living, the fight against corruption, and the establishment of social justice and human rights, were wary of the potential changes to family-related legislation. To counter this threat, relevant public organizations were created, and mass public events were held. I will not go into detail analyzing this approach to the mission, but it should be borne in mind that this radical attitude of the evangelical churches toward family policies is partially responsible for driving away the younger generations of Ukrainians, as well as some educators, academics, and artists.

In part, it was to lobby for “anti-gender” legislative initiatives that Ukrainian Protestants first began to voice their stance on social issues, engage in political life, and integrate political activism into missionary activity. It is worth noting that attempts to set the “immoral” and “materialistic” West in opposition to the highly spiritual, more Christian, and moral post-Soviet space are in line with the concept of Eurasianism leveraged by the current Russian political regime to undermine Ukrainian national interests.

In the late post-Soviet period, other areas of the church’s mission took shape. Particular attention should be given to the perception of all educational activities as missionary-related. This involved launching training programs and courses aimed at preparing ministers for opening new churches and introducing spiritual and moral education programs in the curricula of various educational institutions. For example, the Association of Christian Teachers conducted educational activities for pupils and students using lectures, seminars, thematic evenings, and discussion clubs. They also utilized radio and television programs to spread their message. The topics of these events included creationism and evolution, family and marriage basics, and healthy lifestyles.

Another sign of the renewal of the mission paradigm was the reinvention of all professional activities of believers as missionaries, focusing on the idea that Christians, in their professional vocation, must rely on the principles of Christian ethics. Numerous associations of Christian professionals that were created at the time significantly contributed to this approach (for instance, Associations of Christian Medical Workers, Businessmen, Farmers, and the Military alongside the Association of Christian Teachers). Mission Eurasia launched the entire Mission in Profession movement aimed at integrating Christian values in the professional activities of Christians and teaching them to assume a fundamentally different attitude to work in order to be witnesses to Christ and to implement changes in society (Belev and Teteryatnikov 2017).

During this time, the apologetic approach to missionary work gained popularity in evangelical circles. This approach involves analyzing the worldview of modern individuals to establish a dialog based on their categories, values, and priorities. This method was employed by the Christian Scientific and Apologetic Center in Simferopol, Crimea, under the leadership of Serhii Holovin. The center conducted lectures and seminars and published literature on the analysis of scientific creationism and related topics.

4. Third Stage of Mission Theology and Practice: Mission in the Context of War (2014–2024)

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the revolutionary events of 2013–2014, the beginning of Russian aggression in the Donbas and Crimea, and, especially, the full-scale Russian aggression that began in February 2022 were turning points in the history of modern Ukraine. The Baptist theologian Oleksandr Geychenko argues that the experience of war has thrust the vast majority of Ukrainian believers into an entirely new reality—an insidious and senseless war and cruelty directed not only against the military but also against civilians (Geychenko 2022, p. 9). The scale and radical nature of the challenges that the country faced made Ukrainian evangelicals thoroughly reconsider their identity as Ukrainian rather than post-Soviet believers and move away from the self-awareness of minority sectarian groups imposed by the repressive Soviet experience towards seeing themselves as Ukrainian churches, which, together with other citizens, are responsible for the fate of their people.

Another aspect of the crisis faced by the evangelical communities, as noted by the Ukrainian Orthodox theologian Cyril Hovorun, was that earlier in Ukraine, there were two-dimensional relations between the church and the sphere of public politics based on the “church–state” formula. In contrast, in the post-revolutionary and war context, another powerful factor appeared that brought new perspectives into the relations between the church and the state, i.e., civil society (Hovorun 2014). Interaction with this new agent in the field of church/public relations encouraged the churches to abandon the established paradigm that prevailed in their relations with the state and was limited to a narrow interpretation of the biblical formula: “All authority comes from God”. Now, the churches had to learn to give a frank assessment of the actions of the government, to respond to critical historical events in the life of the state, and to educate their believers not only as disciples of Christ but also as members of Ukrainian civil society. Consider, for example, the signature gathering initiated by the civil movement Vsi Razom! (All Together!) across the country, demanding to ban LGBT marches and stop the spread of gender ideology (Kukharchuk 2018).

The impact of the new reality on Ukrainian evangelical theology of mission was also researched by Olena Panych. The scholar argues that until 2014, Ukrainian evangelicals largely adhered to the Soviet (or rather post-Soviet) style ideological orientations—i.e., social escapism and detachment from the political and cultural life of the country. Their identity at the time implied seeing themselves as part of a large confessional brotherhood of the countries of the former Soviet Union rather than a national community. An important marker of this identity was the prevalence of the Russian language in liturgical practice, education, and publishing, which attests to the fact that Ukrainian Protestants belonged to the sphere of influence of Russian cultural imperialism (Panych 2014). However, the need to make a civilizational choice, build relations with civil society, and respond to the terrible challenges of the war encouraged Ukrainian Protestants to undertake some serious theological reflection on the place and role of the church.

The topic of the missionary crisis in the post-Soviet churches and the lack of a relevant missiological paradigm was brought up by Mykhailo Cherenkov as far back as 2011 (Cherenkov 2011). In his opinion, the local Protestants need not only a theological doctrine as a basis for their missionary activity but also a holistic and contextualized Christian perspective of the presence of Christians in culture and social life. Although this new paradigm of the church mission in Ukraine is still taking shape and, currently, we can only see its general outlines, the crisis of 2014–2024 launched the process of the most profound and radical reconsideration of theological constants given the challenges generated by the new context of the war for survival.

In Christology, the focus has been shifting towards the fact that, through the incarnation of Christ, God is visibly and tangibly involved in world history. He is present in all forms and manifestations of human existence in the world, especially in places where people suffer. Christ’s death was not only an act of redemption and sanctification but also the deliverance of mankind from Satan’s power, including all earthly sinful influences. Christ stands with all those who suffer regular oppression and injustice, in particular Ukrainians who have become victims of bloody and unjust Russian aggression. Therefore, the mission of the church is not only to proclaim the gospel of forgiveness and salvation but also to proclaim the saving power of Jesus Christ, which can liberate and protect all victims of injustice and violence. Leading Ukrainian religious scholar Liudmyla Fylypovych has analyzed the place of the Protestants in the Revolution of Dignity (Maidan) and stated that by participating in revolutionary events, they seek to stand on the side of human dignity, truth, light, and God’s law (as opposed to its distortion by earthly criminal power). They came to protect and support the new expression of God’s justice born on the Maidan, aiming to become the earth’s salt and the world’s light. According to Fylypovych, Christ must be on the Maidan, and a pastor must be on the Maidan. She questions whether someone who confesses the living Christ can be detached from his immediate life and the modern activity of building the world (Fylypovych 2016, p. 95).

In eschatological views, there are increasingly more expectations for God’s intervention and due punishment to all those involved in Russian aggression against Ukraine and crimes against humanity, in particular the bombing of peaceful cities, kidnapping, torture, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. In positive terms, the main eschatological concept of this period is God’s Kingdom or rule, which is already present in the world both in the church and outside it. The signs of the Kingdom can be seen in all manifestations of love, self-sacrifice for the sake of others, and attempts to protect human dignity and freedom in the extreme conditions of war. Exploring the potential contribution of liberation theology to the formation of the political theology of Ukrainian Protestants, Anatoliy Denysenko highlights that traditional Evangelical eschatology emphasizes the hope of Jesus coming again soon, which looks forward to the time when all human alienation and universal evil, both physical and moral, will be overcome. This hope envisions a future where all the effects of sin, such as hatred, separation, pain, and death, will be eradicated. Denysenko calls for the church to remember that while people live on earth, its primary focus should be immediate and political hope rather than only transcendental, eschatological hope (Denysenko 2016, p. 171).

Salvation does not come down to the forgiveness of the sinner by Jesus Christ and giving him the gift of eternal life; it also includes the healing of the entire earthly world affected by sin. Salvation includes both spiritual and material elements and is, to use David Bosch’s terms, “comprehensive” or “integral”, that is, it involves reconciliation with God and humanity, as well as taking care of the environment. According to Ivan Rusyn, “God’s mission is more than just the redemption of people; it is also about the transformation of the entire creation in accordance with the original intention. In other words, the endpoint of the mission is to return to the starting point of history—to the absolute reign of God, the harmony of man with God, man with man, and man with the rest of creation” (Rusyn 2012, p. 18). In this regard, according to the Ukrainian missiologist, the Evangelical church must leave behind the ecclesiological ghetto and develop an ecclesiology of a missiological nature aimed at the world for the sake of its salvation. It is important to note that the views of a Ukrainian pastor and seminary leader have endured the test of war. In a 2023 interview with the Beeson Podcast, Ivan Rusyn argued that even in the extreme conditions of wartime, the church must remain a center of hope, care for society, and be a catalyst for its transformation (Rusyn 2023).

After the Revolution of Dignity and the beginning of Russian aggression in 2014, the Baptist theologian Mykhailo Cherenkov wrote that extreme socio-political cataclysms prompted Ukrainian Protestants to create a new missiological paradigm that made them depart from their traditional asocial, self-sufficient, intra-church missiology. To him, an alternative approach is represented by the incarnation model of evangelism that embodies Christian preaching in cultural, social, and political practices. This Kingdom missiology calls on the church to focus its activity on the world, recognize God’s providence in socio-political processes, and strive to participate in God’s action in the world. According to Cherenkov, “The two types of missiology differ not only in their center and vector but also in their interpretation of people’s needs and their relevant suggestions. The missiology of the church focuses on spiritual needs, primarily on the salvation of the soul. Kingdom missiology integrates diverse needs (spiritual, personal, social, political, cultural, and economic) into a holistic concept of salvation (or liberation, reconciliation, transformation, and restoration)” (Cherenkov 2014, p. 128). In practical terms, the Kingdom’s mission is not so much to urge people to join the church as to be with people, to live the same life as they do, and to bear their burdens.

Meleshko, Teteryatnikov, and Cherenkov observed the emergence of a new paradigm within the evangelical church that impacts society. They pointed out that the economic and social crises and the country’s vulnerability to external threats have led evangelical churches to re-evaluate their social doctrine and their role in society. As a result, they are becoming more involved in socio-political activities and recognizing their mission to bring about positive societal transformation (Meleshko et al. 2017, p. 25).

Similar thoughts were also expressed by Fedir Raychynets during the Theological and Practical Forum “Evangelical Churches in Times of War: Challenges and Opportunities”, which took place in the city of Bucha, known for the atrocities of the Russian occupiers, on 20 December 2023. The Baptist theologian stressed that while the world claims that the only way to peace is through war, the Prophets and Jesus said that the only way to peace is through the path of social justice. Raychynets stated, “For the prophets and Jesus, the principle of peace looked something like this: if you want peace, stand up for justice, act justly, take care of the vulnerable, seek not to dominate the weak, but to serve them” (Raychynets 2023, p. 11).

The celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2016–2018 was a significant event that reflected the changes in the missionary theology of Ukrainian evangelicals. This celebration was initiated by the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and received support from the government. The President of Ukraine signed the decree “On the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in Ukraine”, which allowed the celebration to extend beyond intra-church programs to a broader public platform, including educational institutions. The Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine, the East European Reformation movement, the Eastern European Institute of Theology, and other church networks and educational institutions carried out extensive programs, including lectures, seminars, roundtables, the publication of primary sources and historical research, and festive events. Exploring Protestantism’s theological and historical roots helped Ukrainian evangelicals rediscover the Reformation origins of essential social values such as tolerance, human rights, freedom, and democracy (Soloviy 2020, p. 294).

Another significant outcome of the celebration was the increasing openness of Ukrainian evangelicals to society. They demonstrated their capacity to engage in constructive dialogs with intellectuals from other Christian traditions. For instance, the Eastern European Institute of Theology took the lead in organizing several academic roundtables. These sessions provided a platform for evangelical theologians to discuss challenging aspects of the shared past, theological differences, and the imperative to overcome past conflicts. The ultimate goal was to foster collaboration towards establishing a democratic Ukrainian state that upholds and defends the rights of all citizens.

An important aspect of the renewed approach to the mission is the church’s involvement in the ministry of mercy, providing aid and support to the poor and the suffering in the world (Pavlenko 2023, p. 80). Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2014 (and on a much larger scale since 2022), the Ukrainian Evangelical churches have concentrated all their efforts on helping those affected by Russian aggression. In the first weeks and months of the full-scale war, churches, seminaries, and private homes turned into shelters for millions of fugitives who sought refuge in western Ukraine or at least temporary rest on their way to other countries. The churches showed an incredible level of sacrifice, self-organization, and discipline, providing food, lodging, transport, and legal and medical assistance to hundreds of thousands of frightened and exhausted compatriots. Thousands of believers have become volunteers, evacuating people from the frontline zones and delivering food, diesel generators, hygiene products, medicines, and other essentials to the most inaccessible and dangerous areas. For three consecutive years now, churches and seminaries have been implementing programs to overcome the consequences of trauma, help Ukrainian veterans, and take care of families of military personnel and those who have lost their relatives. It must be emphasized that in previous periods, the social and humanitarian activities of the churches were seen only as a means to create conditions for preaching the gospel and attracting converts. However, in the context of war and social catastrophe, the ministry of mercy acquires self-worth as an authentic expression of the church’s mission. Churches allocate significant efforts and resources for social and charitable service, which inevitably diverts their attention from other areas of church life, especially given the long-term emigration of church members abroad. However, in the face of social catastrophe and the continued threat of loss of national independence, this seems to be a justified self-sacrifice. In his interview with Miroslav Volf, Fyodor Raychynets highlights that even when Ukrainian churches are forced to reduce social programs and humanitarian aid due to limited resources, they continue to serve as safe spaces where people can seek emotional support and express their feelings. These churches are places where individuals’ losses are honored, and their questions are treated with the seriousness they deserve (Raychynets and Volf 2023).

In 1933, after the introduction of the Aryan Clause in Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, reflecting on the possible steps of the church, wrote that when other means of protecting victims of violence were exhausted, the Christian community was not to “just to bind up the wounds of the victims beneath the wheel but to seize the wheel itself” (Bonhoeffer 2014, p. 366). Likewise, in the context of a grueling war, Ukrainian Protestants are increasingly becoming aware that their mission may not be limited to serving the victims of war but may also include action against an evil force that is bringing so much grief and suffering to the people in their country. Since 2014, some members of evangelical churches have joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine to counter Russian aggression. The participants of the round table “The Church at War: Theology, Position, Mission” as early as 20 September 2014, declared that “It is time for the church to reshape its attitude to war and peace, the state, society, and civic responsibility… If a Christian gets a call to defend his earthly Fatherland with weapons in his hands, he must follow it” (Tserkva v Umovakh Viiny 2014).

However, until 2022, the prevalent ethics in the Ukrainian evangelical environment was that of refusing to use violence under any circumstances, including refusal to join the army as combatants. For this reason, assistance to the army was mostly limited to chaplaincy and various volunteer and social projects supporting the military. The traditional post-Soviet evangelical pacifist ethics is still present in the official teaching documents of many evangelical denominations. Still, in practice, thousands of evangelical believers have joined the ranks of the Ukrainian defense forces as volunteers or have been conscripted since 2022. Thus, for example, according to the Ukrainian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith, about two thousand members of this Pentecostal denomination are in military service, and more than 130 have died in the war, including 24 priests. About 800 members of the All-Ukrainian Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians–Baptists serve in the military. Many evangelical believers see military service as an imitation of the example of Christ, who gave himself up to save others, as well as the most radical way to show love and care for others. A recent article by Peter Penner examines the shift of Ukrainian evangelicals from their previous pacifist positions and the theological and ethical challenges it presents (Penner 2024).

Thus, the mission in war inevitably involves manifesting Christians’ public stance and the courage to give a prophetic assessment of international and political realities. The resolutions of the above-mentioned roundtable said that “evangelical theology does not justify a detached attitude towards war, the greatest tragedy of people. We cannot oppose Christians’ spiritual vocation to civic responsibility. On the contrary, the Christian vocation is fulfilled in varieties of civic engagement”. One of the important vectors of the civic role of the evangelical churches included their strong condemnation of Russian aggression and breaking ties with Russian co-religionists who either openly supported the unjustified and brutal invasion of the Russian army into the sovereign Ukrainian state or cowardly chose silence, focusing on the internal church life of their unions and communities. The leaders of the major Ukrainian evangelical denominations, along with other Christian leaders, condemned the aggressive ideology of the “Russian world”, which accentuates the exclusivity of Russian civilization, denies the existence of the Ukrainian nation, incites interethnic and interreligious hatred, and serves as an ideological justification for Russian aggression (Declaration of the Christian Churches of Ukraine to Condemn the Aggressive Ideology of the “Russian World” 2024).

Paradoxically, the tragic circumstances of the past several years of Ukrainian history gave rise to reflections on the crisis of mission and political ethics, which was made apparent by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In their statements regarding the war, some evangelical international associations choose words with great caution, resorting to euphemisms such as “Ukrainian crisis”, “Ukrainian conflict”, or “war in Ukraine”. Some of the statements avoided condemning Russia as the aggressor country and contained unjustified and untimely calls for understanding, reconciliation, and forgiveness. Some evangelicals outside Ukraine are still fascinated by Russian culture and spirituality, while others believe that Russia defends conservative Christian values. The refusal to condemn Russian Christians for their tacit consent or open support of aggression is also explained away by saying that they just want to avoid dehumanization. Evangelical theologians from Ukraine who call for condemnation of the Russian invasion and its support by Russian Christians are sometimes seen as nationalistic, radical, and devoid of love. Such allegations are distressing for Ukrainian evangelicals, especially given the numerous cases of religious persecution, torture, and imprisonment suffered by evangelicals in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine (Pomerantsev 2024).

In this regard, the Evangelical Voices project initiated by the Eastern European Institute of Theology played an essential role in addressing the global evangelical community, as it provided Ukrainian theologians and educators with a platform to broadcast the Ukrainian view of the war. As part of this project, many Christian leaders of Ukraine signed the document “Breaking Through the Sound of Air Raid Sirens. Appeal of the Representatives of Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Educational Institutions to the World Evangelical Community Regarding the War of the Russian Federation against Ukraine”, which condemned Russian aggression and called on evangelicals around the world to stand with their suffering Ukrainian brothers (Trofymchuk 2022). Thus, Ukrainian evangelicals’ service “by word and deed” in the extreme conditions of war challenges not only the domestic models of the mission but also global missiological, ecclesiological, and ethical postulates. It encourages the restoration of the church’s prophetic voice in its approach to socio-political processes. It calls for solidarity of love with all victims of violence and injustice and for active resistance to evil in all its forms.

It is important to note that the global and European evangelical communities are gradually becoming more aware of the realities of the Russian–Ukrainian war through deepening constructive dialog with the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine and the Ukrainian theological community. This is facilitated by visits to Ukraine by leaders of the World Evangelical Alliance and the European Evangelical Alliance, who provide humanitarian and moral support to the Ukrainian churches. For example, Brian C. Stiller, Global Ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance, visited Ukraine on 23 March 2023 and expressed his support for the Ukrainian evangelical church (Stiller 2023). On 1–3 March 2023, the partnership summit ‘Global Church Response in Ukraine and Beyond’ took place. The World Evangelical Alliance, the European Evangelical Alliance, and the Council of Evangelical Protestant Churches of Ukraine issued a joint statement on the anniversary of the Russian invasion. The statement condemns aggression, encourages all evangelical Christians to follow Christ even amid war, and calls for the immediate withdrawal of all Russian troops beyond Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders as the fastest way to end the war (Evangelicals Issue a Joint Statement on Ukraine One Year After the Full-Scale Russian Invasion 2023).

5. Conclusions

The analysis of the development of mission theology in Ukrainian evangelicalism from 1991 to 2024, viewed through the historical methodology of crisis and the missionary methodology of context and constants, leads to several conclusions. Firstly, socio-political and ideological crises do not immediately prompt religious communities to rethink their theological, missiological, and cultural presumptions. Traditionalism and inertia within religious communities often result in adherence to norms and values from the past. Secondly, religious communities tend to address the crisis in the world around them only when it poses a challenge to their survival and growth—especially when it becomes clear that inherited theological and mission tenets are losing relevance. Creating a safe space for theological inquiry and engaging in constructive dialog with the social sciences, other theological traditions, and the global theological community play significant roles in this process. Thirdly, during moments of extreme existential threats, religious and ethical practice takes precedence over theological reflection and sets a framework for the future. This is evident in the humanitarian ministry of Ukrainian churches to war victims and in the rejection by many believers of the traditional avoidance of military service. The widespread suffering and the scale of the threat, amplified by modern mass communication technologies, have made the conventional escapist position ethically unacceptable for many evangelicals in Ukraine.

The theological understanding of this transformation is just unfolding. In his recent publication, Mykhailo Cherenkov analyzes the major factors and challenges faced by Ukrainian churches in the context of the war. He mentions that the crisis of the church should be seen as a question and opportunity rather than a negative phenomenon. The crisis is a time to thoroughly reconsider what it means to be a church in conditions of social catastrophes. We desperately need reflection, discernment, and judgment of ourselves. How faithful are we to the mission of the Triune God, of which He has entrusted us to be a part at this time and in this context? What should we change to make our testimony and ministry authentic and credible? Would we agree today to stand humbly before the judgment seat of God? The answers to these questions will determine the church’s future and whether the current crisis will have fatal consequences or bring about healing and renewal.