When war broke out in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, millions fled the country. Pastor Vitaly Yurchenko of Kyiv is one who realized his fellow Ukrainians would need both spiritual encouragement and physical aid. Providing the first was simple—stay and preach. However, providing food and physical aid is harder: it requires manual labor plus brief trips to the U.S. to personally tell American churches about the plight of Ukrainians in wartime. On Sunday, March 19, he’ll be preaching and sharing his experiences through an interpreter in Vinemont at Bethlehem West Baptist Church, located at, 14310 AL Hwy. 157.

When the war began, Yurchenko and his wife, Alona, stayed in Kyiv even though Russian forces were heavily attacking their area. Their basement became a bomb shelter and a revival center where he shared the Gospel and many fervently prayed. Since then, the couple has been active in distributing Bibles and humanitarian aid to victims of the war.

Although Ukrainian men between ages 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave Ukraine because of the war, the Ukrainian government announced a program that allows pastors to exit the country temporarily for religious purposes. Yurchenko was one of the first pastors to receive this special permission. While visiting the U.S., he preaches but also informs Americans of the situation in Ukraine, requesting prayers and donations to BIEM’s war relief efforts.

His presentation in Vinemont will be at 10:30 a.m. It will be one of the Yurchenkos’ last two presentations before returning to Ukraine.

Based west of Indianapolis in Danville, Ind., Baptist International Evangelistic Ministries (BIEM) is an independent Christian mission founded in 1981 as a shortwave radio ministry to the Soviet Union. By 1992 actual church planting in Russia and Ukraine had replaced radio work as its core ministry. Additional facets of BIEM’s church-planting program include distributing Bibles and Christian literature, evangelism, children’s work, summer youth camps, and humanitarian aid. The mission has trained more than 300 pastors and church workers, planted over 100 churches, and built over 50 church buildings in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Romania, and Moldova.