Roman Rakhuba, chair of the Association of Mennonite Brethren Churches in Ukraine, shares an update about the needs of the people and churches of Ukraine.
A special thanks to Jon Wiebe, president and CEO of MB Foundation, for providing this update from Rakhuba.
Taken from email sent from Rakhuba, dated July 2, 2026:
…I wanted to share several strategic prayer requests for you, your staff and your family to pray for, and to ask whether it might be possible for you to share the following prayer requests from the Association of Mennonite Brethren Churches in Ukraine with our Mennonite Brethren churches and friends across the United States. I believe they would be encouraged to know how God continues to work through MB churches in Ukraine, even in the midst of a war that now seems to have no visible end, and to pray and possibly even consider supporting these prayer requests.
Please pray for AMBCU’s summer camps and children’s outreach ministries. This summer, AMBCU churches, together with the Caring Hands (Mission Eurasia) ministry, are conducting more than 50 children’s camps and outreach projects for children traumatized by war. More than 4,000 boys and girls who need encouragement and love will hear the gospel and experience the love of Christ through these ministries.
This season, Ukraine is experiencing an unusual heat wave, with temperatures approaching 40°C (104°F), creating additional challenges for our camp leaders and volunteers. Several camps, especially in the Zaporizhzhia region and other communities close to the front lines, are being conducted next to bomb shelters so children can immediately take cover whenever air raid sirens sound. Please pray for God’s protection and wisdom for the leaders and for thousands of children to encounter Christ and discover lasting hope.
Please also pray for our MB pastors, ministry leaders and especially their wives and families. After more than four years of constant war, emotional exhaustion, burnout, grief, uncertainty and continual stress have become daily realities. Many have faithfully carried enormous responsibilities without any real opportunity to rest or recover. Access to quality medical care remains extremely limited, making this burden even heavier. Please pray that God would renew their strength, guard their hearts, preserve their families and continue to sustain those who faithfully shepherd His people.
Another growing prayer need is the tremendous influx of unbelievers into AMBCU churches. Every week, people come to our churches to pour out their traumatized hearts and seek food, medicine, emotional support, counseling, prayer and ultimately hope in Christ. The churches rejoice to see many coming to faith, yet the harvest is growing much faster than the number of mature believers available to disciple these new Christians. Please pray that God would continue raising up spiritually mature men and women who can teach, mentor and walk alongside this new generation of believers.
Please greet our Mennonite Brethren brothers and sisters on our behalf.
With deeply grateful hearts,
Roman Rakhuba and Mennonite Brethren in Ukraine
Interested in financially supporting the needs of Mennonite Brethren churches in Ukraine? Visit the MB Foundation website to donate now.
This article has been posted by Christian Leader staff. The Christian Leader is the magazine of U.S. Mennonite Brethren.
