From the newsletter archive · June 2026
I wrote this poem after I saw a painting by a teenage Ukrainian girl whose father is serving on the front lines in Ukraine, fighting for his country and his family. It touched me deeply to think about all the loss that Ukraine has suffered.
The girl attends an art therapy class run by a church. The art helps individuals, young and old, process their emotions and hold on to hope for themselves, their families, and their friends. The little girl called the painting “Looking for Father.” It is so fitting.
So many children are hoping their fathers will return. So many wives, sisters, brothers, and friends are waiting. Many will be disappointed. Many wait no longer. They have their answer. Their father, their friend, their sister, or their brother will not be coming home.
Expectations vs Reality
A Ukrainian military Chaplain told me that the Ukrainian military has had to innovate at an astonishing speed just to keep a much larger Russian army in check. They have adapted because they had to. They learned quickly because survival demanded it.
The same chaplain told me the Church and chaplains must do the same.
The spiritual hunger is real. The number of believers in Ukraine has grown by hundreds of thousands. Church attendance is rising. People are asking deeper questions. They are looking for hope, meaning, truth, and a God who does not abandon them in suffering.
And the challenges are immense.
A pastor friend of mine took me to the center of a mid-sized city, to a square with a memorial to the heroes of Ukraine who have died in the war with Russia. Most, if not all, cities and towns of any size that I have been to have these memorials. Usually, they have photographs of the fallen soldier and the date they were killed. In this city, there were many hundreds of heroes, all from this one city. They are men and women, struck down by a senseless war, by a man and a country consumed by pride, arrogance, and evil.
These heroes are the victims of a “holy war” that was called into being by an unrepentant dictator and a man masquerading as a “Christian,” leading the church in Russia away from God through fear and intimidation.
We walked together with my friend’s oldest son down the line of memorials. They are four-sided and about six feet tall, with a picture of a hero on each side. My friend stopped next to a picture of a man who looked to be in his mid-fifties and said, “This is my father.” I told him I was so sorry for his loss. He told me a little about his dad and when he had been killed. It was in 2023 when Ukraine launched a counterattack. His father had been “mobilized” by the government and given a couple of months of training. He went into battle immediately after his training and was killed ten days later. He was hit by a mortar.
I remember many conversations with my own dad, and the joy of spending time with him. I think of Ukraine and the many conversations that will never occur. Quiet walks, time fishing or watching sporting events together, time around the table. All gone.
My friend then walked me a few more steps to another memorial and another picture. “This is my best friend from school,” he told me. “We grew up together.” Everyone I have met in Ukraine knows someone who has been killed in the war, family members, friends, coworkers, fellow church members.
The war in Ukraine continues. We visited several churches over the last few weeks, encouraging pastors and church members. We tell them that there are millions of American Christians who pray for them every day. We taught and preached in churches in western, central, and eastern Ukraine. We also led training sessions to equip church members and leaders on how to care for people who have been through significant traumatic events.
This is a difficult time for Ukraine. The tide of the battle looks like it might be changing more in Ukraine’s favor, but it will more than likely still be a long fight, and nothing is guaranteed. Only God can end this war. He continues to call many to faith. I met many new believers on this trip. It is amazing to see how God is working, and it is terrible to see the cost of this war.
Looking for Father
Many are the fathers of Ukraine who can no longer be found,
lying silent in hallowed ground.
Tears come and go, as countless wives, daughters, and sons
remember the ones they used to know
never again to hold them close,
never again to share a simple smile.
Many are the fathers of Ukraine who can no longer be found.
To this earth they are no longer bound.
Senseless. Tragic. A loss too deep for words.
Yet there is a Father still
who sees the fatherless,
who counts every tear,
who forgets no name.
For those who bore His name,
whom sons and daughters could not find,
were found in Him,
where tears and sorrow are no more,
and wait for us on a distant shore
until the day, beyond all war,
He raises them once more.
Steven Smeltzer
Your Help Brings Light and Life
The need in Ukraine is great, and so is the opportunity. Pastors and churches are caring for the wounded, the grieving, and the searching, and God is drawing many to faith in the middle of this war. You can be part of that work.
Pray for the churches and pastors of Ukraine, for the families of the fallen, for the soldiers still on the front lines, and for a just and lasting end to this war.
Give to support ongoing trauma-care training, church visits, and pastoral encouragement across Ukraine. Every gift helps a local pastor keep showing up for his people.
God calls all of us to make disciples.
“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.”
John 4:35
What Are You Waiting For?
Christ calls us to serve, and the need is urgent. Right now, our Crisis Response ministry is facing enormous needs and unprecedented opportunities to bring the hope of Christ to people in crisis. The fields are indeed “white unto harvest”, but we need more workers.
If you can give a week, a month, several months, or a year to serve Christ, we need you now. Your time, gifts, and willingness to go can help meet critical needs and strengthen gospel ministry in this moment.
Jesus said, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.” (John 4:35)
If God is calling you to serve, or if you want to explore what that could look like, please email respond@efca.org or send me an email today. We would love to speak with you about how you and/or your church can step into this work.
Thank You for Your Support
Thank you for praying, for giving, and for standing with the church in Ukraine. Your partnership goes farther than you know. Every visit, every training, every conversation with a hurting pastor, church member, soldier, or displaced person is carried by the prayers and gifts of friends like you.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”, Ephesians 2:10
In Christ,
Steven Smeltzer
ReachGlobal Crisis Response