Report on the Work of Humanitarian Hubs "People of the Bridge" for July-December 2025
Our hearts remain heavy but hopeful as we present the latest ministry report from “People of the Bridge” hubs after 1,400 days of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Since February 2022, these hubs (sustained by your generosity and prayers) have witnessed the Gospel’s transforming power amid ongoing destruction and loss.
As Ukraine endures another Russian wartime winter marked by systematic Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, our dedicated staff and volunteers, students, and graduates have continued going the “second mile”, not merely meeting basic needs, but embodying Christ’s call to exceed expectations in serving the most vulnerable. When Jesus taught His followers to go “two miles” when asked for one (Matthew 5:41), He envisioned a community that transforms obligation into opportunity and service into witness. This is precisely what our seminaries, Dialogue in Action, Ukraine Bible Society, and the Institute for Trauma Healing have demonstrated: in freezing temperatures and frequent blackouts, they have not retreated but pressed forward, fulfilling God’s mission to a wounded nation by the inhuman Russian war.
Through emergency evacuations, transitional and long-term housing, food distribution, Scripture provision, trauma counseling, and specialized care for people with disabilities, we have walked alongside thousands whose lives have been shattered by this relentless aggression. Here is what your partnership made possible during July-December 2025 (figures marked "total" represent cumulative impact since February 24, 2022):
Our seminary-based hubs (not all Ukrainian seminaries) currently also serve 4,403 students in the 2025-2026 academic year. These institutions have not only maintained their educational mission under extraordinary war circumstances but have also invested significant time and energy in four consultations that led to the formation of the International Evangelical Theological Alliance (with 46 member institutions so far), a historic step toward greater unity and collaboration among evangelical theological educators in Eastern Europe and beyond.
The impact of your support on war-affected individuals and the Church in Ukraine is immeasurable. We thank God for your faithfulness to His unchanging mission (no, our Mission has not changed), even as the war grows more intense. We are profoundly grateful that you have chosen to walk “the second mile” with us. We soberly understand that you were never obligated to do so. The first mile of compassion (the initial response to the Russian invasion) was already generous. But here you remain, nearly four years into this darkness. The world has moved on. Many Christian organizations, overwhelmed by competing crises, have quietly stepped back. Ukraine fatigue is real, and we do not judge those who have reached their limits. But you have not grown weary. When compassion fatigue would justify stepping back, you press on.
This is the scandalous logic of the Gospel: to give when giving costs, to stay when leaving is easier and justified, to carry another’s burden not because you must, but because Christ first carried yours and ours. You remain alongside our wounded seminary leaders and healers… those who counsel the traumatized while carrying their own grief, who serve the displaced while their own families face danger and displacement, who offer hope while enduring constant retraumatization with every new missile strike and “cherry night,” with every new loss of our family members, friends, students, with every new wave of displaced people arriving at our doors. Your “second mile” makes our continued service of the “second mile” possible. In choosing to walk further than required, you are not merely donors but fellow pilgrims on our and your road of costly discipleship to the Crucified God.
Але російська агресія не вщухає. Минуло майже чотири роки, але потреби не зменшилися. Вони стали ще глибшими. Нові хвилі переміщених сімей прибувають, оскільки Росія посилює свої атаки і руйнує все більше житла та домогосподарств. Кількість поранених зростає. Горе стає все більшим. Те, що почалося як екстрена допомога, перетворилося на марафон милосердя, кінця якого ми не бачимо. Яків запитує: “Коли брат або сестра будуть голі й позбавлені щоденної їжі, а хтось із вас їм скаже: Ідіть з миром, грійтеся та їжте, але не дасть їм потрібного для тіла, яка з цього користь?” (Яків 2:15–16). Наші брати і сестри стоять біля наших дверей… замерзлі, голодні, травмовані… і ми не можемо відігнати їх лише словами підтримки. Тому, сповнені надії, ми запрошуємо вас і надалі підтримувати наші семінарські центри для біженців:
Peace be with you and keep your children away from war.
Gratefully,
Taras Dyatlik
Project Manager for the "People of the Bridge" in Ukraine
On behalf of the Ukraine Coordination Group:
Our hubs in Ukraine: Chernivtsi Bible Seminary, Dialogue in Action, Eastern European Institute of Theology (Lviv), Evangelical Theological University (Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia), Kremenchuk Evangelical Seminary, Lviv Theological Seminary, Odesa Theological Seminary, Tavriskii Christian Institute (relocated from Kherson to Ivano-Frankivsk, then to Kyiv), Transcarpathian Christian Institute (Khust), Ukrainian Bible Society (Kyiv), Institute for Trauma Healing (Kyiv and various regions of Ukraine), and Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary.
