Ukraine seminary conducts ministry, continues classes in midst of war

LVIV, Ukraine (Baptist Press and local reports) — Sirens cut the interview short. The familiar alarm blared in her ears as she wrapped up a Zoom call explaining how the partnership between Southeastern Seminary (SEBTS) in Wake Forest, N.C., and Ukrainian Baptist Seminary (UBTS) in Lviv, Ukraine, had personally impacted her life and ministry.

It was time for Iryna Los, chief of staff for the president of the Ukrainian seminary, to shelter in the basement of the newest building at the seminary that doubles as a bomb shelter. She was calm as she ended the call, explaining that the siren might not mean Lviv is actively being bombed but does indicate danger somewhere nearby.

Maybe she was calm because she knows her mother, father, grandmother, one of her sisters, and nieces and nephews are safe. They’re in another region of Ukraine, nestled in the mountains four to five hours by car away from Lviv near the border with Romania.

Iryna is thankful for their safety since it took some convincing to get her parents to pack up themselves and her grandmother and leave their military city near Kyiv to move to Lviv at the beginning of the war. It was another hard decision for her family to further evacuate to the Romanian border, making them some of Ukraine’s internally displaced population.

Iryna could have chosen the same safety measure and the comfortable familiarity of being with her family. As a single 33-year-old woman, no one would have blamed her. “When the war started, I decided I would not leave Lviv,” she said. “I wanted to be a part of the ministry the seminary does.”

She’s now a key part of the leadership team for the seminary’s WeCare program, as well as a student coach and leader in the women’s ministry of the seminary. All of this is in addition to her role as the chief of staff to seminary president Yaroslav Pyzh.

WeCare centers are the seminary’s strategic approach to helping the millions of internally displaced Ukrainians with humanitarian needs, spiritual care, trauma care, and educational activities.

The centers also foster dialogues between churches, city authorities, and volunteer organizations in 14 cities across the country. The goal is to help the institutions interact and together serve the cities.

Iryna holds a master of theological studies degree through the UBTS partnership with SEBTS, a component of the SEBTS Global Theological Initiatives (GTI) program.

Anna Daub, director of special projects and partnerships for GTI, describes the program as one of Southeastern’s “best kept secrets.” Knowing that Southeastern Seminary cannot fulfill the Great Commission alone, GTI focuses on language curriculum and leadership training in partnership with other seminaries and higher education institutions around the globe, Daub explained.

Most of Iryna’s cohort decided to finish their degrees amid the raging conflict. As they did, the 21 leaders in Ukrainian biblical and theological education were able to strategize via Zoom teleconferencing on how they were going to lead during and after the war.

They began thinking through how to turn their facilities into a refugee center, knowing that their proximity to the border would bring thousands through the campus. With the newer facility’s bomb shelter-type basement, the school paused classes and focused on that for a time.

The cohort, who started their program in 2017, graduated in May 2022. They were recognized in absentia at Southeastern’s graduation ceremony. In October, they were able to host their own graduation ceremony complete with diplomas from SEBTS and video greetings from faculty.

The seminary resumed classes in May with the goal of continuing its mission and re-establishing some form of normalcy for students.

While the partnership paused during the first year of war, it has pivoted now and focused on offering sound biblical counseling courses and a program that will help Ukrainians inside and outside the country minister to their broken countrymen and women.

Trauma is and will continue to be a growing concern as millions have been displaced, leaving behind fathers, brothers, and other loved ones. Training is offered to leadership and lay counselors to share hope and healing amidst the trauma.

As the Ukrainian diaspora grows, the goal of this program will be to equip them to serve those who need the love and care of Jesus around them.

For Iryna, she’s thankful for the degree program she was able to finish and believes it equipped her as she leads the WeCare program. “For me, this training has been crucial,” she said.

“War is pure evil, and there is nothing good about this,” she stressed, “but at the same time what we see is that many people are now open to hear the Gospel.

“Many churches have started to be refugee centers. They are now sharing the Gospel with people who are trusting the church more because the church helped them in this crisis.”

There have been reports that Russian forces have targeted Christian churches and church leaders for special persecution since invading the country.

While Iryna looks forward to the biblical counseling training the two seminaries’ effort will continue to provide, she knows she and her cohort have been equipped to do ministry now, in wartime, through the leadership and discipleship classes she completed through the strategic partnership between the seminaries.