The next generation in the Ukraine is desperate for Christ’s healing and power to make a difference in their lives and their nation.

“Nicky! Nicky! Pray for me!”

We had just finished a huge crusade in Chernivtsi, western Ukraine near the Moldova and Romania borders. As the altar call ended and the crowd was being dismissed, a desperate, heavily accented voice cried out to me from the edge of the stage.

While Ukrainian church leaders are building up new believers in the love and security of God, the coronavirus is shaking their nation with fear and uncertainty.

God has really been growing his church the last few years since the revolution here in Ukraine, and we’ve been privileged to come alongside many open hearts that are now experiencing God and his love for the first time.

In a culture that traditionally views Christianity as a cult, one church’s work to overcome this has taken the form of food packages.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is wrestling with freedom from the Russian Orthodox Church—which has often been an accessory to Russian political leaders—and trying to transfer its authority to a new archbishop.

Gary Wilkerson and Nicky Cruz offered a conference to refresh pastors in Ukraine and over 10,000 church leaders arrived to hear them.

Chernivtsi, or Cernăuți as it is called by the Romanians, has been called “Jerusalem upon the Prut” for its strategic location between Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.

It has traditionally been a cosmopolitan city, home to many Romanians, Germans, Russians, Poles, Hungarians, Roma and Jews.

Bruce and Deborah Crowe along with their 8 children are full time missionaries to the Ukraine but also minister in Belarus and Russia, regularly. They have lived in the Ukraine for 8 years and feel called to bring the gospel to the former Soviet Union.