letter from Ukraine
In the cauldron of war in Ukraine, the Odessa Theological Seminary (OTS) determinedly continues its invaluable work of training missionaries and pastors for the spiritual battlefield – the “war within a war”.
Slavic Gospel Association (SGA) UK supports the seminary in its efforts to prepare men and women for gospel ministry and spiritual warfare in the context of the unrelenting conflict going on around them. Unsurprisingly, necessary adjustments to the curriculum and its delivery have been initiated due to the ongoing conflict.
Uppermost has been the issue of safety and the difficulty for students to travel to and reside in the seminary. The format of teaching has been adjusted to combine online instruction with short residential teaching blocks, attempting to preserve fellowship among the students as well as providing useful learning.
Course content has been broadened in the light of pastors now ministering to a traumatised generation. Seminars dealing with PTSD issues, ministering to the handicapped, and handling end of life challenges, are now part of ministerial training.
Special training and instruction are being given to students preparing for chaplaincy ministry among the armed forces. Additional emphasis has been put on counselling, and courses devised to help pastors and missionaries to be skilled in this area.
Students and pastors in training have themselves suffered trauma, and the seminary is aware of their need of support. A new programme – “Learning from Christ Together” – brings seasoned ministers and young trainees together in an attempt to provide some such valuable support.
Many experienced pastors have left the country, and OTS asks for prayer for the training of this new generation of Christian workers who do not have the experience of their predecessors, but are called to minister in the heat and pain of war. Pray that this “spiritual army” will be used to conquer many souls and win them to Christ.
