I’m writing this in the air, flying back to Fort Worth from Europe. I just spent several days in Eastern Europe, first in Krakow and then in Kiev. I traveled with several leaders from various organizations, including the Family Research Council, The Heritage Foundation, Focus on the Family, and others to get an up-close look at the ongoing war in Ukraine.
During our time, we met with both Christian leaders and government officials. In Poland, we heard from a Church of God bishop who talked about the extraordinary outpouring of assistance to the more than 1 million Ukrainian refugees who spilled across their border in 2022 as Russia began its invasion. Churches rallied, providing housing, food, schooling, and medical aid. Given that Ukraine, often called the Bible Belt of Eastern Europe, has a sizable Evangelical population, the churches in Poland have swelled with new worshippers. And some new Ukrainian congregations have been planted in the last two years.
In Ukraine, we met with members of the Rada, the unicameral parliament that governs the country. Both the majority leader and the speaker thanked America for her support and talked about their desire to promote Christian values in the country, including the possible establishment of a National Day of Prayer. Contrary to some online reports, Ukraine is a very conservative Christian country, where pornography is banned and same-sex marriage is not legal. They often resist pressure from more left-leaning European nations to reverse these policies, and so far have resisted.
