Many of us have watched with great concern over the cost of human lives, disruption, and the flood of refugees fleeing their homes for their survival during the past few weeks due to the Russian invasion and subsequent war in Ukraine. You may be experiencing a sense of shock, disbelief or even denial that this is really happening.

The world as we have known it since the end of the Cold War is being reshaped all over again. You may feel like you must do something to help and to respond. But how? When? Where? Who? Answers to these questions tend to immobilize us.

I have been engaged as vice president of the North American Baptist Fellowship (NABF), a group of Baptist conventions and churches in the United States and Canada serving 22 Baptist conventions with 55,000 congregations, representing 19 million members. I was elected as vice president of the Baptist World Alliance, representing Baptist conventions and churches in the United States from 2020 to 2025. This relationship connects Buckner International to Baptist conventions and churches around the globe. 

I was on a Zoom call recently with 75 Baptist leaders to hear reports from our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. We followed this report with prayer ... Since the invasion of Ukraine, these churches have coordinated support to serve 1 million Ukrainian refugees and guests fleeing to neighboring countries in Eastern Europe. These Baptist churches are prepared to serve 50,000 refugees per day.

Read the rest of this article from Buckner president Albert Reyes on his blog.