Imagine trying to do your job at the office as gunfire echoes down the street.

Imagine sending your wife and children to a safer place while you stay on a battlefield to get children’s Bibles to other families.

Imagine risking everything you have for the kingdom of God.

It stretches our imaginations to accept the idea of working during wartime—but this is what staff at Ukrainian Bible Society are facing this week. They are in the crucible—staying on mission to provide God’s Word even as Russian troops roll through their cities. Moments like these highlight how serious our collective Bible work is. And they also underscore the comfort of God’s Word as it sustains believers in their ongoing work to share the good news.

Our brothers and sisters are putting their lives on the line to make sure suffering Ukrainians have access to the comfort of God’s Word. And they need our help.

Yesterday, Ukrainian Bible Society spent the last of their financial reserves to print children’s Bibles in Kharkiv. Even while the city is collapsing, Bible Society staff members are rushing to get these critical Bible resources while they can. As of our last update, staff remain in the capital city of Kyiv—working up to the last minute to get Bibles to people in need. Even after they’re forced to evacuate, they’ll work through their vast distribution network (churches, ministry leaders, etc.) to get Scripture to those asking for it—including to military members in active combat. The Bible Society staff have made backup plans for their backup plans—determined to move mountains to get God’s Word to people in need. But they are in urgent needs of funds.

In the middle of the war, they’ve run out of Bibles. Even as they face violence, Ukrainian church leaders are telling us that this is their most pressing need. Will you help?

There has been fighting on the edges of Ukraine for years, but now, in this extreme escalation, it has also reached densely populated areas. It’s like if foreign tanks were rolling down 52^nd street in New York City. Many people do not know where they will lay their children down to sleep tonight.

Imagine, now, sitting in a metro station with your terrified family for days with only your emergency supplies and little to distract you from sounds of explosions and screams from the fight raging outside—when someone comes with a word of peace. They hand you a Bible—full of timely words of comfort, love, and eternal hope.

It might not sound like a lot if you haven’t faced a situation like this, but for those on the brink of despair, hope is just as critical as physical supplies. We pray for all of it—for sustenance, for safety, for rescue, for support, for peace for the nation of Ukraine—and we support our brothers and sisters as they work now to remind people that Jesus is near to them in their deepest suffering and gives them peace beyond understanding.

Ukrainian Bible Society reports today, “All our team is safe; there is no panic but trust [in] God and thinking how to support our nation with the Bible.” Praise God!

We thank God that, as of this last report, our colleagues at Ukrainian Bible Society are safe. In the coming days, many of them may yet be required to physically fight for their country. Until then, they are putting all their efforts into a spiritual battle. And because we serve a God who keeps every promise he makes, we know we will hear stories of people who had their lives transformed by God’s Word as a result. How many people will find hope and salvation even in this current conflict?

As we pray for peace and look to meet the physical needs of those in Ukraine, do not forget the urgency of the Bible cause nor its eternal impact. This fight—the fight for hope, the fight to remember God is with us in our suffering, the fight that puts the words of truth from God’s Word to the test—is real. Our brothers and sisters are waging it. In bunkers and bullet-proof vests, they are preaching the gospel. Will you stand with them?

Send Bibles to Ukraine now.

Please join us in praying Psalm 27: 1–3 with and for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine:

“The Lord is my light and my salvation;

I will fear no one.

The Lord protects me from all danger;

I will never be afraid.

When evil people attack me and try to kill me,

they stumble and fall.

Even if a whole army surrounds me,

I will not be afraid;

even if enemies attack me,

I will still trust God.”