Hope is in short supply this year for many children caught in the wars raging in Israel and Ukraine. American Christians are supporting the annual Christmas campaign called Immanuel’s Child that will deliver gifts and a “star of hope” to as many as 75,000 needy children this festive season, including those living on the frontline of wars.
Last year, the program run by Slavic Gospel Association in partnership with local evangelical churches brought Christmas cheer to more than 56,000 children living in poverty across Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet nations, as well as Israel. This year, Jewish evangelical churches in Israel and local evangelical churches across war-torn Ukraine will deliver gifts to even more suffering families, along with a children’s Bible and a personal message from Christians in the United States who are praying for them.
“The message of ‘God loves you’ from an American, printed on a Star of Bethlehem paper ornament, is the most treasured item and is often hung up in a place of honor in the home,” said Eric Mock, SGA’s senior vice president of ministry operations.
The Illinois-based organization supports local evangelical churches in Israel and Ukraine as they go door-to-door delivering aid and sharing the gospel with families facing ongoing deadly rocket attacks. The church-led effort shows those torn apart by war and those living in deep poverty that God cares about them in their distress, President Michael Johnson said.
“People often ask the local Christians, ‘why are you helping us?'” he said. “They’re deeply moved when the reply is, ‘We’re here because God loves you.’”
The Christmas story of the Christ child in Bethlehem’s manger brings authentic hope to war-shattered lives, Mock said.
“Many people in Ukraine and Israel are hearing the biblical account of Jesus’ birth and the gospel message for the first time, and the response is amazing,” he said. “It’s like a crescendo at the end of a year of suffering. The world is embroiled in wars and everything that divides us. But, in a sea of division, the wonder of the Christmas story brings us together and gives us hope.”
For more information, visit www.sga.org,
–Dwight Widaman | MV