Ukraine Update: Livestream for Refugees
UPDATE: APRIL 11, 2022
Ukrainian refugees — such as these brothers at a church in Poland — now have the opportunity to hear our 24/7 online livestream. [photo courtesy of IMB.org]
Words and music of hope are now available to Ukrainian refugees, 24/7, from TWR.
The service, featuring Scripture and encouraging messages in Ukrainian and music in Ukrainian and English, went online on Friday morning, said Scott Hollinger, who helps develop new media content for the Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships Department at TWR.
“It’s meant to be mostly music – encouraging praise and worship music,” Hollinger said.
Jon Fugler, chief content officer for TWR, explained the philosophy behind that.
“One of the things we’ve learned, and we’ve experienced ourselves, is that music has a great ministry to our hearts and souls,” Fugler said. “And the people of Ukraine, and refugees, need that. So while we have a strong representation in teaching and talk, if we’re doing something 24 hours a day we feel that music has a great place there.”
Dozens of the songs are in Ukrainian, and more will be added, Hollinger said.
The online service went from an idea to reality in less than a month, Fugler said. The technology and the music in English were available. “What we were missing was anything Ukrainian. … So that’s where we really went on the search.”
But God put the pieces together. Ukrainians who were refugees themselves volunteered to serve as translators and speakers, as did Ukrainians who had resettled in the United States. A Christian radio station offered its facilities to a Ukrainian speaker who lives nearby.
“To do all that in a month is really amazing,” Fugler said.
It’s one way TWR seeks to minister to those whose lives have been torn apart by the war.
“We want to lift people up, because in their situation they’re getting a lot of bad news,” Fugler said. “They get enough bringing them down, but the gospel is the gospel of hope.”
You can listen to the livestream here.
For past updates and coverage of the situation in Ukraine,
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