KAUFMAN, Texas – Pastors in Texas have begun connecting with Ukrainian partner churches, planning projects, trips and initiatives as part of the Healing Path Movement, a partnership establishing church-to-church connections between Texas and Ukrainian Baptist churches.
The movement launched Nov. 18, 2025, in Abilene, during a meeting between Baptist General Convention of Texas leadership and the Ukrainian Baptist Union.
In November, 36 Texas Baptist churches committed to the partnership. Today, 44 Texas churches are committed and 41 partnerships started.
“Four churches are in the onboarding process, [and] four more churches are pending,” said Hannah Polk, director of the executive office at First Baptist Church in Kaufman, which provides leadership for the movement under senior pastor Brent Gentzel.
“Over January and February, most of our churches got connected with their pastors. Many of the prayer teams have begun to meet, and plans are already underway for projects, local projects in Ukraine, and trips and initiatives that will launch after the war is over,” she continued.
Prayer teams for each partnership were established in January, with a goal of having three to five people commit to pray with their Ukrainian partners through the duration of the partnership.
A memorandum of understanding signed by Ukrainian Baptist Union President Valerii Antoniuk and BGCT Executive Director Julio Guarneri in November, establishes the key overview of the project and a pathway for church and pastor partnerships.
Partnership strategy
The effort involves a four-phase partnership strategy. The first phase begins with 50 church-to-church and pastor-to-pastor partnerships. Two Texas churches are paired with two churches from each of Ukraine’s 25 oblasts (provinces). The goal is for four anchor churches to be established in each oblast to facilitate regional initiatives.
Phase 1 also involves extensive prayer and relationship building: “We are … in a season of prayerful preparation for the rebuilding that will come when the war ends,” Polk said.
“Across the state, we are putting the infrastructure in place now. Training dates are being scheduled, calendars are being built, experts in trauma care and healing are being enlisted, and strategies for things like sports camps and other ministry efforts are being developed, so that we are ready to serve well in the season ahead.”
As part of the four-phase initiative, leadership from each partnership will travel to Ukraine post-war, building connections with partner churches and communities there while pursuing a variety of church-to-church mission projects, including establishing sports and English camps, worship arts training, construction projects, church planting, mental health ministries and more.
Polk emphasized the movement’s current stage of relationship-building and development: “Right now, we are in a relationship-building stage, and there is a great deal of encouragement flowing back and forth across these partnerships.”
“Many Ukrainian pastors are deeply grateful for the time our pastors are giving to encourage them, pray for them and pray with them,” she said.
“From the beginning, our goal was to walk through this first year with a group of pilot churches. We are just now beginning that phase of the journey.”
The funding process
During the partnership launch event, Brent Genzel explained how BGCT churches would need to provide financial support to their Ukrainian partners beginning in January 2025.
Funds are sent through the BGCT, which in turn sends the funds to the Ukrainian Baptist Union to disburse to the respective churches. Churches are also asked to give $10,000 per year for the next three years to handle general expenses, such as ministry infrastructure and equipment.
Polk explained how the funding process operates: “Texas Baptist churches are funding this project through [giving] beyond their normal Cooperative Program dollars,” she said.
Texas Baptist church-to-church partnerships act as financial sponsorships to carry the Ukraine-Texas movement forward. Each Texas Baptist church is asked to contribute $500 per month toward agreed-upon advancement projects. The first support check was due in January.
Baptists serving into the future
Leaders of the effort hope to see continued growth through 2027, because the need is great.
“The breadth of ministry taking place through Ukrainian Baptist churches across the nation, even in the midst of war and constant bombing, is truly remarkable,” Polk said. “Ukraine is a large country, and some of the churches we are partnering with are literally just miles from the front lines.
“In those areas, much of their ministry involves caring for wounded soldiers and supporting their families in very immediate and personal ways. Other churches are focused on refugee care and responding to the growing homelessness crisis throughout the country.
“Yet, in every setting, the work of these Baptist churches in Ukraine is deeply inspiring. It reminds all of us that the local church truly is the hope of the world.
“That is true in Ukraine, and it is just as true in Texas. We serve the same God, and Ge calls our local churches here to respond with courage and compassion in the face of pain, suffering, and loss in our own communities. I’ve never been more proud to be a Texas Baptist.”
This article originally appeared in the Baptist Standard.
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