A Houston church develops a thriving outreach to families fleeing the war.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
HOUSTON — On a blue-sky afternoon in this diverse Texas metropolis, about 50 Ukrainian refugees enjoy pizza, cupcakes and fellowship at the Memorial Church of Christ.
All of the families seem to know Julia, a friendly woman with an engaging smile, a long blond braid that trails over her shoulder and a yellow T-shirt with the word “faith” scripted in the shape of a cross.
A 36-year-old mother of three young boys, Julia is a Russian immigrant who works full time as a nurse practitioner. A devoted Christian since giving her life to Jesus a decade ago, she didn’t set out to start a thriving ministry to those fleeing the war.
The outreach developed suddenly — and providentially, church leaders believe — after Memorial preaching minister David Duncan asked Julia to study the Bible with Russian refugee Aleksei Kozhevnikov and his wife, Milana.
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“God placed Aleksei in a community where all the Ukrainians live,” Julia said of the Russian, who left his home country after speaking out against the war.
Baptized at the Jersey Village Church of Christ in Houston earlier this year, Kozhevnikov welcomed the opportunity to delve deeper into the Scriptures in Russian.
Julia helped him learn more about the Bible.
And she jumped into action when Kozhevnikov mentioned that neighbors — Ukrainian refugees in his apartment building — needed furniture.
“I said, ‘I can find something,’” Julia recalled. “And that’s how it all started snowballing.”
This story appears in the online edition of The Christian Chronicle.
Photo by Bobby Ross Jr.
Faith. Family. Fastballs. 