War in Ukraine: Links to The Christian Chronicle’s coverage
The number of Churches of Christ in Ukraine once rivaled…
Around the World: ‘Living Water’ in Ecuador, gospel tracts in St. Vincent and more quick takes
Our monthly rundown of news briefs, links and quotes from Churches of Christ around the world.
Around the World is our monthly rundown of news briefs, links and quotes from Churches of Christ all over the globe. Got an idea for this column? Email Erik Tryggestad at [email protected].
Featured photo (above): Gospel tracts in hand, Christians on the island of St. Vincent canvass a neighborhood.
ECUADOR
QUITO — Longtime missionaries Kent and Sharla Marcum recently donated land in Armenia, a suburb of Ecuador’s capital, for a community center.
A Church of Christ meets in a tent on the property and has about 75 in attendance, Kent Marcum said. The proposed Jack and Robbie Sikes “Springs of Living Water” Community Center will offer medical and counseling services, apartments for the elderly and housing for visiting mission teams from abroad. The center honors Sharla Marcum’s parents, who spent more than four decades serving in four children’s homes, and takes its name from Revelation 7:17 — also an homage to the Marcums’ anniversary, July 17. The Southwest Church of Christ in Pueblo, Colo., collects funds for the work.
HAITI
LIMBÉ — In a country with no functioning government, Christians still manage to spread the Word, said workers with the Center for Biblical Training in Cap Haitien. One CBT graduate, Philton Telemarque, preaches for Churches of Christ in Limbé and Mon Adam and recently conducted a Gospel meeting that resulted in multiple baptisms.
See haitianchristianfoundation.org.
Women in the SWAN sewing program in southern India squeeze together for a graduation photo.
INDIA
SAMALKOT — “Behind every rural woman’s smile hides a story of struggle — child marriage, violence, poverty and broken dreams,” Sonia Madiki said. “From fighting for basic rights to struggling for dignity and safety, women in rural India deal with countless issues that demand attention.”
Madiki and her husband, minister Vijay Madiki, work with the Church of Christ Samalkot in southern India and a network of about 300 congregations. Sonia Madiki oversees SWAN, a program that gives rural, homebound ladies sewing machines and the skills to use them. SWAN recently hosted a graduation ceremony for dozens of women who completed the program.
Gospel tracts in hand, Christians on the island of St. Vincent canvass a neighborhood.
ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES
ARNOS VALE — “Let’s be more evangelistic in 2026.”
That’s the theme for Churches of Christ in this Caribbean nation, said minister Mark Charles.
Recently, members of Churches of Christ near the capital, Kingstown, went into their communities to distribute evangelistic tracts and do open-air preaching. Charles, a bivocational minister who works in the insurance business, seeks support and medical mission teams to assist in the work.
Jeff Abrams shares a meal with 15 new Christians in Zaoporizhzhia, Ukraine.
UKRAINE
Zaporizhzhia — As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine reaches a grim four-year mark, Christians nonetheless find reason to rejoice.
Jeff Abrams, founder of Rescue Ukraine, visited the Church of Christ in Zaoporizhzhia, near the front lines of the war, and spoke with 15 Christians who were baptized less than a month before his arrival. An additional 15 recent converts were unable to attend the celebration, Abrams said.
Throughout the conflict, Churches of Christ in Ukraine have provided relief items, shelter and Bible studies for their fellow Ukrainians. “Whatever is happening in Zaporizhzhia will hopefully be contagious to the rest of us,” said Abrams, who also asked for prayers for several young Ukrainian ministers who recently were conscripted into military service. See rescueukraine.com.
ZAMBIA
Kalomo — Thayer and Cheryl Salisbury made a long, muddy journey from their home in Eswatini to Namwianga Mission, where Thayer is teaching nursing and education students at George Benson Christian University. Learn about the Salisburys’ African Textbook Ministry at africantextbook.com.
