SPEAKING OUT — Pastor Alex Ilash of the Well of Living Water Church in Izmail, Ukraine, left, stands with Bishop Darrell Cummings of the Bethlehem Apostolic Temple during a church service at Bethlehem Apostolic Wednesday night. -- Joselyn King

WHEELING — A Ukrainian minister told a congregation in Wheeling on Wednesday night people who know God not only should stand strong during times of crisis, they also must stand up and take action.

Pastor Alex Ilash of the Well of Living Water Church in Izmail, Ukraine, addressed those at the Bethlehem Apostolic Temple in North Wheeling. It was Ilash’s second visit to the Friendly City, the first trip coming in May 2023.

He asserted Russia’s war with Ukraine has less to do with taking over the resources in the region than it does stopping the spread of Christianity there.

Ilash explained Izmail lies mostly outside the fighting along the Romanian border about 500 miles south of Kyiv, but that hasn’t stopped his church from engaging in missionary efforts.

He and church volunteers drive the 500 miles to deliver food and supplies and feed people in Central Kyiv.

They also deliver supplies to soldiers on the front line, sometimes at their own peril, according to Ilash.

On the happier side, the volunteers also seek to deliver joy and fun to youths who are losing their childhood. They sponsor neighborhood carnivals for them that include jumping castles, cakes and cotton candy.

All the while, Ukraine continues to be bombed, Ilash continued.

He quoted Bible scripture stating, “The people who know their God will be strong and take action — not just be strong, but also do something for God.”

Ilash said his church is now attempting to drill wells and bring clean water to Ukrainian settlements that presently do not have a working water system.

The first well has been constructed on a church property, and it has a deeper meaning, he explained.

“People will be coming to that church to get their drinking water,” Ilash continued.

“They will be talking to those at the church, and they will be able to hear more about the Gospel of Jesus.”

He explained that while many know Ukraine as “the bread basket of Europe” for its fertile soil, food production and resources, it is also “the spiritual bread basket of Europe.”

In the former Soviet Union, there was no religious freedom, Ilash noted. Those who preached the Gospel there could be imprisoned for up to 20 years, and many went to jail for just having a Bible in their house.

After the Soviet Union dissolved into 16 independent republics in the 1990s, missionaries filed in to these free countries to bring Gospel and many churches were established.

“But the godless spirit of communism is still present in Russia,” he said. “Russia was never wide open for missionaries.”

Russian leaders see churches as “spies” for America and the western world, and want to stop “the revival” in Ukraine, according to Ilash.

At the time of his last visit to America in 2023, Ilash and his family had fled the war to live in Canada. He reported that about a year ago they returned to their home in Ukraine.

Ilash has been in contact with his family this week while he has been visiting America. They told him the past two nights sirens have gone off alerting them to go to a bomb shelter.

He also told the congregation that recently the church’s van used to transport needed items to Kyiv was totaled — not by bombing, but in a crash with another vehicle.

He is raising money while in America to purchase another van for the church. Those at Bethlehem Apostolic Temple stepped forward Wednesday night to donate money for the Ukrainian church’s efforts.