Billy Graham Team Sends Member to Encourage Ukraine's Church Leaders, Meet with Interim President Turchynov

BGEA Staff : Mar 3, 2014
BillyGraham.org

Viktor Hamm, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Vice President of Crusades, knows the region well. Born inside an infamous Soviet labor camp in what is now northwest Russia, he became a Christian preacher—against all odds—and has preached the Gospel on Ukrainian street corners, military bases and in stadiums as a BGEA associate evangelist.

(Kiev, Ukraine)—Viktor Hamm arrived in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday in the midst of an escalating crisis that has grabbed the attention of the world.

Hamm, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Vice President of Crusades, knows the region well. Born inside an infamous Soviet labor camp in what is now northwest Russia, he became a Christian preacher—against all odds—and has preached the Gospel on Ukrainian street corners, military bases and in stadiums as a BGEA associate evangelist.

But before Hamm ever dreamed of proclaiming the hope of Christ publicly in Ukraine, Billy Graham helped fling open the doors of evangelism in the Soviet Union when he first visited the region in the 1980s, under communist rule.

Decades later, his son, Franklin Graham, would continue to carry the torch by sharing the Gospel with tens of thousands of Ukrainians in 2007.
This week, Viktor Hamm is returning to Ukraine to encourage the many churches affected by the violent uprisings that have taken place in the country.

"My visit to Ukraine is to show BGEA support to the churches and encourage church leaders to focus on Kingdom goals even in this tragic hour," he said.

Hamm hopes to meet with his friend, Oleksandr Turchynov, who was thrust into the international spotlight when the Ukrainian parliament ousted President Viktor Yanukovych and made Turchynov acting president of the country.

"Mr. Turchynov is a member of an evangelical church in Kiev, a solid evangelical Believer, a Brother in Christ and a great political leader," Hamm said. "With all that he has on his plate right now, he needs our prayers for great wisdom, stamina and peace."

Hamm's visit to an increasingly divided Ukraine comes 26 years after Billy Graham visited the same city, when it was still under communist rule.

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