Welcoming Ukrainian families into church life

The questions families carry

• Where can we worship?
• Will we understand the service?
• Is there someone we can talk to?
• Can our children take part?

Start with clear information, personal introductions and an invitation that lets people decide how much they want to share.

Ukrainian speakers in the United States

The program's official count stops in 2023. The advocacy group Ukraine Task Force counts almost 240,000 people paroled through it between May 2022 and December 2024. Some found Slavic churches that earlier generations of immigrants had built; others came to English-speaking congregations.

Let each person choose the language

When you meet a Ukrainian newcomer, ask which language they prefer, both for conversation and for worship, and let them choose. Ukrainian and Russian are not interchangeable. Many Ukrainians speak both, and for some the choice carries real weight today. Nationality also tells you nothing about someone's church tradition or beliefs.

If you offer translation, offer Ukrainian, and add Russian if people ask for it. Each listener picks their own.

Partner with Ukrainian and Slavic churches

Ask about the connections people already have. Someone may want to join your congregation, visit a Ukrainian-speaking church, or stay close to a community they knew before. Offer introductions that support their choice; a partnership with a Ukrainian pastor or congregation can matter a great deal to people who want worship in a familiar tradition.

Churches in England show how local the need can be. A Ukrainian-speaking Baptist congregation began meeting in a host church in northeast London on March 1, 2026; it grew out of a home Bible study, and by June it had a dozen members and up to twenty regular worshipers. North of London, a Baptist church in King's Lynn hosts a Slavic Pentecostal congregation whose members used to travel to London every Sunday to worship in their own language. Its services are in Ukrainian and Russian, with translation for English-speaking guests.

Practical care, offered freely

Churches have long met practical needs too. A study of the Catholic Church in Poland during the first eight months of the 2022 invasion documented help with housing, material and financial support, psychological care, education and free language courses.

For your congregation, practical hospitality might start with a volunteer who explains how Sunday works, helps a family find the children's program, or introduces them to a local community organization. Offer help on clear terms, free to accept or decline, and give people time to decide whether they want more contact.

Worship they can follow

When a family chooses to attend a service in English, live translation lets them follow it. With ChurchTranslator.AI, listeners scan the church's QR code, choose Ukrainian or Russian and hear the sermon translated, with captions, in their phone's browser. A free iPhone and iPad app is there for regulars. It works the other way too: a church that preaches in Ukrainian can offer English to the children, spouses and guests who follow best in English. See our Ukrainian and Russian language guides.

Room for belonging

A translated sermon helps someone follow the teaching; relationships give them a chance to ask a question, share a concern and get to know the church. Introduce people with their permission, and never ask anyone to recount the war as part of a public welcome.

When newcomers are ready, invite them to contribute. They may bring music, teaching experience, pastoral gifts or skills that have nothing to do with language. Ask what they would enjoy and what would make it comfortable.

A church can start this week: check its arrival information, contact a Ukrainian church nearby, and ask a newcomer what would help. Let that conversation shape the next invitation.

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Uniting for Ukraine Process Overview and Assessment,” November 4, 2024
2. Ukraine Task Force, “Uniting for Ukraine: A Four-Year Retrospective,” May 20, 2026
3. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year and 2020–2024 5-year estimates, table B16001
4. European Baptist Federation, “Refugee Week stories: welcoming a new Ukrainian congregation in London,” June 2026
5. King's Lynn Baptist Church, Slavic language service
6. Mróz, F., “Geographies of Care: The Catholic Church in Poland's Assistance to Refugees from Ukraine During Russia's Invasion of Ukraine,” Journal of Religion and Health 62 (2023)