You Have Influence: Growing Christian Education in Ukraine

In 2025, TeachBeyond joined with Ukrainian teacher training organization MARXO to form TeachBeyond Ukraine. One of the primary aims of this organization has been to help Christian teachers and Christian schools across the country understand what it means to infuse the transformation of the gospel throughout every aspect of the teaching and learning experience.  

This August, MARXO celebrated 10 years of service in Ukraine and one year as TeachBeyond Ukraine by hosting a conference for Christian teachers and leaders in Western Ukraine. The theme of the conference was “You Have Influence.”  

Tetiana Chumakova, the National Director of TeachBeyond Ukraine, wanted participants to come away from the conference with more than just lectures about good teaching practices. She and her team designed the conference to include lectures, discussion groups, prayer support, shared stories, and experiential workshops. During the workshops, teachers from all levels and subject areas demonstrated actual school lessons that integrated heart-and-mind transformational practices within both the content and the pedagogical approach itself.  

Each day, the participants thought deeply about different themes connected to their influence as teachers. They explored a Christian understanding of work in general, and the work of teaching in particular. They thought about what it means to be the champion of future generations, shaping not only their educational experiences, but also the worldview of students who will become the leaders of the future. They tackled the challenging issue of what it means for teachers who have themselves experienced five years of trauma from war to teach children who are growing up with that same war-induced trauma.  

In the planning leading up to this conference, organizers were hoping for between 80 -100 participants to join them. They were concerned about the impact of holding a large gathering under the current conditions of war. The last large gathering of this sort that MARXO had been able to host was back in 2017 before first COVID and then the Russian invasion impacted the country. However, by the time the conference arrived, 168 teachers from 29 of the 31 cities in Ukraine that have Christian schools had registered, and an additional 20+ guests from other ministries reaching out to children were also in attendance.  

At the end of the conference, teachers and leaders alike were encouraged by the history of God’s continuing faithfulness in developing Christian education in Ukraine and inspired by their calling to join in the continued unfolding of this story. Tetiana shared, “I think it is time for us to share with others what God has taught us to do.” What started out as a small group of Christian educators with a heart for Christian education, has turned into a nationwide movement that continues to grow despite the extraordinary challenges that face the people of Ukraine.