Until World War II, the Ukraine was home to a large Mennonite population that had migrated there in the late 1700s. Mennonites were deported eastward by the Soviet government or fled westward with the retreating German army.
The handful of Mennonites who remained behind has gathered to form a Mennonite church. In their quest to recover personal Christian faith, they requested assistance from abroad.
In 1996, the former Commission on Overseas Mission began providing pastoral leadership to the Zaporizhzhya congregation.
More recently, other Mennonite congregations have been formed as other groups have expressed interest in joining a Mennonite network.
Mennonites also participate in other church-planting ministries in the Ukraine, in cooperation with other denominations.
