I was supposed to meet the pastor Umut, but due to COVID-19 the meeting was held via video. He leads the Danish European Mission's project in the country. Umut has a thorough knowledge of the church's situation.
How have you been doing during COVID-19?
- At the beginning of the year, I was on the verge of burning out after 10 years of being a church pastor and family man. I had reached a point where I couldn't think straight and was taking antidepressants. Starting in February this year, I spent three months alone for 80 % of the time and had many opportunities to be face to face with God. And then covid-19 began, during which I also had good opportunities for quiet time filled with Jesus and prayer, including in the woods.
Slowly, my soul began to calm down. I started to think healthier, I started toe To enjoy things again. I was filled with new strength. It's not easy to struggle alone in this world, for you or me, and we need to spend time with God.
Everything we have trusted in this world has been shaken by the pandemic. It says: darkness covers the earth, darkness covers the peoples; but the Lord will break forth upon you, his glory will be seen upon you (Isaiah 60:2, ed.). We pray that people will seek God, and I believe that after COVID-19, people will flock to church.
How is the church planting project going?
- The project is brand new and was started during COVID-19, so not everything is in place yet. In Turkey, solutions are being found, while walking," says Umut with a smile.
- The background to the project is that around 65 missionary families have been expelled from Turkey. Others have been expelled in the past, but this is an actual campaign against the missionaries. As a result, many churches have been undermined as many of the expelled are leaders of ethnick Turkish Christians or have had some other crucial service to the convert church. This has created a gap in the church.
There are around 150-200 such missionaries left in Turkey who are actively involved in the local Turkish church, but many of them are planning to leave the country as they see, that they could be deported at any moment. There are another larger group missionaries in Turkey who chooses A more anonymous service and supports the Turkish church from a more secluded Position.
Because of the many expulsions, I realized that it is time for native Turkish Christians to take responsibility for planting new churches. The project stands on two legs: partly to raise healthy Christian families and partly to start new churches with some of these healthy families. The project is not only to plant new churches, but the main focus is on discipleship and from there creating healthy churches.
We currently support two families and one single man as church planters. I (Danish European Mission, ed.) covers the salary, while we and another church provide buildings. We are looking for a person, that can build bridges to refugees, including those from Syria.
How does the menigAre the plants trained?
Already ourIt Church the largest in Turkey, and 90 % of the members have a Muslim background. Thus, there are many families who have the opportunity to engage in church planting work. The two families, that is now underway, I have known for many years, And these are people we trust. That's why it's easy for ourIt church to start new congregations.
They are already mature Christians and groundedof in faith, so there is no need for much theological teaching, but we help them to discover their gifts. We give them the opportunity to try different roles in churchnFor example, leading cell groups, preaching, evangelizing, leading worship, camps, and children and youth work. Based on how the training develops, we send them out for to plant churches or for to strengthen an existing congregation. We also encourage them to look inward and receive inner healing from of burdener, they have carried from the past.
Because of COVID-19, many are coming to faith in Jesus, and many even find their way to the church themselves. That's why we have the project, so we can Welcoming Turks, who are looking towards the church - and then we can build churches with healthy leaders who are transformationalt By God.
Mange Thank you for your heart for Turkey! Your (Donors of the Danish European Mission, ed.) "Support means a lot to us," Umut concludes.
Persecution in Turkey
Since the beginning of 2019 is 65 missionreverenceenvironmenthas been expelled from Turkey. In July 2020, Hagia Sofia was transformed into a mosqueé After that have been a museum since 1934. In 2019, the South Korean missionary, Jinwook Kim, stabbed to death on the street in Diyarkabir.
However, many Turks are looking for Jesus. Conservative estimates saythat the number of af convert Christians has grown from 4500 to 6000 in recent years, but others saythat The number is higher.
