A small group of believers in Southeastern Turkey has remained faithful in their evangelism efforts throughout the pandemic. With safety procedures implemented at their church, they have been able to receive many visitors, many of who are Muslims and have had many great opportunities to share the Good News of Gospel and hand out literature.
Many of the people they share with are amazed when they hear what the Gospel has to say. They accept that it is good and true, but they struggle to make a commitment to the faith because of the pressure from people surrounding them in their community. We’re not just talking about hundreds of people, but literally thousands of people who are visiting the church and who would come to faith if not for their fear of what others might say or do to them. In fact, there are people who do make a profession of faith and yet still won’t attend church or be involved in a Christian community. Many confess that it is because of the pressure they experience from their families and friends.
In the past 3 months, there have been 4 people who came to faith who won’t come due to this fear and pressure. We want to invite you to pray specifically for those who come to faith to find the courage to be involved in a church! You can also pray that, on a larger scale, the Lord would break the spirit of fear that is so widespread in Turkey.
Despite the community pressures, there have been those who have come to faith and are in regular contact with the church! Several of these new believers are working through baptism classes. Please pray for these brothers and sisters.
In one Turkish province, there was a large Muslim family who has done some research on their family history and discovered that they came from a Syriac (or Assyrian) Christian background, having converted to Islam around 120 years ago. They reached out to the church and invited them to their home, and they will continue to visit them. Their hearts are open to the Gospel, so open, in fact, that they included cross-shaped symbols into their newly built home – something unheard of in Muslim areas. Pray that the Lord would lead this entire family to Himself and save them. Pray that He would completely remove any fear that they are experiencing.
This faithful church has predominantly been carried by one man and his family. They have an urgent need for more workers in this area of Southeastern Turkey. The government has not allowed foreign ministry workers to remain in this region so they specifically need local believers or those who sense a call from other cities in Turkey to serve alongside them. In a very real way, it’s clear, as the Lord has said that; “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”Let’sPray that the Lord of the Harvest would provide workers for this very important harvest field.
If you would like to partner financially with what God is doing right now on this part of the Highway you can do so by…. 100% of what you give will go directly to the Church in this part of Turkey.