Greetings to you all from Antalya Turkey,
We hope and pray that you are well. We are doing fine as a family, as much as is possible during these Corona times. Praise the Lord that our family members are all fine. Life is not much different from my previous update. We continue to homeschool our two boys, which was never an option in Turkey before Corona. It has been a struggle for Buse and me as we try to work out the dynamics. Josiah is becoming a teenager which is definitely not making it easy for us. Our younger boy David was supposed to start school this year, but since life is so different with Corona we decided that he should wait a year and go to first grade face to face with his classmates and teacher.
In our previous updates we have mentioned that changes were coming to our lives. After more than two years of praying and getting feedback from friends, mentors and co-workers, we have made the decision to make working for our national ministries a full-time job. I have stepped down from my Pastoral position after almost 11 years and will be working for Via Christus, Acts 29 and Reach Turkey, working mostly with Pastors. We are not leaving our church and I will continue to serve the church in the pulpit 3 out of 4 Sundays at least until the end of the year. This is bittersweet for Buse and I after 11 years, however we feel that the time has come. Sometimes it was tough, sometimes it was encouraging…but it has been an amazing journey for us with God alongside us, building us up to become more like Him. Since our family and church are positive about us taking these steps we are feeling excited for future opportunities. Surely if the Lord opens doors in the future we would love to serve or possibly plant another church, but this is not part of any plans at the moment.
We hope and pray that you are well. We are doing fine as a family, as much as is possible during these Corona times. Praise the Lord that our family members are all fine. Life is not much different from my previous update. We continue to homeschool our two boys, which was never an option in Turkey before Corona. It has been a struggle for Buse and me as we try to work out the dynamics. Josiah is becoming a teenager which is definitely not making it easy for us. Our younger boy David was supposed to start school this year, but since life is so different with Corona we decided that he should wait a year and go to first grade face to face with his classmates and teacher.
In our previous updates we have mentioned that changes were coming to our lives. After more than two years of praying and getting feedback from friends, mentors and co-workers, we have made the decision to make working for our national ministries a full-time job. I have stepped down from my Pastoral position after almost 11 years and will be working for Via Christus, Acts 29 and Reach Turkey, working mostly with Pastors. We are not leaving our church and I will continue to serve the church in the pulpit 3 out of 4 Sundays at least until the end of the year. This is bittersweet for Buse and I after 11 years, however we feel that the time has come. Sometimes it was tough, sometimes it was encouraging…but it has been an amazing journey for us with God alongside us, building us up to become more like Him. Since our family and church are positive about us taking these steps we are feeling excited for future opportunities. Surely if the Lord opens doors in the future we would love to serve or possibly plant another church, but this is not part of any plans at the moment.
Antalya Protestant Church
As I mentioned above, I have stepped down from my Pastoral position. Please pray for the future of our church during this transition. Pastor Mustafa and his wife Marian will be coming and joining us to serve among us. He is a new pastor and I desire to help him. I plan to support Mustafa and coach him so that he will be able to take more and more of a leadership position at our church. Our hope is that this transition will be a smooth one.
Unfortunately our church, along with many other churches, is not doing great. We have only been able to gather face to face for about 2 months out of the last 11 months. We survived the first wave of Corona but have struggled with this second round. Like many people around the world, most of our church members struggle with finances. These financial and health issues have been very hard. But this has also been a time that showed us how much we miss seeing each other. While this has created coldness toward the church and Bible for some people, others could not wait to get together. Because our province continues to be under Sunday curfew, we have finally been able to gather for the last three weeks on Saturday. Keeping social distancing, with masks on, limited people came the first week. We were blessed with several visitors during our second meeting. While we miss the food and tea during our social time after the service, it is so good to be able to gather.
We have several men who have begun to serve the Lord. We have had some weekday studies during which we study the book of Romans. It has been encouraging to hear their questions and observe their growth in the faith. We pray for more local leaders in the coming years.
Evangelism
These dark times have made people research about God, with different types of people asking questions. We are part of project in which people can request a Bible at no cost. One of our members is then tasked with following up to be sure they have received their Bible, inform them of churches in their area and answer questions that they may have. We are encouraged to see the growth in confidence as he communicates with these people.
As I mentioned above, I have stepped down from my Pastoral position. Please pray for the future of our church during this transition. Pastor Mustafa and his wife Marian will be coming and joining us to serve among us. He is a new pastor and I desire to help him. I plan to support Mustafa and coach him so that he will be able to take more and more of a leadership position at our church. Our hope is that this transition will be a smooth one.
Unfortunately our church, along with many other churches, is not doing great. We have only been able to gather face to face for about 2 months out of the last 11 months. We survived the first wave of Corona but have struggled with this second round. Like many people around the world, most of our church members struggle with finances. These financial and health issues have been very hard. But this has also been a time that showed us how much we miss seeing each other. While this has created coldness toward the church and Bible for some people, others could not wait to get together. Because our province continues to be under Sunday curfew, we have finally been able to gather for the last three weeks on Saturday. Keeping social distancing, with masks on, limited people came the first week. We were blessed with several visitors during our second meeting. While we miss the food and tea during our social time after the service, it is so good to be able to gather.
We have several men who have begun to serve the Lord. We have had some weekday studies during which we study the book of Romans. It has been encouraging to hear their questions and observe their growth in the faith. We pray for more local leaders in the coming years.
Evangelism
These dark times have made people research about God, with different types of people asking questions. We are part of project in which people can request a Bible at no cost. One of our members is then tasked with following up to be sure they have received their Bible, inform them of churches in their area and answer questions that they may have. We are encouraged to see the growth in confidence as he communicates with these people.
Via Christus and Acts29
In addition to preaching sermons at our church, which are also shared via YouTube, my day to day work concentrates on our national ministries. I regularly write articles and prepare websites for Christians and now also for pastors. We are in the process of creating the first website exclusively for pastors in Turkish. I have been running a series of pastoral studies, serving other pastors in their spiritual growth. We do cohorts and study times, as well as some personal coaching. I have been visiting them as much as possible and after the virus is under control I hope to visit pastors in other Turkic countries. We have learned that there are 6 Turkish pastors going through deportation process. In the past we have seen many foreigners banned from the country but now they are targeting Turkish pastors married to foreign wives. I know 5 of them and have been working closely with 3 of them. While this is difficult for them, I have seen that they are all sure that this persecution is the will of God and they are at peace. Due to these events I will likely need to provide some pulpit supply as well as training, coaching and support. This past year we were unable to have Pastoral Academies or conferences but we hope to be able to provide these in the coming year.
Recently I preached through Psalm 107, God’s deliverance for His people after they cried out to Him. I included the story of Horatio Spafford who lost 4 daughters in a ship collision. Passing the area where they died he wrote the hymn “It is Well with My Soul.” With these persecutions the Lord is teaching us to say “it is well with my soul.”
In addition to preaching sermons at our church, which are also shared via YouTube, my day to day work concentrates on our national ministries. I regularly write articles and prepare websites for Christians and now also for pastors. We are in the process of creating the first website exclusively for pastors in Turkish. I have been running a series of pastoral studies, serving other pastors in their spiritual growth. We do cohorts and study times, as well as some personal coaching. I have been visiting them as much as possible and after the virus is under control I hope to visit pastors in other Turkic countries. We have learned that there are 6 Turkish pastors going through deportation process. In the past we have seen many foreigners banned from the country but now they are targeting Turkish pastors married to foreign wives. I know 5 of them and have been working closely with 3 of them. While this is difficult for them, I have seen that they are all sure that this persecution is the will of God and they are at peace. Due to these events I will likely need to provide some pulpit supply as well as training, coaching and support. This past year we were unable to have Pastoral Academies or conferences but we hope to be able to provide these in the coming year.
Recently I preached through Psalm 107, God’s deliverance for His people after they cried out to Him. I included the story of Horatio Spafford who lost 4 daughters in a ship collision. Passing the area where they died he wrote the hymn “It is Well with My Soul.” With these persecutions the Lord is teaching us to say “it is well with my soul.”
Pray
Pray for the Turkish pastors and their families as they face being banned from Turkey.
Pray for Mustafa and Marian, for the Lord to open doors for them.
Pray for the transition at Antalya Protestant Church
Pray that the Corona virus will be controlled, for people’s health and increased job opportunities.
Pray as we transition from our Pastoral Ministry.
Pray for wisdom as we raise our sons.
Praise
Praise God for the health of the members of our church
Praise God for providing wonderful opportunities in our ministries. This year seems very hopeful.
Praise God for His faithfulness in our lives as we make this transition.
Pray for the Turkish pastors and their families as they face being banned from Turkey.
Pray for Mustafa and Marian, for the Lord to open doors for them.
Pray for the transition at Antalya Protestant Church
Pray that the Corona virus will be controlled, for people’s health and increased job opportunities.
Pray as we transition from our Pastoral Ministry.
Pray for wisdom as we raise our sons.
Praise
Praise God for the health of the members of our church
Praise God for providing wonderful opportunities in our ministries. This year seems very hopeful.
Praise God for His faithfulness in our lives as we make this transition.