Türkiye (Turkey) #2: Mutually Encouraged
Sitting with R and A as they explain their ministry
Day two: mutually encouraged
By Tom Boone, Associate Director for Mission, The Outreach Foundation
In Romans 1:11-12, Paul writes that he longs to see those in Rome “that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you — that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.” At its core, God’s mission to this world involves our ongoing discovery of what He is doing in and through one another, and in every discovery, we more and more celebrate, worship, and stand in awe of Jesus our Messiah, our Savior.
The conversations we had on day two of our visit with our Persian friends illuminate this truth. Each one was a response to William Pender’s terrific teaching on the Beatitudes as the group processed the impact of these words from Jesus. How do these work back home today? Here are two of their stories.
One woman shared how she learned mercy through her marriage to an abusive man. They divorced after many years after which she discovered joy in Christ. She and her children celebrated her new faith. Even her ex-husband, wishing to be back with her, became a Christian, yet she had no interest in him. I wanted him to go to hell! But she was persuaded to take him back and over time she learned to forgive him and they reconciled. Jesus chooses us, not the other way around. Praise Jesus.
Another woman cited Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We are supposed to leave footprints on this earth, so what is my footprint? With the recent protests, her church knows many who have been tortured and arrested without cause. Each Christmas the church takes up an offering and this year she led the way in saying they wouldn’t use the money for themselves. Instead, they used it to ransom people out of jail. Many young people gave to this. At the courthouse, the person collecting bail money was very curious about why people would do this for people they don’t even know. She told him why — God is love and we are showing His love. He wanted to know more. We gave him a Bible because he asked for one. He started reading the Bible and now has become a Christian! Praise the Lord that through these people His glory is shining vibrantly!
Leading this group of house church leaders and hosting us for this part of our visit are R. and A. They have been Christians for over twenty years and “in country” led a network of 25 house churches in eight cities. After their arrest 10 years ago, they fled but their ministry continues from their place in the diaspora. Diaspora simply refers to those no longer able to live in their country due to religious persecution, economic difficulty, war, and other circumstances. They are still waiting for approval to find a home, somewhere. They cannot stay here and their lives are fraught with many challenges. Whereas many might complain, R and A have used it all for God’s glory. They are not sitting idly! Online they equip leaders for discipleship training, evangelism, pastoral support, marriage ministry, and teaching that helps their people respond to false teaching.
R. has launched a men’s ministry that is the first of its kind. He now has two groups of 18 men each, meeting by Zoom weekly. They conduct series online that are pertinent to men: masks we wear, shame, parenting, etc. And this is making an impact. For example, one of the men in his group was a teacher in the church. He told of a day that he saw a man at church who had abused him years earlier. For the first time, he opened up to the group about his feelings of deep pain. Consequently, other men were able to open up about their circumstances and they have helped each other discover the freedom of forgiveness. Honestly, who in hearing about this is not right now glorifying God even more?
A. told us “Early in our history as believers we made the mistake of focusing only on ourselves. Now we are engaged in our society showing Jesus can make a difference,” to cancer patients, to the homeless, to the unemployed, to children and women, and helping people during the recent uprisings be Jesus in the midst of violence. People notice that Christians are different, and this prompts a question. “Why are you this way?” And then the witness continues, focusing on a message of hope in Jesus Christ. To a person, we are receiving far more than we are giving. Jesus be praised!
A quick team update: Toby Mueller and Guy Griffith finally arrived after midnight! Thank you for your prayers that delivered them safe.