Passion and Perseverance in Turkey
Life Change Teams are designed to do exactly that; change your life through giving you the opportunity to go on a short-term mission trip to the nations. Matthew Renshaw (Frontiers Church, Exeter) shares his experience of a recent trip to Turkey.
Turkey is a country with a rich Christian heritage. The seven churches addressed in Revelation are all in modern day Turkey, and cities like Ephesus once contained hundreds of churches meeting in homes. The picture today is very different, however. With a population of 70 million and fewer than 3,500 born again believers, Turkey is the largest unreached nation in the world. Less than a year ago I was totally unaware of all this; for me Turkey was just like any other nation. However, between November and February of last year God clearly began to speak to me about going to Turkey long-term.
So this August I joined a Life Change Team to Turkey for 17 days. We spent the first week in the north-west of Turkey, working with a relatively new church of around 35 people in a city of 100,000. It was great to spend time with such faithful believers who are persevering despite difficulties and opposition. It was encouraging to see their commitment to building the church, even when things are hard. I found it extremely useful meeting people who had moved to Turkey from abroad, as they gave me plenty of advice on how to prepare to move long-term and what to expect when I arrive. The greatest thing, however, was meeting the Turkish believers who had converted from Islam. I met a young man who had been persecuted by his family, and another who lived under the constant threat of being killed by his own brothers. These guys really know the cost of following Jesus!
Our second destination was Izmir on the west coast of Turkey. Again the highlight was simply meeting the Christians and hearing of how God had miraculously moved in their lives. While we were there a whole family was baptised together. The wife had simply turned up at church one day and God met with her. Subsequently the rest of her family was saved too! A young man we met had formerly been training as an Imam but became dissatisfied with Islam. He had read about Jesus in the Koran, and eventually discovered his true identity in the Bible and was saved. I also heard of a woman who was saved after Jesus appeared to her in a dream and healed her of diabetes!
For me the Life Change Team was not so much about what we did, but the people we met and the things we saw and experienced. We had opportunities to visit amazing places like Istanbul and Ephesus, to eat delicious Turkish food and to learn about the culture, but for me it was meeting the people that inspired me most. I learnt that church planting abroad is not glamorous and can be a very hard and slow process. I met believers who had sacrificed so much to be there, but had persevered as they knew God had called them to Turkey.
If you feel called abroad in any way I can wholeheartedly recommend a Life Change Team to you. It's an invaluable experience that will teach you so much! You won’t regret it!
Luke Renshaw
Frontiers Church Exeter
