Christmas Boat in Halkida!

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Is 9:6.

The House of Worship Team, The Morning Star Team, members of the two local churches as well as many friends of the ministry gathered at the port of Halkida, on the island of Evia, Sunday evening to share the joy of the season with the islanders there.

After many years of attempting to make this event happen, this year was the first time that we were actually able to make this dream a reality.

The Morning Star was beautifully adorned with Christmas lights from the bow to the stern as well as all 20 meters high to the top of the mast! Additionally, lights and garland and bows and ornaments decorated the boat both inside and out. It was truly a shining moment for the boat and a living illustration of a traditional Greek Christmas symbol, the boat.

Many who passed by were attracted to the brightly lit boat. This gave us the perfect opportunity to explain to them the history of the boat and how it traveled from California to Greece to be used for ministry purposes.

Dressed in Santa hats, we had multiple forms of ministry happening at the same time. The band was playing on deck, servers were handing out hot chocolate and cookies on the pier, cooks were preparing warm drinks in the galley, others were offering tours of the boat and evangelism teams were conversing with people along the waterfront.

It was incredible. Such a picturesque time, such an opportunity to share the HOPE of the season-Jesus Christ!

Thank you so much for praying for this outreach. Please pray for lasting fruit from the many spiritual conversations we had that day.

Christmas Love Meals

Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Acts 20:35

What a special time to share the love of Christ at our Christmas Love Meals. This past weekend we served over 700 people as we hosted three different meals for the refugees and the homeless. The hall was brightly decorated with lights and trees and stars, and the room was filled with warm cheer as many hands worked together to bless those who live out on the streets of Athens.

The festivities began Saturday afternoon as we served a gourmet chicken meal to the Greek homeless people. In addition to the warm lunch, we entertained them with Greek Christmas carols and worship songs and the story of Jesus’ birth. After the meal, the guests were served traditional Greek sweets and fruit and each were given a gift as we said goodbye.

Saturday evening the crowd swelled as the hall was filled with Farsi speaking Afghan families. Students from the American Community School entertained with Christmas songs and as a special treat, Shawn Skinner performed a fire dancing routine. The audience was enthralled and we then explained that Jesus is the Light of the World. The children received toys, the families a food bag and blanket, and the young men a coat or sleeping bag.

Monday evening our final love meal was for Arabic speaking people. The hall was full once again. Christmas cheer sang out from the stage as a band played and a skit was performed that told the story of Cain and Abel, and the sacrifice that is acceptable to God. We followed this by sharing how Jesus came to earth to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. After the dinner and desserts, the music continued and spontaneous dancing erupted around the room. This was perhaps the liveliest party of all, and a fitting end to the weekend.

Thank you to so many who helped make these festivities possible, from the coordinators, to the cooks, to the decorators, to the countless volunteers who served and cleaned up and to those of you, our friends, who gave sacrificially to provide for these gifts and meals. A very special thank you to Helping Hands Ministry for the generous donation of numerous toys that we shared with happy children!

Construction begins at the Hope Center!

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in You.
Psalm 33:22

Finally, after a 2.5+ year process, the building is legally in our name and construction work has begun on The Hope Center. The architectural drawings have been completed and clean up has started!

South African Pastors Visit!

Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. Philemon 1:7

Six pastors from South Africa spent the past week in Greece viewing the
Biblical sites, interacting with local Greek pastors and experiencing the
various aspects of the work.

They were staggered by the need and the effectiveness of the work of Hellenic Ministry (HM) in Greece. They have all promised to return and bring teams with them for the New Testament distribution next summer. This heralds the start of new partnerships for HM in South Africa.

They were particularly impressed by the effective work being done via the
Love Meals and the discipleship groups amongst the refugees. They were also
moved by the plight of Evangelical pastors striving to communicate the
evangelical gospel in a society where Evangelicals are regarded as
"heretics" and are often ostracized by the rest of the community.

We would like to encourage other Christian leaders and pastors from around
the world to come to Greece and see the work that is being accomplished by
Hellenic Ministries. Greece has never had a revival or a reformation -
maybe it is God's time for Greece!

Nico Bougas

Athens Marathon October 31, 2010

Yesterday nearly 13,000 people ran past our house 4 blocks away on Marathon Blvd. It was the commemorative Athens Classic Marathon that marked 2,500 years since the battle of Marathon and that traced the course run by the fabled Greek soldier who ran to Athens to bring the news of the victory.

History records the story of how the Persian Emperor, Darius, attacked the little city of Marathon, 42 kilometres north of Athens and lost to the Athenians. Believe it or not, this was the same “King Darius” who looked down into the den of lions to see if Daniel was still alive!

Times have changed, battles haven’t. There is huge battle raging here in Greece and in the heavenlies for the precious souls of the Greek people. The fabled Pheidippides was the messenger of victory then! Today, it’s you and I who must proclaim that the victory has been won over this land. We must herald the news everywhere that victory is sure.

Thank you for persevering and “running this race” with us in prayer. The battle is dependent on you! The Kingdom of God is gaining ground here in Greece. Keep praying, keep running and proclaiming His victory!

Hebrews 12: 1-1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

Johnathan Macris

Teen Worship Begins!

Last night we as teenagers had our first Teen Worship event of the year. A group of 10 teens organized the program and led the worship!

We were surprised at the turn out of kids that came as we had up to 50!

It was a time to grow as a team since there are new members and it was a blessing to see a new group forming replacing those that are no longer teens and not a single person remaining from the original team.

Praise the Lord that this ministry is moving forward!

The evening was filled with music, laugher, worship and a wonderful presentation on Faith, our theme for this year. Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

We left encouraged and blessed, believing that the Lord has mighty works to do through this generation as we stand up for what we believe in and reach out to our peers; this being the goal for Teen Worship, to encourage and strengthen the Christian teens of Greece!

Natassa Macris

The Lord is my Shepherd

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. Ps 23:1

It was yet another Sunday evening where people of all ages gathered together to worship God once again.

Upon entering the room, you could feel the difference of atmosphere that was in contrast to that of the world outside those walls. Being in a room with people you might not even know usually brings about a certain awkwardness or uneasiness you can't escape, and yet in this case everyone seemed to be bonding and uniting on a whole new level. It might have been the candles, it might have been the music, it might even have been just someone's smile, but in my opinion, something beyond our own understanding is what brings us together. This is what being part of God's family is all about, feeling like you belong even if you’ve never been there before.

The night began with a video of a cute little girl singing with everything she had and praising God. The joy of the Lord was reflected in the spark of her eyes as she sang the words of the song. It was a good example to the rest of us, reminding us how true worship should be about where your heart is. Later on we all sang a few songs accompanied by the worship team band. The presence of God could be felt throughout the room. Carrying on in that same atmosphere, the drama team presented a small pantomime showing how God takes all our burdens away. Jonathan Macris expanded on that thought using Psalm 23 and talking about Jesus as the Good Shepherd. He then challenged us about how we are following the Shepherd and if we are telling others about Him.

The night ended with everyone socializing over a table covered with snacks and sharing their experiences with each other. It was a really blessed night and we are looking forward to seeing how God is going to continue working through this ministry and what He is going to teach us in the year to come.

Anastasia Papadopoulou

Operation Joshua 2.5!

During OJ2, in the summer of 2009, some 50 villages in the Peloponnese were left un-reached due to lack of time and resources. We’ve been planning to finish these villages for some time now and last Saturday we finally got the chance.

Joining our staff we had some friends of the mission along with a team from Sweden and the Gideons, who had graciously given us the New Testaments to complete this task.

We met up early Saturday morning to go over the plan, form the teams and load up the cars with the NT packs. We traveled in convoy and then split up to go to our respective villages.

In just one short afternoon and with the help of many enthusiastic participants, we were able to cover 12 villages! The distribution went much faster than expected and by lunchtime we were done. We all enjoyed a great meal together at a seaside restaurant in Kalamata and then headed home.

OJ 2.5 was a great time of fellowship and another step forward in delivering a New Testament to every door in the Peloponnese!

Please pray with us that God’s Word will not return void. (Isaiah 55:11)

For more Operation Joshua news see www.operationjoshua.net

The journey of a refugee

What does the Lord require of you but to act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

I met Reza last week at our Love Meals ministry, where we provide showers and laundry and food for people in need, especially refugees. Reza and I were both sitting down outside on the roof top of our hall in downtown Athens, and when I walked up to him, I noticed right away that he was open to have a conversation and that he was a sincere man. As we talked I learned that he was an Iranian who had been living in Afghanistan for years. He spoke such broken English that at times it was difficult for both of us to communicate what we were trying to say, but in the end we were able to understand each other sufficiently.

Reza is on a journey as a refugee. He told me that he was planning on going to Italy and Germany before he goes to Denmark where he hopes to find a job and establish a life there.

So Reza, on his adventure to find a better life, has found himself at our hall, where he has been introduced to the Gospel. Only God knows how this ministry will affect the life of Reza in the long run. All we know is that at this juncture in his life, we have great opportunity to be a blessing to him.

Please keep him in your prayers and also pray that we will be effective in our service to the refugees here in Greece.

Submitted by Michael Epp

The Blessing of A Multicultural Staff

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith, if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching…” Romans 12:6-7

John is an HM missionary who lives in Egypt and who does evangelism and teaching there. While he was in Greece this past month, he was able to bring his gifting to the Bible college in Athens to share his vision and strategy for reaching into the Muslim world. We pray that many young people were inspired and challenged by his words.

It is such an asset to the team of our mission to have people from different countries, with different gifts and different abilities, as it gives us a broader ability to minister the gospel to the world!

Please pray for John as he ministers in Egypt and for fruitful blessing that would be encouraging to him.

House of Worship

The first Worship Event of the Fall 2010 season began today! We gathered on the top floor of our hall in downtown Athens and worshiped the Lord and shared in fellowship. It was a very multi-cultural expression of praise to the Lord led first by a group from Sweden and then later by a Greek worship team. It was a small foretaste of the day when people from every tribe, tongue and nation will be worshipping the Father together in heaven.

We were encouraged in the Word of God to “live the life” that God has given us in his Son, instead of begging God to do things when He has given us everything already to do great things for the Kingdom. We have the Living Water dwelling within us and wherever we go, Jesus goes with us… to the streets of Athens and to the ends of the earth. Let our worship have such an effect!

Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:38

Mini Missions School 2010

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Mt 28:18-20

The second annual Mini Mission School was hosted again at Porto Astro the last weekend of September. We enjoyed warm fellowship as were challenged to live lives in obedience to the Great Commission and to the call of God.

It was a time of equipping, where we learned about Animism and Islam and how to communicate with people in New Age for the sake of the Gospel.

It was a time of learning from experienced people who have followed the call of God and have gone before us to the ends of the earth.

It was a time of enjoying Indian, Egyptian, an Indonesian food, just as a sampling of the many different culinary delights of the world.

In the end, as we let the Lord touch our hearts and as we were encouraged to live for Him, these things together made this event worth it’s time and effort.

Greek participant highlights:

Among the 23 attendees, three pregnant women praying for God to touch the lives of their unborn babies to have a part in world missions.

Popi - I would have not missed it for the world even though I was coming
down with the flue/cold and had lost my voice. God spoke to my heart and
touched my spirit.

Irini - I must take the overnight bus to Xanthi and will work straight away
in a coffee shop - but never mind. It was a life changing experience and
worth all the costs.

Christos and Ilias- it was a great time of spiritual refreshment, just what I needed to refresh me in spirit, body and soul.

Operation Joshua 3 Recap

60,000 New Testaments delivered in the Peleponese,
in 6 days with over 200 participants!

Come join us for Operation Joshua 4, Summer of 2011.
For more info see www.operationjoshua.net

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.Psalm 119:105

Summer @ Porto Astro 2010

Here is a look at this year's summer camps....

...and whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. I Co 10:31

Spiritual Fruit in the North!

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47

Exciting things are happening in the small church pastored by one of our Greek nationals, Haris Gantes, in a small church in Northern Greece. 8 new believers have been baptized within the last six months!

While this new growth spurt is the result of one girl getting saved and telling another and another and another, it is also the result of many years of faithfully planting spiritual seeds in this area by Haris and before him by another HM Greek national missionary, Panagiotis.

Haris truly has a pastor’s heart and is leading the way in evangelizing and training up new believers. He meets for two hours every day with serious disciples in order to instruct them in the Word of God.

In addition, it is exciting to watch God unveil His plans for this church as He is already raising up leaders within the new believers. One man clearly has the gift of evangelism and he is going out with two to three others, visiting in people’s homes to share the gospel with them. They even video these sessions so that Haris can coach them when he is not available to go out with the team. Multiplication is happening on the initiative of the new believers and beyond Haris’ time and availability.

Additionally, Saturday mornings children’s Sunday school programs are held, organized and hosted by the new believers in their houses. After the spiritual lessons, the children are helped with their schoolwork. The Greeks are also tutoring the non-Greeks in language learning.

Church is held Sunday morning and Thursday evenings in a remote location that is 25 minutes out of town. Please pray for God to provide them with a church in town.

Haris also writes and publishes an evangelistic magazine twice a year that he hand delivers to about 5,000 businesses and neighbors.

Please continue to pray for Haris and his family and their church, that God will continue to work mightily in their midst.

Please also pray for these new believers and the challenges they face as they begin to live their lives as new creations in Christ.

God’s Heart for Missions and the Islands!

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Rom 10:14
One of our missionaries just recently returned from a trip to Larissa and the islands of Alonissos and Skorpelos, where God is at work in a big way.

In Larissa, Karin was following up with three young Greek girls who had accompanied her on a missions trip to Uganda in 2009. She was delighted to meet the parents of the girls and to further challenge the girls missionally. One of the girls agreed to fast and pray for 7 days to seek God’s will for her future.

Karin and a pastor and his wife then traveled on the islands to organize a Greek home fellowship there. They were able to connect with believers as they visited in their homes, and prayed and studied the Word of God together. While they were there, God laid a burden for island ministry on the pastor and his wife. There is a huge need to connect the isolated believers on the islands for fellowship, teaching and evangelism.

Please pray for God to continue to lead Greeks into missions and island ministry.

Praising the Lord for His Protection!

Psalm 5:11
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

We are rejoicing in the Lord for His continued protection over us as we minister to hundreds of refugees each week at Evripidou Hall in downtown Athens. Often times circumstances have driven these people to feel quite hopeless and they are not afraid to take desperate measures to get what they want or to express the frustration they are feeling.

One a recent Monday evening when the hall was packed with about 200 refugee men and families, a fight broke out at one of the tables. One of the men grabbed another, punches were exchanged, chairs went flying and one man banged the other’s head against the glass window. The window shattered and glass fell in pieces down 7 floors onto the sidewalk and the street.

The fight was broken up and thankfully no one was hurt. Our staff sat together with the men and repentance and reconciliation occurred followed by a time of prayer and singing.

We are also so grateful that no one was injured by the falling glass on the sidewalk below.

The five large windows in the hall have now all been replaced with shatterproof glass and we are praising God that He kept so many from any harm that night. We continue to trust Him as our shield and our protector!

Please continue to pray with us for God to provide the €2,400 needed for the replacement windows.

The Beautiful Feet of the Gospel

As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:15

Over the past weekend I had the privilege of traveling to northern Greece to visit two of our national workers. As I drove from home to home visiting people with one of them, I began to notice a common element to all the stories. I would ask Ilias, "Where did you meet this person, and where did you meet that one?" The answer was always the same "I met them while I was preaching on the train." Over the course of 2 days and many stories I had a profound respect for the power of the gospel.

At last we came to the home of the other national worker, Harris. He is pastor of a small church fellowship and over the past few months, a whole family and two other individuals have become believers. Harris did not preach to them on the train, but day in and day out faithfully lived out his faith in that community. It was the love of God in the life of Harris that drew these people. It was the love of God in Harris that I saw gently caring for those entrusted into his care.

What I saw in Ilias and Harris were beautiful feet each using unique gifts. I will leave you with the last verse of the song "Beautiful feet" by Lecrae. My prayer is the same as his.

“I pray that more would be burdened to have beautiful feet
you never knew the streets but truth is what you preach
I pray to God you'd be burdened for beautiful feet
Go, go, go (run with those beautiful feet).”


Heath Meikle

Wheaton Bible Church GO Team!

What an incredible privilege it was to host a construction team of 8 men from Wheaton Bible Church this last week. From the beginning to the end of the trip, we were incredibly blessed by their visit.

With their help, we were able to begin a remodeling project that HM has been dreaming of for years; moving the kitchen from the 8th floor to the 7th floor at HM's Evripidou Hall in downtown Athens. In just 5 working days the team was able to accomplish so much. They tore out existing structures and laid floor drains, plumbing, electric, did plastering, framing, drywall, taping and poured a concrete floor for the new kitchen and adjacent office space.

It was a long week of work, with many, many hours of labor but also filled with plenty of laughs and spiritual fellowship as the guys worked side by side. The hit of the week was the cooking that was done for the team by Akbar's wife, Leyla. What a gift her gracious and joyful service was to the team.

Now that we have started this renovation, it is only a matter of time before it can change the way the hall is used as we serve the refugees and the homeless there each week!

We ask you all to continue to pray that God would send more teams here to finish the work that this team started.

Could God be asking you to be part of a construction team to Greece in the future?! We hope so!!

The Call to Missions? The Call to Haiti?

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8)

The focus of our most recent House of Worship was the devastation caused by the horrendous earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 12, 2010. We were mesmerized as we watched a power point that brought to life the reality of the destruction.

Our hearts broke as we saw the collapsed buildings with people buried alive in them, and the children wandering the streets without food, searching for their families, susceptible even to the viles of human traffickers taking advantage of the tragedy. Hopeless faces without the basic necessities of life. We rejoiced as we viewed one little life rescued out of the rubble and as we saw many of our Christian brothers and sisters ministering in the relief efforts already.

We spent concentrated time praying in small groups begging God to undertake for the people of Haiti.
And we were challenged to ask ourselves…how can we help?
What can we do?
We asked God to give us all a vision beyond Greece, to the needs of other hurting people in Haiti, but also all over the world.
We were challenged to ask the question…is God calling me from my comfort zone here to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others in a foreign land?

Please pray for the young people of Greece, to hear and obey the call to missions.
Pray for HM as we are considering sending a team of Greeks to Haiti in the near future.