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