Local authorities did not issue permission to hold services this year in open, public places. Istanbul, together with the suburbs, has more than twenty-five million people. In recent years, there has been an interest in Christianity among the younger generation.
We arrived as a group in Istanbul and we decided to distribute spiritual literature and the Gospels to people right on the streets. This is a ministry is unsafe for everyone. No one can foresee how the population will react when they get offered the gospel. Some behave very aggressively and make a police report, who then makes an arrest and might deport from the country. When we were walking around the streets offering the Gospel, we saw a miracle happening, people were willingly accepting it. After our backpacks and bags were empty, we returned time after time, filling our bags with literature, and again went to the designated areas to distribute the gospels.
Sometimes before we reached our destination our the bags were already empty. Some of the group were so encouraged and enthusiastic about their work that they forgot to take any precautions and offered the gospel to the police.
The policemen respectfully accepted the gifts. We expected a negative reaction, but the Lord opened their hearts, because they, too, are people in need of salvation. Pray for the awakening of Turkey. Help us to spread the Good News in this country.
Ministry in Turkey – Sergei Kirnev