Ministry in Ankara
On Sunday I preached at a new and growing fellowship here in Ankara. This was the first time that I've preached in a "traditional" church in Turkey (as opposed to a house church). It was actually our first Sunday at this church, and for the next few years we will be doing ministry with this small church on the western edge of the city.
My message was about the Fruit of the Spirit and about our role in our spiritual growth. In reality, spiritual growth is beyond our ability. We can't just decide to grow any more than a farmer can force a seedling to sprout. Our role is to cultivate the spiritual conditions in which God will cause the seeds of maturity to grow and bear fruit in us. I described three things that we can do to work the soil of our souls: 1. We can consume the Bible not just for information, but for transformation. 2. We can engage in prayer as a transforming friendship with God which includes a lifestyle of listening. 3. We can commit ourselves to serve one another in love, which is the primary reason that God wants us to bear fruit.
The message seemed to go over really well and it felt good to be preaching again. The church has been gracious to receive us and thankful for our willingness to serve. They rent a storefront in a small shopping center as their meeting place and the format is similar to a small church in the states. There is a pulpit and a few rows of chairs and a bookshelf with Bibles and songbooks. We began with prayer and then sang several Turkish worship songs together. After we were introduced as the new family that would be working with the fellowship I shared my message and we closed with a few more songs. After the "service" several plates of food were laid out on a table and we all ate together, and then anyone with a particular prayer request was invited to share it as we spent some time praying for one another.
The major reason we moved to Ankara was for our team to be able to be involved in an exciting ministry training program that has been running for three years here. When we arrived however we learned that the family that had been coordinating it is moving back to Germany this month. Now, instead of just being involved in the program, we will be taking it over as coordinators together with another family on our team.
The one-year intensive training program brings a handful of candidates from around the country for a curriculum designed to help prepare Turks for ministry. The new training year will begin in November with a class of 5-6 students who will live in host homes (including ours). Excellent teachers from around Turkey and some from the U.S. and Europe will give lessons in block format for a few days at a time. The students find weekly ministry opportunities as part of the curriculum and they spend several weekends during the year traveling to different cities in Turkey to get an experience of what other fellowships are doing and to offer whatever service they can. One month of the program will also be spent outside of Turkey, perhaps in Bulgaria or Georgia, where they will have an experience of cross-cultural ministry. At the end of the program the students are assigned to intern at a fellowship somewhere in Turkey for a few months.
We have so much to do in preparation for this project, but we are excited to be involved in the only ministry training program of its kind in Turkey. There are plenty of opportunities for visitors and new people to get involved as well, so we pray that God will motivate others from inside and outside Turkey to want to come together to help.
My message was about the Fruit of the Spirit and about our role in our spiritual growth. In reality, spiritual growth is beyond our ability. We can't just decide to grow any more than a farmer can force a seedling to sprout. Our role is to cultivate the spiritual conditions in which God will cause the seeds of maturity to grow and bear fruit in us. I described three things that we can do to work the soil of our souls: 1. We can consume the Bible not just for information, but for transformation. 2. We can engage in prayer as a transforming friendship with God which includes a lifestyle of listening. 3. We can commit ourselves to serve one another in love, which is the primary reason that God wants us to bear fruit.
The message seemed to go over really well and it felt good to be preaching again. The church has been gracious to receive us and thankful for our willingness to serve. They rent a storefront in a small shopping center as their meeting place and the format is similar to a small church in the states. There is a pulpit and a few rows of chairs and a bookshelf with Bibles and songbooks. We began with prayer and then sang several Turkish worship songs together. After we were introduced as the new family that would be working with the fellowship I shared my message and we closed with a few more songs. After the "service" several plates of food were laid out on a table and we all ate together, and then anyone with a particular prayer request was invited to share it as we spent some time praying for one another.
The major reason we moved to Ankara was for our team to be able to be involved in an exciting ministry training program that has been running for three years here. When we arrived however we learned that the family that had been coordinating it is moving back to Germany this month. Now, instead of just being involved in the program, we will be taking it over as coordinators together with another family on our team.
The one-year intensive training program brings a handful of candidates from around the country for a curriculum designed to help prepare Turks for ministry. The new training year will begin in November with a class of 5-6 students who will live in host homes (including ours). Excellent teachers from around Turkey and some from the U.S. and Europe will give lessons in block format for a few days at a time. The students find weekly ministry opportunities as part of the curriculum and they spend several weekends during the year traveling to different cities in Turkey to get an experience of what other fellowships are doing and to offer whatever service they can. One month of the program will also be spent outside of Turkey, perhaps in Bulgaria or Georgia, where they will have an experience of cross-cultural ministry. At the end of the program the students are assigned to intern at a fellowship somewhere in Turkey for a few months.
We have so much to do in preparation for this project, but we are excited to be involved in the only ministry training program of its kind in Turkey. There are plenty of opportunities for visitors and new people to get involved as well, so we pray that God will motivate others from inside and outside Turkey to want to come together to help.
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