Turkey, and God’s Transforming Power

Published. 14/09/2011
Author. Joel Kendall

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This August I had the joy of being part of a Mobilise Worldwide team, a group of eleven students and 20s from Oxford and London, touching down in Istanbul and taking a ferry to our final destination. So here we were, at the height of the sweltering Turkish summer, and in the middle of Ramadan… Mobilise had landed in Yalova, Turkey.

We found ourselves immersed in an incredibly rich culture, and among an exceptionally welcoming and friendly people, where family and community relationships are strong, where hospitality is celebrated, and where the breathtaking power of Jesus to save and change lives was clearly on display.
 
We were very quickly enjoying fellowship with our ‘Lighthouse Church’ family in Yalova. The whole team were blessed greatly in our time with the church, and as we spent time with the church leader Michael Feulner, who moved to Yalova 7 years ago with his family to plant the church, we spent many times enjoying ‘story time with uncle Michael’, hearing of how:
• God supernaturally provided the church community with a great building to meet in on Sundays and during the week
• They have been reaching out to the people of Yalova through starting Alpha courses and hosting many other events
• God has amazingly built a growing church of around 40 people, many of whom a few years ago didn’t know Jesus
 
It was a privilege to be able to serve the Yalova church for ten days through some very practical service – from painting fence posts to digging huge rocks out of the ground. There were opportunities to go out onto the streets to pray for the sick and practice the Turkish we had learnt, and we found God gave us some great openings to share about Jesus with locals (with a bit of help from wi-fi and a good translation app). Another highlight was our visit to a nearby restaurant where an Alpha course will soon start with a Turkish family, who are open to hear more about Jesus.
 
On one particularly memorable evening, we sat around the camp fire under the stars and shared songs and stories with some of the core members in the church. We had the joy of hearing how they came to faith, and saw the power of God to completely transform lives. Experiencing tangibly how God was responding to people’s hunger and seeing the effect this had in their communities, was a reminder of the life and liberation that Jesus brings through the gospel.
 
Some of the girls on the team met a group of Turkish women one day, and invited them to a BBQ we were having with the church in the evening.  Not only did one of the women join us at the church and bring a couple of her friends, she came again the following day, bringing ten other friends to the church building, for late night chai and conversation about Jesus. This is just one of many occasions when we saw God’s hand at work in this nation.
 
The whole team came away from the ten days profoundly impacted and desperate for more of God’s transforming power in our situations in the UK. I am confident that Oxford and London will benefit hugely from the way God spoke to each member of the team whilst out in Yalova.
 
And finally…

Before returning I had the joy of spending the last few days with a family in Istanbul who, along with their church planting team, are completing preparations to start meeting publicly as a church – I know they would hugely value your prayers that God’s power would be displayed and that He would establish a great church there.
 
I may be biased, but I honestly think that there are few cities that match London; but from the short time I spent in Istanbul, I would say this is one place that does!
I absolutely loved Istanbul as a city, and found its history and diversity utterly intoxicating.
 
I have come away with a fresh awareness of the significance that Turkey holds, understanding that what God does here will have an impact across the Middle East, and throughout Europe.
 
If you have an interest in hearing more about what is happening in Turkey, do check out the website of the Yalova church and Life Church in Istanbul, which is launching as I write.

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