Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and refugees have flooded into Athens, Greece. Families and individuals arrive with nothing and have no means to support themselves, so they are always in need of necessities like housing, food, clothing, and medicine. Many flee from countries such as Syria, Iran, Congo, Nigeria, Morocco, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh because of persecution, war, or economic need. Your gift will facilitate ministry to these refugees living in camps, parks, and on the streets by providing basic living necessities.
Your gift will also support a ministry team of six local believers who make disciples and plant churches among Muslim refugees and local Greeks from Orthodox backgrounds. These men, four of whom were refugees, sensed God leading them to stay in Athens to minister to Muslims and plant healthy churches in refugee communities. Your partnership will enable these national believers to fully engage in ministry, which includes travel to other European countries to minister to their flock who have been granted asylum there.
The Athens team operates a training center focused on church planting. Ongoing classes on evangelism and discipleship are offered, and many new believers from the refugee community are discipled there. Four churches worship at the center throughout the week, enabling believers from different people groups to worship Jesus in their own language. The focus of the training center is on planting healthy churches and training new believers in church planting, so they can plant churches wherever they are granted asylum. Prayerfully consider giving to the Athens Church Planting and Refugee Aid ministry to change the immediate life story and eternal future of thousands of refugees.
Hundreds of thousands of immigrants and refugees have flooded into Athens, Greece. Families and individuals arrive with nothing and have no means to support themselves, so they are always in need of necessities like housing, food, clothing, and medicine. Many flee from countries such as Syria, Iran, Congo, Nigeria, Morocco, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh because of persecution, war, or economic need. Your gift will facilitate ministry to these refugees living in camps, parks, and on the streets by providing basic living necessities.
Your gift will also support a ministry team of six local believers who make disciples and plant churches among Muslim refugees and local Greeks from Orthodox backgrounds. These men, four of whom were refugees, sensed God leading them to stay in Athens to minister to Muslims and plant healthy churches in refugee communities. Your partnership will enable these national believers to fully engage in ministry, which includes travel to other European countries to minister to their flock who have been granted asylum there.
The Athens team operates a training center focused on church planting. Ongoing classes on evangelism and discipleship are offered, and many new believers from the refugee community are discipled there. Four churches worship at the center throughout the week, enabling believers from different people groups to worship Jesus in their own language. The focus of the training center is on planting healthy churches and training new believers in church planting, so they can plant churches wherever they are granted asylum. Prayerfully consider giving to the Athens Church Planting and Refugee Aid ministry to change the immediate life story and eternal future of thousands of refugees.
Thank you so much for your generosity to this ministry and those God calls us to reach in Athens and beyond. Your prayers and sacrificial giving undergird ministry to refugees living in camps, parks, and on the streets by providing basic necessities. Your gifts also support local and refugee believers who make disciples and plant churches among hard-to-reach refugees and local Greeks from Orthodox backgrounds.
Opportunities abound. Greece is home to roughly 250,000 refugees. As the primary entry point into the European Union (EU), immigrants arrive in large numbers from North Africa and the Middle East (NAME), Sub-Saharan Africa, and South and Central Asia. Whether they come with large families or alone, with the hope of reuniting with their families, these refugees desperately need hope. That’s where your partnership makes a difference!
The United Nations, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide housing in 30 refugee camps across Greece. We currently work in four camps. These camps, however, serve merely as entry points for these refugees. Many seek asylum in or immigrate to other countries in the EU, while others remain permanently in Greece or eventually return to their homelands when conditions improve.
Investing in eternity. We aim to impact the world for Christ by investing in refugees who come to Greece on their journey to other locations. We have five national partners who speak numerous languages and reach out to refugees of the same languages. When refugees hear the gospel in their own language, the huge obstacles of language and cultural differences immediately erode. This God they are hearing about knows their language and customs!
These national partners work directly with existing churches. For example, your generosity provides roughly 100 food bags a month given out by Urdu-speaking, Arabic-speaking, and Kituba-speaking churches. Recipients receive more than food; they receive the Bread of Life. As a result, many are coming to faith in Christ. Small groups for evangelism and discipleship develop, and churches are formed.
As refugees move on, they bring their newfound faith with them, literally to the ends of the earth. We have started at least seven churches in three EU countries working with Northern Africa and Middle Eastern (NAME) peoples who moved there after being ministered to here in Greece. God is using your gifts to this ministry around the world.
There are no “chance” meetings. Several years ago, one of our national partners heard a familiar language as he walked down the street. He stopped and introduced himself to Adel*, one of the men talking who was from North Africa. A friendship developed, and our national partner shared the gospel. Adel became a believer and grew quickly in his faith through regular discipleship. He began training in church planting and heard God’s call to return to his homeland. Despite dangerous conditions, Adel followed God’s call and returned to his homeland. He has already planted two churches and led many people to Christ. Your investment in this project enabled Adel to find Christ and bring others into the kingdom as well.
Please join us in prayer.
We are so thankful for you, our partners, who make this project possible. Your sacrificial gifts and intercession are truly transforming lives as we partner together to solve the world’s greatest problem, lostness.
*Name changed for security
Because of your steadfast generosity, ministry in Athens is growing! We are reaching new people groups in the city and beyond.
Our team persevered through COVID, personnel changes, and several ministry obstacles. In unity and partnership with you, we continue to proclaim that God is our refuge and strength; we have seen God’s mighty hand at work. Praise the Lord with us!
Your giving allows this ministry to extend beyond the borders of Greece. For instance, an Arab believer living outside Greece shared about the saving grace of Jesus with his family who lives in Athens. His family became believers!
Shortly after through his local church, he heard about our ministry in Greece and connected with our church leaders. He asked us to visit his family and disciple them. After several visits, his family asked us to baptize them in the sea. We were able to facilitate their baptism, and everyone was blessed by seeing God’s faithfulness.
Thank you for your prayers and faithfulness to support what God is doing here in Athens! Your generosity is truly changing lives!
Because of your support, even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen the Lord do amazing this year!
I want to close this update with a quick story: A Pakistani man came to faith a few months ago and was baptized soon after! He is a faithful brother to this day, meeting weekly for discipleship and church. He has begun to share with his family back in Pakistan about how God has changed his life, which could easily cut him off from his family and home village. He is also faithfully sharing among other South Asian Muslims living in our city. It is no small thing for a Pakistani Muslim to come to faith in Jesus! But then for him to begin sharing immediately with family and neighbors is another thing altogether! Please pray for this brother as he continues to grow in his knowledge and obedience to the Lord.
Thank you for your prayers and generous gifts supporting the work God is doing here in Athens and, literally, around the world through the believers who have gone out from this ministry. The opportunity to speak hope and truth into broken lives is as great as ever, and our great God is supplying that need through faithful supporters like you.
We are increasing the goal amount of our project to reflect the needs for the next three years. Please pray about your continued involvement. We are blessed by your partnership and thrilled to share just a taste of what God is doing here to transform lives.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and gifts to this project. Without your investment, our work in Athens would not be possible. This project is designed to place the right people in the right places to “love loud” among refugees who are hurting and lost. Through your generosity, we’ve provided the following items over the past 12 months:
Along with meeting humanitarian needs, our main priority is to boldly share the gospel, disciple new believers and train leaders to plant to churches among refugees. We have discovered an obvious strategy: Put Muslim background believers in the forefront of “loving loud” and advancing the kingdom. God has raised up five local leaders who were one-time refugees in Greece. They are now part of our team because of your prayers and gifts. Each has Greek residency and has chosen to stay here to minister among Pakistanis, Iranians, Afghans, Africans, Iraqi, Syrians, Greeks and many others. In 2019, these brothers:
Thank you for your generosity that makes this kingdom work possible. God is at work through these brothers, and your gifts enable them to do this work without having to worry about food or shelter.
Give now to continue helping reach refugees with the love of Christ.
With 810 million people, 51 sovereign states and 200 spoken languages, Europe is rich in diversity and character. These distinct cultures create a continent of global influence through language, politics, finance, fashion, and food. Though diverse, the peoples of Europe do have one thing in common—more than 98% do not follow Jesus.
Instead of seeing Europe’s decidedly post-Christian culture as a hindrance, IMB teams see the potential of what God wants to do on and through this influential continent. Not only do Europeans need the hope of the gospel, making it a primary place for ministry, but the global reach of its cities also makes it a strategic place as well. Immigrants comprise more than 15% of the population of gateway cities such as London, Paris, Madrid and Vienna.
Through dreaming big and taking faith-filled risks, IMB teams are connecting with European nationals, sharing the gospel and training local leaders. Their aim is to develop strong local leadership in every city and province who will lead biblically faithful and reproducing churches. Churches that plant new healthy churches will send the gospel to the nations of the world from every borough, town and village of the beautifully diverse continent of Europe.