My recent visit to Turkey

It was a great privilege to travel again to Turkey and be with the Newfrontiers churches growing in Istanbul.  Such an important nation, currently experiencing major far reaching political developments, placed so significantly between East and West.

 

On Friday leaders gathered for a session where I spoke on the leader’s prayer life. On the following day throughout the Saturday I spoke three sessions on the grace of God and our new identity in Christ.

On Sunday four Newfrontiers churches and friends packed together into a large hotel room for beautiful celebratory worship. I was so encouraged to see many crowding forward for prayer following my word expressing desire to live wholeheartedly for Christ.

On Monday, more opportunities for fellowship with John and Sophie who are planting the church there.

Cappadocia

On Tuesday, they arranged for us to fly to Cappadocia, a place with such extraordinary terrain where Christians centuries ago met in underground churches – genuinely underground, in caves sometimes many feet below ground level.

     

It is truly remarkable to consider that people from Cappadocia were present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost and also that Peter wrote to scattered believers there in his first epistle. Though somewhat isolated and experiencing persecution he addressed them as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people for God’s own possession, language formally reserved for the privileged Jewish nation, but now describing all who are in Christ.

Today these new young churches share the same identity and the same calling to proclaim the excellences of him who called them out of darkness into his marvellous light.

Please partner with them in your prayers that the glory of Christ will once again break out in this part of the world which experienced some of the earliest endeavours to plant churches in the whole of church history.