Turkey

Partner with Local Missionaries in Turkey

Located in the 10/40 Window

With most of its land mass in the Anatolian peninsula of western Asia and a lesser part on the Balkan peninsula of southeastern Europe, Turkey (now officially Republic of Türkiye) has a rich cultural and religious history and is a major political force in the region. Though overwhelmingly Muslim at 96.2 percent of the population, most adherents are nominal, as few have knowledge of the Quran, yet fiercely loyal, as Islam is integral to nationalistic fervor.

Another paradox: while Turkey has had a secular government for most of the past century, the current administration of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been marked by strongly Islamist tendencies. At the same time, the non-religious portion of the population has been growing, with estimates ranging from 3.1 percent to into the double digits. Only 0.04 percent of the population evangelical, according to Joshua Project.

Local missionaries in Turkey report unprecedented openness to the gospel among a growing number of Turkish Muslims and Muslim refugees from Syria and elsewhere. With so few evangelical Christians, however, churches can hardly support evangelists and pastors, and they need donations for their monthly expenses and for tools such as ministry vehicles vital for outreaches to refugee camps.

One effective ministry has planted churches in the Black Sea region, and they need assistance for rental of their worship places. Meantime, the demand for Bibles has increased as Muslim refugees’ disillusionment with Islam drives them to seek answers elsewhere. Local workers request assistance to keep Bibles and New Testaments in stock, as well as an apologetics book written by a native missionary. These books are distributed in refugee camps and prisons, during one-on-one outreach and in stands in front of a church building.

Media and social media are having an increasingly strong impact. One native missionary publishes a magazine that clarifies who Christ is and addresses various topics from a Christian perspective, and another has a radio program with a large audience. The latter also posts teaching and preaching on Internet outlets, reaching a potential audience of millions. Through responses to these media, local missionaries are seeing the prevalence of disillusion with Islam and interest in the person of Christ.

Sources: Joshua Project, Wikipedia

84.2 million

Population

0.04%

Evangelical Population:

People Groups:

Unreached People Groups:

How to Pray for Turkey

Pray for protection of local missionaries, as they are facing increasing threats and attacks in media, on the street and among powers and authorities.
Pray that Muslims putting their faith in Christ will be protected from family and societal opposition and will find support in Christian community.
Pray that native leadership will be developed in spite of a national ban on Christian seminaries in the country.

More Stories from Turkey

Supply Gospel Resources to the Lost in Turkey

Pray the Word of the Lord will transform those who read it. After reading a New Testament he picked up at a local ministry, a refugee stopped arguing to missionaries against Christianity and instead gave his life to Christ. When his daughter saw the New Testament at their home, she, too, began to read. Her brother found her reading one day and admitted he had been reading it as well. “There’s wonderful things written in that book, right?” he asked his sister. When the siblings learned of their father’s decision to follow Christ, all three were baptized together. Your donations support outreach to the lost.

Help Refugees Adjust to Their New Lives in Turkey

Pray that refugees will put their hope in Jesus in the midst of their trials. Many refugees are finding it difficult to obtain permission to remain in Turkey and, instead, are ordered to return to their own country. A local ministry continues to pray for them and even hires lawyers to help them with their cases. “We also feed them, help them heat their living places, and give them funds to rent homes as much as possible,” the ministry leader said. These acts of kindness allow refugees to see the love of Christ. Your donations of $35 or $70 support refugees in these difficult circumstances.

Turn the Lost Toward Jesus in Turkey

Pray for missionaries as they plant churches in spiritually dark places. While visiting one of their church plants, local missionaries met a 17-year-old girl who first learned of their ministry through their online worship services. When she decided to visit the church in person, she picked up a New Testament, and her life changed. “I don't know why, but when I read John's gospel, my tears began to flow,” she told them. “If you hadn't come to plant a church near me, how could I have received this good news?” Your donations help missionaries with such evangelism and discipleship.

Muslim Woman Rejects Religious Expectations in Turkey

The woman who sat in the back of the church caught the ministry leader’s attention as he preached to the congregation. She was alone, but her head was covered, an indication that she was a strict Muslim. Her eyes were trained on him while he spoke, her stillness seemed to be an indication of how intently she listened to his words. She has come to complain about our presence here, the ministry leader thought. His hunch was rooted in events from the previous week, when a city official not only came to their church to oppose their worship, but he then also declared through every public means available to him—including television and newspapers—that he wanted the group of believers to leave town.

Christ Revealed amid Disaster in Turkey

Efforts to help victims of the earthquakes that devastated Turkey have led to gospel opportunities, though ministry workers were seeing such openings grow even before the disasters. One worker, a Syrian refugee who accepted Christ and began helping to distribute aid, recently received a call at 10 p.m. from one of his countrymen – a refugee who had taken his sick child to a hospital emergency room. “He said that the doctor wanted to meet with me,” he said. “I was surprised and a little worried why the doctor would call me.”

You Can Send Emergency Aid to Victims in Turkey and Syria

Two devastating earthquakes and hundreds of aftershocks in Turkey and Syria have killed over 41,000 people, with the death toll continually rising, as people dig through the rubble of collapsed buildings in search of loved ones. Tens of thousands of people are now homeless in the bitter cold of winter. You can help meet people’s greatest needs for items such as food, water, diapers, and blankets with your gift today. Ministry workers are on the ground in the hardest-hit cities to help uncover bodies and distribute emergency aid, but the needs are immense. In Turkey alone, over 5,600 buildings were destroyed. Syrian cities devastated by years of war were further demolished.