2.4.2026

It all began with a sermon I preached at a previous church on being single in the ministry. Although people look at you like there’s something wrong with you, the apostle Paul thought it best that Christians stayed single! And why? Because they can serve God without anxiety. 

For me that translated into having the freedom and flexibility to go wherever God wanted me to go, and that, since I didn’t have a family who depended on me, I would welcome an opportunity to serve even if there was some danger. 

My senior pastor took me up on that.

He told me he was having trouble finding people willing to go to Turkey. There were some men willing to go, but either their spouses were against it or their government jobs wouldn’t allow it. 

So I said, “Sure!” Istanbul had been on my bucket-list for decades anyway. 

Eventually, we found another single guy, Matt McGraw, who was willing to go as well, so our team of two was set. 

Turkey is a beautiful country. Istanbul, the gateway between Asia and Europe, is unlike any city I’ve ever visited. Everywhere you turn, thousands of years of history bump up against a very modern city. 

On top of that, the people are very friendly, and the food is incredible!

Much of the New Testament took place in Turkey. Cities and regions from Paul’s missionary journeys like Tarsus, Antioch, Ephesus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Colossae, and the seven cities in the  book of Revelation  — Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea — are all found in Turkey. 

Christianity was a major force in Turkey until the Ottoman empire conquered it in 1453. The great church (and for centuries the largest building in the world), Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) was turned into a mosque, then in the early 20th century, it became a museum. In recent years it was turned back into a mosque. 

For centuries, Turkey has been in the grips of Islam. In 1923, under Mustafa Ataturk, the country became secular, but the recent president has tried to return Turkey to Islamic rule. 

I can’t tell you the thrill it was to be among those who followed in the footsteps of Paul bringing Christianity BACK to Turkey. 

Our main mission took place at a festival on Buyukada (meaning “big island”) in the Marmara sea, outside of Istanbul. It was the place the Ottoman rulers sent their sons to make sure they behaved! 

At the center of Buyukada is a mountain topped with a Greek Orthodox church. A legend grew up around the church that if one were to tie a string at the base of the mountain and climb the half-mile to the top without breaking the string, your prayer/wish would be granted.

The festival was huge! Thousands of people from Greece, Bulgaria and beyond would come to the mountain to stretch a string from the bottom to the top. There were so many people that by the end of the day, the string almost looked like a carpet.

We set up tables with Christian New Testaments and pamphlets in Turkish and offered to pray with anyone – after all, the reason the people were coming to the island was because they had some sort of need. 

Since Bayram and I wore clergy collars, the people called us “poppas” and because I was from the US, I was considered an extra holy papa (don’t worry, you don’t have to call me that).  To be honest, to me the collar looked like a bullseye. 
We prayed with all sorts of people – there was a constant stream all day – and the fact that I didn’t know their language didn’t matter. I prayed over them in the name of Jesus and trusted the Holy Spirit to do the rest.

As a side note, the next year, we went back, and our senior pastor was able to join us. One of the joys of the second trip was seeing the people whose prayers were answered the previous year seeking us out to pray for them again. One Muslim woman was so excited, she found her daughters and daughters-in-law and forcibly dragged them over for the kutsal baba (holy papa) to pray for them. Her sons were angry about it, and for a bit I thought a fight might break out, but nothing did.

This mission is very dear to my heart. The work that Bayram does in Turkey is important in taking the gospel back to the area where the gospel once flourished, and this week we get to learn first hand what all God is accomplishing through Bayram’s ministry. 

AND as an added blessing, Bayram’s wife, Selma, is going to be joining him!   
We’ll be sharing a meal at 5:30, and there’s plenty of food so come join us and invite someone to come along!  

Blessings, 
Pastor Terry