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Time to go Global?
Posted on 20/02/2012 by Jo Wells
Dogubayazit , Turkey By Scott MacLeod Liddle
Did you know you can go round the world with Newfrontiers? Last year Dave and Jude May took a team of students to Turkey to assist a church plant there. Jo Wells asked them to tell us how it went.
Breakfast bagels and coffee bouncing, we ran through the airport with the words “Last call for Departure Gate 3 flying to Turkey” ringing in our ears. The dream of visiting a church in Turkey almost didn’t take off at all.
Touch down in Turkey, and we soon realised to our horror that we had somehow managed to drag the British summer along with us, and the usual 30-35+ degrees had mellowed to a very average 22. The unusual dip in temperature was much appreciated, however, when we started our manual work. Cleaning and gardening at the church building and retreat centre were first on the agenda. The boys dug up some big rocks, cut down trees, built a big bonfire and felt, well, very manly. That evening we sat around the huge bonfire and as theTurkish believers shared how they had met Jesus, and what they had to sacrifice to follow him, the reality of their stories hit home hard. This wasn’t a distant article in a magazine or a 30-second burst on a promotional DVD, this was real. Their love for Jesus was so tangible, it broke our hearts. We will never forget that evening round the bonfire.
We can’t go any further without introducing Michael. He leads the church in Yalova, and has so many stories about God’s faithfulness and goodness.
Our times with Michael affectionately became known as ‘Story time with Uncle Michael’ and as we listened to him relate tales of God’s miraculous provision we could see faith rising in our team of students. What an amazing opportunity to hear first-hand how God is building His Church – and how he invites us into his extraordinary plans.
We met so many people on our adventure to Yalova, and we can truly say it felt like home the minute we arrived because we were among family. God spoke to all of us while we were in Turkey and we all saw more clearly the importance of establishing God’s Church and seeing his Kingdom advance around the world.
We really believe the trip to Turkey has enabled us to be more effective in equipping the students in our church to follow God’s call for their lives. We can’t think of a more exciting adventure to be on.
This is just one story from one of the teams that went from the UK to Newfrontiers churches around the world in 2011. Newfrontiers short-term mission teams are a great opportunity to catch a glimpse of what God is doing through His global Church. To learn from different cultures and serve alongside a local church has been a great experience for so many people.
If you’d like to be part of a short-term team in 2012, don’t miss out! Opportunities in 2012 include:
Life Change Teams: For anyone over 18. Learn from church planters amongst unreached people groups or serve with a local church overseas.
Newday Global: Are you 16-19? Step out in faith and join in with what God is doing across the nations.
Mobilise Worldwide Teams: Mobilise Worldwide teams are for students and twenties. Engage with mission and church planting overseas.
Check out the websites for more details and ways to apply. Be part of Newfrontiers around the world.
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Reproduced from Connect Magazine, Spring 2012.
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