Refugees Are Searching, and Finding Hope in the Gospel
A young Moroccan man chased after Nick, an American missionary in Frankfurt: "Hey, will you please teach me the Bible?" And in Munich, over 70 young (mostly) men walked into a church and asked the same thing. An entire refugee family arrived on the steps of a Greek church, asking to become Christians. I don't know about you, but nothing like this has ever happened to me.
But it's not all rosy: joblessness, sex-trafficking, and suicides are on the rise, in addition to manifestations of despair, frustration, and tremendous brokenness.
God is in control of the good, the bad, and even the ugly, shifting millions from where it was dangerous and/or difficult to hear the gospel to where they can now freely explore it, and respond. And according to Acts 17:27, He does it so that they will seek Him.
Thousands of agencies worldwide are responding passionately to the refugee crisis, but Christians have something unique: the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sharing this good news does not exempt us from addressing urgent physical needs (hardly! read Matthew 25), but the Bible holds the message that will ultimately change lives for eternity. And if those who know Christ do not share this good news, who will?
Refugees, and others, are looking for something unchanging, a message of love and peace and acceptance and permanence, and lasting hope.
Let's tell them of the One who is able to fill all of these longings.
Kay Burklin is MTW’s refugee liaison for Europe.
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SEE MOREGive thanks to God for a movement of the Spirit spreading across Europe opening doors that have been long-shut.
Pray for the declining Church in Europe. Many see Europe as post-Christian and without hope. But we know that Christ will build His church.
Pray for MTW's ministry to refugees in Greece, Germany, Ukraine, Uganda, Panama, and the U.S.
Pray for refugees who are flooding into Greece and Germany. Pray for our missionaries and nationals partner churches as they seek to minister to these displaced people with the love of Christ.
Pray for a small church in Athens, Greece that is reaching out to refugees with the love of Christ. Pray for the refugees there to hear the truth of the gospel.
Pray for ongoing work among refugees in Greece.
Pray for the people of Mati, Greece, who are responding with spiritual openness following disaster response efforts of the Greek Evangelical Church and MTW.
Pray for a group of international friends in Germany who are meeting together and building community in a missionary's home. Pray they would come to know Christ through this community.
Pray for those impacted by the deadly wildfires in Greece. Pray also for wisdom as a team assesses how best to help.
Pray for missionaries seeking to minister to those who are critical and hard to love. Pray that missionaries would love their neighbor as Christ loved us.
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