ATHENS, GREECE

Searching for Hope

Relationships are foundational to Greek society. Sipping coffee with a trusted friend temporarily sets aside the pressures and challenges of life in a country struggling with high unemployment, a decrease in wages, minimal career opportunities, shifting cultural values, and lack of trust in the government and religious authorities. But, what or who offers genuine hope and change?

Transforming the Culture

The MTW team is partnering with national church planters in their efforts to bring lasting hope to a despairing people and to transform individual lives and communities through the gospel of grace. The vision of the Athens Church Plant Project is to plant new churches around Athens: in the wealthy and influential communities, in Exarchia, the anarchist capital of Greece, and in the densely populated immigrant area of Kypseli. MTW is committed to one-on-one discipleship, small group Bible studies, biblical teaching, and evangelistic outreaches to help implement and support the vision of our national partners. We are involved in mercy ministry opportunities and community programs for children, all supporting our church-planting efforts.

MEET THE TEAM

Kirkland, Philip & Joy

Philip and Joy and their three kids have been serving with MTW in Athens, Greece, since 2012.

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Luther, Phillip & Kay

The Luthers' hearts resonated with the vision of the national pastors and the need for more laborers in Greece.

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Pervis, David & Erin

In Greece, David and Erin use English language instruction to build relationships and share the gospel among Greeks and refugees from the Middle East and Asia.

In Greece, David and Erin use English language instruction to build relationships and share the gospel among Greeks...

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GET INVOLVED

How Hiking, Swimming Lessons, and ESL Create True Refugee Friendships (AUDIO)

Hear Erin and David's heart for refugees through stories of individuals overcoming trauma and beginning a new life in Athens, Greece.

More Than Drops in the Bucket: Loving Refugees in Greece

A little church in Greece is taking on the refugee crisis with the love of Christ.

Refugees: What You Don’t Hear on the News Interview with Philip and Joy Kirkland (AUDIO)

Kay Burklin and Carolyn Morris interview MTW missionaries, Philip and Joy Kirkland, on a new podcast about ministering among refugees.

Now What? Responding to Trafficking in Athens, Greece (AUDIO)

In this West Coast Equip seminar, Joy Kirkland speaks more about the trafficking situation in Greece, teaching us how to respond.

The Greek Church Meets Disaster With Mercy

Greece's worst wildfire in 100 years has opened doors for gospel ministry and church planting in the seaside city of Mati.

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?"

Disaster Response Team Responds to Wildfires in Greece: Current Updates

In July 2018 Greece was devastated wildfires. MTW disaster response teams and the Greek Evangelical Church are helping with the clean up.

Creating with Refugees

Armed with supplies, our short-term team served refugees with art, a universal language that transcends culture and speaks to the soul.

One Day with an RUF Campus Minister in Greece: A Video

RUF Campus Minister Justin Clement and a team of RUF students engaged with college students in the anarchist neighborhood of Exarchia.

One Day in the Life of an RUF Student in Greece: A Video

Follow along as a University of Georgia student takes us through a day serving among college students and refugees in Athens, Greece.

RUF Students Make Christ Known in Greece: A Video

RUF Students had the opportunity to share the love of Christ among refugees and serve alongside Greek believers in Athens.

A Historic Opportunity: How MTW Is Responding to the Refugee Crisis in Greece

As refugees flooded into Greece, MTW partner churches dove in head-first to care for the strangers at their doorstep.

MTW’s Refugee Ministry Expands, Spanning Four Continents

Missionaries across the globe are working increasingly with refugees. Our 2016 year-end appeal focuses on this critical opportunity.

Knee to Knee with a Refugee Family

In geography class she'd seen photos of refugees clinging to rafts. But when she befriended a refugee family in Greece, it became real.

The Coming Tide of Faith in Europe

Across Europe missionaries are watching the Spirit move with a rapidly accelerating pace as God opens door after door.

Christ Will Build His Church

Europe is the new “dark continent.” Churches are being turned into bars and museums. But does that mean the European Church is without hope?

They All Have First Names

As refugees flood into European countries where we minister, we are learning how to love them as Christ does.

Why We Should Love Muslim Refugees

As I pondered the story of the enemy-loving missionaries killed in Ecuador, I couldn’t help but see an opportunity to examine my own heart.

Goliath Must Fall: Two Gospel Stories

In a hard-to-reach, largely atheistic European city, these stories declare the gospel to be "the power of God unto salvation."

Featured Video: Athens, Greece

In downtown Athens, at the foothill of the Acropolis, God is actively building His Church.

Pray for refugees in Athens, Greece, as they overcome trauma and begin a new life. Pray, too, for the missionaries and church community ministering to them.

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 those impacted by the deadly wildfires in Greece. Pray also for wisdom as a team assesses how best to help.

Pray for the growing Business as Mission work through the Glyfada Church Plant in Athens, Greece.

Pray for effective discipleship and evangelism in the church plants in Athens, Greece.

Pray for the six church planters and the entire church-planting movement in Athens, Greece.

The First Greek Evangelical Church has planted a church in Exarchiea, the anarchist capital of Greece. Pray that God's presence would became known there.

Pray for college students to participate in global missions. Pray that they would a catch a vision for missions that would stay with them long term.

Pray for refugees in Greece to find safe haven. Pray for our missionaries seeking to serve them well.

Pray for MTW's ministry to refugees in Greece, Germany, Ukraine, Uganda, Panama, and the U.S.

Pray for the refugee families in Athens, Greece, who have connected with our team and church there; for relationships that lead to Christ.

Give 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 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 two women, Monika and Andrea, who have recently come to faith against the odds in a hard-to-reach, largely atheistic European city.

Pray for Monika, that God would continue to heal her, give her a new purpose, and protect her life from physical harm, and for Andrea, that she would grow deep roots of faith and be a witness to those like her—unlikely subjects—of the reality of the grace of God.

Pray for national pastor Giotis Kantartzis and missionaries Philip and Kay Luther serving in Athens, Greece, as they work toward a vision of expansive church-planting in a region that is hungry for truth.

Europe Scholarship & Assistance

Enabling spiritual refreshment for missionaries and national partners

Athens Intercultural Church Plant

Help plant an intercultural church in Athens, Greece which includes developing language-specific small group Bible studies that are integrated into a single intercultural church community.

MosaiX Mercy/Justice Ministry

MosaiX is a partnership committed to integrating refugees into churches.