Asia Minor

Our Turkey team has two major aims: church planting and ministry training. It is the desire of the team to see new fellowships emerge in cities where there is currently no church. The team have been specifically praying for a province in the north-east of the country and hope to have a family living there soon.

World Horizons is committed to leading and supporting the work of a ministry training programme called Filipus (www.filipus.org) which runs in cities in Turkey as well as in three Central Asian countries. Every year, new groups of local believers gather to live in a prayer-based community setting and receive applied training for ministry. In the afternoons the trainees give assistance to compassion projects, such as serving refugees or the homeless. Equipping participants to discover their part in mission, the training builds towards a cross-cultural ministry placement in another country. The vision is to see local believers equipped to share the gospel in their own countries as well as in other nations.

The programme also includes a business element: in Turkey, this is within the context of a speciality coffee company. The business exists to give training and experience, the goal being to enable participants to support themselves in future ministry. The coffee company roasts speciality coffee for the Turkish market and has a coffee shop in the centre of Ankara. Local believers and refugees are also trained to work in the coffee industry (www.coffeehaus.com.tr).

Working in close partnership with local believers, our team have established several compassion ministries and social enterprises in Ankara. There are more than 50,000 refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Iran in Ankara. This partnership serves more than 5,000 people with regular food distribution, clothing, medical services, children’s ministries, language courses, and spiritual support (www.ankara-refugees.com). They have also developed a sewing project which teaches refugee women to make handmade bags, wallets, and tablet covers from upcycled Turkish flat-weave carpets and selling the goods on their behalf.

Every week the team, with local believers, make a big pot of soup at a church in Ankara and invite those passing by to join them for lunch. Dozens of neighbours come to the church to have a bowl of soup and hear about the gospel. ‘Soup day’ has become the most effective evangelistic outreach this church has ever seen! They also make a big pot of rice, chicken and chickpeas and take it to the bus station where over a hundred homeless people find shelter. Our workers engage in conversations about life and faith with those they give a bowl of food to. These days the back row of services in the local church is full of people who currently reside at the bus station!

In February 2017 we began a new ministry in Northern Cyprus – a programme to train believers from around the region and beyond for ministry in the Muslim world. The programme, which is called Exile Ministry Training, is a three-month intensive course in the context of community at a small organic farm and hotel in the rural Karpaz region of Northern Cyprus. You can find details of the programme at www.exilecyprus.com. Closely linked to this programme, we have also started a coffee business and a natural wine production business. Students gain training and experience, equipping them with skills to support themselves in future ministry.

Every member of World Horizons is responsible for raising their own support unless otherwise stated.

Barista and coffee professional – Do you have knowledge of roasts, growing regions, grind types and speciality coffee? Do you have experience in customer service and marketing? Our coffee business in Ankara has expanded the range of specialized coffee training programmes available. We now offer training and work experience to refugees, local believers, and ministry leaders from other regions. Students are equipped with skills that will enable them to financially support themselves in future ministry or provide income.
Church Planter – Working in partnership with the local church, our desire is to plant new fellowships in the least reached areas of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. We need people to become equipped for this ministry by learning the Turkish language and gaining an understanding of the culture.
Evangelist and Christian Mentor – We are looking for Arabic speakers to join an evangelistic team, building relationships with refugees and using an interactive course to share the gospel. This resource centres the Christian faith in its original Middle Eastern context and can be used by both inquirers and believers.
IT and Communications Manager – We are looking for someone with experience in website development, coding and social media administration. We have several websites and social media accounts for our ministries that need to be maintained, as well as refugee ministry database software that we are hoping to adapt for use in other areas of Turkey.

Every member of World Horizons is responsible for raising their own support unless otherwise stated.

Micro-enterprise Entrepreneur – Our sewing project is rapidly expanding, and we want to see it develop into a business, helping refugee women to re-establish themselves. We are looking for people willing to bring leadership and business skills to this project.
Manager of Ministry Centres – Our ministries are based in several locations across Ankara. We also have a centre in Northern Cyprus. Managers are needed to oversee the upkeep and coordination of these premises. We also want to see our centres become a blessing to the local neighbourhoods.
Ministry Training Coordinator and Teacher –Our ministry training programme equips up to ten Turkish believers every year for ministry in the context of a monastic, missional community. As the programme expands into other regions, we need people willing to be trained with us in Turkey or Northern Cyprus and then sent to work with local churches in establishing new training programmes.
Short-Term Host –We are looking for someone who is committed to co-ordinating short-term teams, facilitating them as they serve with our different projects. This would include liaising with group leaders and overseeing their itinerary.
Small Business Manager – We are looking for someone who has management experience to work within our businesses that are closely linked to our ministry training programmes. We have a coffee business in Turkey and a small winery in Northern Cyprus. An awareness of the challenges of cross-cultural team management would be an advantage.
Specialist Winemaker – The winery in Northern Cyprus is closely linked to our ministry training program – equipping our students with business training and experience. We also desire to build a local business that can be a blessing to the community. As a winemaker, you will oversee the production process of creating wine through to the marketing and selling of the final product.

Come to a Step Weekend at our Centre for the Nations to find out more.
Invite us. We’d love to share about our range of mission opportunities with your church or Christian Union.

Asia Minor

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