The largest unreached nation in the world–which country is it? Could you find it on a world map?
Turkey! One of the largest places on earth “where Christ is not named.” How burdened are we that the gospel be preached there? The apostle Paul wrote, “I have made it my aim to preach the gospel not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man’s foundation, but as it is written: To whom He was not announced, they will see; and those who have not heard will understand” (Rom. 15:20-21).
Are we presently aiming at this goal as we should? Undeniably a large majority of our foreign missionaries are serving in areas of the world where the national assemblies are relatively strong, while only a small minority are being sent to the vast, unreached areas of the Islamic world. There are large tongues and peoples and nations where Christ has not been proclaimed meaningfully for centuries! Turkey is a sobering example. “How shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?”
A LITTLE BACKGROUND
Turkey is a bridge between Europe and Asia, a long rectangle of land separating the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Turkey, or Asia Minor, is the land of Mount Ararat. The gospel of Jesus Christ first took root in Gentile soil here. But today nothing remains of the “churches of Galatia” and the “seven churches of Asia” except ruins.
What happened? Apparently, the churches of the early centuries failed to heed the Lord’s warning for repentance and renewal, and eventually their “lampstand” was removed (Rev. 2-3). As faith lost its vitality, the Church fell prey to the onslaught of a new nation and a new religion.
In the ninth century a.d., the Turks, who originated in Central Asia and are related to the Mongols, began to move west across southern Russia until they met the aging Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire in Asia Minor. The so-called “Holy Roman Empire” fought back against the “infidels.” Centuries of war and crusades in the name of Christ still darken the Turkish memory. Ultimately the Turks took Constantinople and went on to establish the powerful Ottoman Empire, which at its peak included most of the Middle East and North Africa, threatening Europe for nearly 400 years.
The people of Turkey today are the descendants of those proud Ottomans. They have been molded by two great forces: Islam and secular nationalism.
ISLAM
When the Turks arrived in Asia Minor, they found a Christianity that was impotent, its vitality destroyed by heresy, apathy, and monasticism. But they also found the religion of Muhammad, which had reached Asia some time before, and they embraced it.
Islam holds the hearts of nearly one-fifth of the world’s population today, including over 99% of Turkey’s 65 million people. What draws the millions to this religion? What does Islam teach? If you were a Muslim, what would you believe?
* First of all, you would believe that God is one. His name is “Allah,” the all-wise, all-powerful and all-merciful Creator. To attribute partners or offspring to God is a great sin. The Christian doctrines of the Trinity or Jesus as the “Son of God” would seem blasphemous and illogical to you. Your ideas of Christianity come from seeing “Christian” culture as witnessed in western films and a little acquaintance with the Orthodox Christian minorities of the east (such as the Armenian and Greek Orthodox Churches). As far as you understand it, the Christian “trinity” consists of a divine “family” of three: the Father, Mary, and their son, Jesus. The Quran says, “Say not Three!”
* You would believe in the prophets of God, including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. You would also believe that Jesus was absolutely not the “Son of God” but simply a great prophet, and that Muhammad is the last and greatest prophet of Allah.
* You would believe in the divine books, given successively by God to Moses (the Tevrat–Torah), to David (the Zebur–Psalms), to Jesus (the Injil–Gospel) and to Muhammad (the Quran). Even though the Quran does not say so, you would be “sure” that the text of the Bible as it exists today has been corrupted and is not trustworthy at all. Only the Quran has been perfectly preserved and is valid or authoritative today. It is God’s final and perfect revelation for mankind, superseding all previous revelation.
* You would believe in the angels of God, paradise and hell, the resurrection and Day of Judgment, and hope fervently that your good deeds and faith will be adequate to gain heaven.
* You would believe that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary (a miracle, not an incarnation), did great miracles, and is coming again. However, you would believe that He was not crucified (great prophets are vindicated, they do not die in ignominy on crosses); instead Allah substituted Judas in His place and took Jesus directly to heaven.
As a faithful Muslim, what would you do?
* You would recite the essential creed of Islam: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the apostle of God,” making you a Muslim in the simplest sense.
* You would wash your feet and hands carefully before worship.
* You would bow with your face to the ground in memorized prayer from the Quran five times a day.
* If you were a woman, you would perform your religious duties at home or in a corner of the mosque, where you couldn’t distract the men.
* One month (Ramadan) out of every year you would fast (no food, drink, smoking, etc.) from sunup to sundown. You would gather with family and friends each evening to break this fast with a special feast.
* If possible, you would travel to Mecca at least once for the legendary pilgrimage, the Haj.
* Once a year on the sacrifice holiday, you would sacrifice a sheep and perhaps hope that its good luck will shelter you from evil and cover your sins.
* You would give 1/40 of your income to the poor.
But even if you actually did none of these things, as a Turk you would still say “I am a Muslim,” for to be Turkish is to be Muslim.
ATATURK AND MODERN SECULAR NATIONALISM
The other great force molding today’s Turks began with Mustafa Kemal “Ataturk,” the “father of the Turks.” Perhaps more than any other leader, he epitomized the aspirations of today’s secularized Muslims.
By the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire was no more; the Allied forces were planning to carve up the land. But Mustafa Kemal rallied the Turks to drive out the invaders and establish the Republic of Turkey. In one generation, he transformed Turkey from a Middle Ages Islamic empire into a secular, modern state, making drastic changes in ancient customs and institutions.
The Turkish military fiercely maintains Ataturk’s principles of secular government. All school children grow up under his ideals of national pride and secularism. He said, “How happy is the man who can say, I am a Turk.”
Ataturk’s face appears in every public building and in most shops and squares in the country. He seems to us to be nearly deified in the popular mind. Secular nationalism in Turkey still draws its strength from this man “Ataturk”–father of the Turks.
THE TURKISH PEOPLE TODAY
What are the Turks like? They are ordinary people, sometimes smiling, usually smoking and drinking tea, loving to sit and talk. Loyalty to friends and family relationships are still far more important than western values such as efficiency, independence, and productivity. Few are “readers” in the sense of reading books for pleasure or “personal growth.”
About half of the people of Turkey live in simple villages. In the past 20 years, great numbers of these villagers have moved into the large cities, maintaining most of their village ways. So the traditional extended family is still basic to Turkish society.
Yet the modern world and its promises of wealth call loudly. And with a crushing inflation rate of 60-70% and a struggling economy, many Turks see entry into the European Economic Community and further western modernization as their only hope of “success.”
Two types of women visibly reveal the two opposite directions Turks find themselves pulled in. The modern woman in western clothes and the scarf-wearing traditional middle-eastern woman. They are often seen side-by-side on the busy streets of today’s Turkey: Islam and the east versus secularism and the west.
It seems that Islam is gaining the upper hand, as more and more children are receiving religious schooling and graduates are being placed in strategic positions in the government. Mosques are often full to overflowing, even to the point where many must do their prayers outside. Islamic “fundamentalists” are working hard to see Turkey become an Islamic state, and they seem to be gaining in power and using greater violence as time passes. Spiritually speaking, there is a thick resistant darkness over the land of Turkey.
BELIEVERS
Nevertheless, there are some spots of brightly shining light–the Turkish believers in Christ. The Spirit of God is drawing Turks one by one from darkness to light. There are perhaps 300-400 believers from a Muslim background, and as many more from ethnic backgrounds–Armenian, Greek and Assyrian Orthodox.
There are 7 or 8 small fellowships of believers in Istanbul (a city of 8 million people). Most of them can meet in a single room for city-wide gatherings. In Izmir (New Testament Smyrna), there is one small fellowship with about 20-25 believers. The capitol city of Ankara has another fellowship a bit smaller in size. And Adana (near Tarsus–Saul’s birthplace) has a struggling group of believers as well.
These churches face frequent persecution and police harassment in spite of a constitution guaranteeing freedom of religious belief and expression. A population that is 99.5% Muslim fiercely resists the spread of “Christian propaganda.” Proselytizing by foreigners invites immediate deportation, though some important court cases have been won by foreign workers, winning back the right to stay and work.
Yet Turkish Muslims are being saved. Quite a number of baptisms have taken place just in the past few years. Yet one fact stands out: a majority are young, single men. Who will these young men marry?
One of the greatest needs is for a harvest of women and married people. Very few women have come to Christ in Turkey and it’s very hard for those who are saved to come to meetings. Families watch their single daughters carefully and husbands are very jealous of their wives, with the result that few women are free to go out alone. Would some of you sisters make it your burden to intercede for Turkish women?
Of course, the need for whole households to come to faith in Christ is just as great. You can count the number of believing families from Turkish Muslim background on your two hands!
DAILY LIFE
The majority of workers (we don’t say “missionary”–it’s badly misunderstood in Turkey) live in the ancient city of Constantinople, known as Istanbul today. It’s a dirty, smoggy metropolis of around seven million people. The overcrowded streets are curb to curb with humanity and bumper to bumper with some of the world’s worst traffic. Bus travel is time-consuming and frustrating. Better to travel by ferry; there’s at least a chance of getting a seat.
Most people live in apartments with a small balcony as their only outside space. Daily life is noisy, with shouting street sellers and children playing outside. Shopping is done in small stores and open markets full of delicious fruit and vegetables. It’s not that hard, just time-consuming. But since most of us don’t have cars, it’s the treks back up Istanbul’s steep hills, often pushing a heavy-laden stroller, that gets us in shape.
MINISTRY
As is true in most of the Muslim world, one can’t enter Turkey as a missionary in the traditional sense of the word. On the other hand, it would not be entirely accurate to call Turkey a “closed” country. It is certainly not closed to the presence of dedicated believers who will enter the country as students, teachers, businessmen or even long-term tourists. One must have secular work to get a residence permit. Many Christian workers teach English to Turkish people.
Generally the first few years are spent working hard at language study. Turkish is not Arabic or Persian, but part of a different language group altogether. It is not as easy for us English speakers to learn as Spanish, for example, but it is a logical and beautiful language which must be learned well in order to have an effective ministry.
There are two main thrusts to winning Turks to Christ: friendship evangelism and mass evangelism. Personal work is crucial and open to all. Many hours are required to build friendships to a level where the gospel can be given clearly and misconceptions clarified. Training national believers is also vital.
Yet as valuable as personal work is, how are the 65,000,000 unreached Turks going to hear? The vast majority of Christian workers live in the three largest cities of Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, and at present only 7 of 73 provinces have even a small resident witness. We must beseech the Lord of the harvest for laborers. And consider going!
And we must pray for the effective use of nets! The Lord has called us to be fishers of men–net fishermen. Nets are ways to get the gospel to large numbers and catch those who have spiritual interest. These media ministries include literature, cassettes, video, radio, and correspondence courses.
Newspaper and magazine advertising for free New Testaments and correspondence courses has brought a significant response these last two years. This year alone nearly five thousand Turks have written in and begun courses. The seven or eight percent who continue beyond the first course are offered a personal visit to discuss the gospel face to face. This can be difficult and dangerous, but it is vital.
Finally, efforts to plant local churches are going on slowly in four or five cities. As in every field, there is great opportunity–and great opposition.
CONCLUSION
A determined effort is needed to see the lampstands of Asia Minor and other Muslim lands burning for Christ again. We need to refocus our aim on those places where Christ is not named, without weakening other works. More than anything else, we need a united prayer assault on Satan’s kingdom of darkness.
“The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for pulling down strongholds” (2 Cor. 10:4). “Now we beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with us in your prayers to God for us” (Rom. 15:30).