After completing the nine-month School of Biblical Studies (SBS) program — inductively studying all 66 books of the Bible — three students and eight staff, eleven of us in total, went out as one team on an outreach to Turkey from June 2 to June 24.

This outreach was built on the theme verse of Isaiah 61:1–3, and we went out into the land of Turkey carrying the theme, “Lift up your voice and comfort my people (UP!!).”

Turkey is the land the apostle Paul traveled on his missionary journeys, and it carries a deep spiritual heritage — home to the Seven Churches of Revelation and to the history of the early church. It was also where the Council of Nicaea was held, leaving behind a significant legacy of early church history and faith. This land, once a vital channel for the gospel, has now become a Muslim-majority nation where Christians make up only about 0.0001% of the population — roughly 8,000 believers. Yet we walked this land trusting that God would restore it again.

Though we ministered as one team of eleven, we divided into three regions — Istanbul, Izmir, and Antalya — and spent our time in worship and intercession, sharing the Word, and serving the missionaries and their local ministries.

[ Istanbul ]

Turkey—a land where the Word of God once flourished. And at its heart, Istanbul, a city bridging Asia and Europe.

What struck us most there was the Turkish flag flying everywhere across the city. The flag, bearing the crescent moon and star, seemed to embody this land’s strong sense of national and religious identity, echoing alongside the sound of the call to prayer.

Our UP team experienced, even in a small way, how deeply God loves Turkey — through intercession and worship, teaching and reading through Scripture, a Bible cover-making ministry, and on-site prayer. We also witnessed how, through worshipers who obey God’s calling, we saw how God was making small openings in what had seemed like a massive and immovable spiritual barrier. And we came to hope that this land’s pride would one day be found not in Islam or a sense of national superiority, but in love for and faith in Jesus Christ.

When we asked a missionary who has served in Turkey for over thirty years, “Is there a special strategy God has given you for this nation?” — the answer was, “There is no special strategy. We simply become their friends and seek to be a blessing to them, and through those relationships, disciples are made.”

That answer led me to reflect on my own life.

Am I truly worshiping God in the place where He has planted me?
Am I being a blessing to the people I’m with right now?
Am I a good friend to the people around me right now?

– Kim Seong-sun, student

[ Izmir ]

The first time I came to Turkey, God showed me the Father’s love and compassion for this nation through Jonah 4:11. At first, that truth didn’t move me deeply. But in Izmir, as I listened to this land’s story and to the missionaries’ own life stories, I began to see not only how God was working through these missionaries, but also how deeply He loves the people of Turkey. Little by little, I began to learn the Father’s heart toward this land.

Turkey was once home to the seven churches, but is now part of the Islamic world. Even so, God has kept a remnant of believers here, and He is still at work among them.

Because of that, I came to believe that just as God loves them, I too should hold them in love and keep praying for them.

– Jung Jong-won, student

[ Antalya ]

They preached the word in Perga, then went down to Attalia. From there they sailed to Antioch… (Acts 14:25)

The Attalia of Scripture — today’s Antalya — was a place I was visiting for the first time, even though I had been to Turkey several times before, so I set out with real anticipation. Praying in Antalya, surrounded by the beautiful Mediterranean and the Taurus Mountains, the words of Matthew 11:28 came to mind: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” God gave me a sense that He wants to use this place as a place of rest and restoration for weary missionaries and ministry workers.

I also found myself reflecting on Paul, who sailed from this very place toward Antioch, and on the footsteps of the faithful who labored for the gospel before us.

Our team taught SBS methodology, Galatians, Ephesians, and the intertestamental period to four missionaries. Their passion for the Word was remarkable.

We had heard, with some sadness, that there are only about 8,000 Christians in all of Turkey — so it was wonderful news to hear from the missionaries that just recently, at a church here in Antalya, 24 local believers were baptized. Hallelujah!

This is a land marked by the tearful prayers of so many who came before us… seeds sown with tears… the blood of countless martyrs shed for Jesus’ sake… In faith, we declare that a season of revival and fruitfulness is coming.

– Kim Hyun-sook, student

[ Houses of Prayer & Worship ]

Houses of Prayer — places set apart to offer worship and the fragrance of prayer to God — are springing up across this land. Among them, I spent time in worship and ministry at the Houses of Prayer in both Istanbul and Izmir.

At the Istanbul House of Prayer, we led a Korean-language worship service and shared the message of the Prodigal Son, praying that in this land — once home to the seven churches — people would rise up once again to worship God.

At the Izmir House of Prayer, which welcomes people from many nations, we lifted our worship toward the throne of God. There was a powerful sense of God’s presence and anointing. Even though there are still very few people in Turkey worshiping God, we sensed God’s assurance that revival is coming to this land.

On our last day in Izmir, our team members — who had been scattered across three regions — gathered together at the Izmir House of Prayer. Worshiping alongside the missionaries there, it was a time of worshiping God with a different, deeper heart than before.

I came away with the conviction that a “place of worship” isn’t a specific location, but the very throne of heaven where God dwells — and that God desires to build each one of us into a house of prayer.

– Son Yohan, staff

[ TMSBS ]

TMSBS is a ministry pioneered by missionaries who completed SBS in Jeju in 2024, and it now serves missionaries throughout Turkey.

Because of that connection to Jeju, our team spent three weeks teaching an Introduction to the Prophets along with five of the Minor Prophets. For us, having devoted ourselves to “studying, practicing, and teaching” Scripture (Ezra 7:10), it was a tremendous grace to be able to share the Word even here on the outreach field.

It was an especially meaningful time because we were joined by passionate missionaries who made time, in the middle of busy ministry, to commit to studying the Bible. It also confirmed for us that we are truly part of one Body in the same Spirit, as the missionaries shared how our visit and teaching had brought them comfort and encouragement. We didn’t always know how to comfort them, but God used the Word and fellowship to make us a channel of comfort.

After our final lecture in the third week, we held a Love Feast alongside a “King’s Banquet.” The King’s Banquet was an event where the missionaries creatively reenacted stories of the kings from the books of Kings, taking on the roles of the kings of Israel and Judah through creative role-play. After sharing a joyful meal together, the Jeju SBS team and the TMSBS team closed out our time together by holding hands and praying over one another’s prayer requests.

Our time with TMSBS became a time of confirming that, though each of us lives in different circumstances, regions, and forms of ministry, we are all one family in the same Spirit — members of one Body following Christ, our Head.

– Kim Mi-seon, staff

[ Refugee Ministry ]

Our team carried out ministry among Syrian refugees twice — during the first and third weeks. The first session was for nine teenagers, and the second was for twenty-one children in grades 3–4. We spent our time bonding with the children through Shrinky Dinks craft-making, filming reels to Akdong Musician’s music, and all kinds of games. Most of the missionaries serving there were seniors who had come to the field after retirement. Two missionary couples had been serving there for one to three years, while one woman had served for more than ten years and one man for more than twenty.

One of the most memorable moments was watching the missionaries greet each child with genuine warmth and a high-five as they rang the bell and walked in, one by one. Seeing the way they treated the children naturally as friends and served them with genuine love deeply challenged and inspired me.

One especially striking testimony came through a missionary, about something a child had said. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she answered, “I want to live a life like the teachers here at the center and the teams that visit us.” That answer seemed to show just how powerfully the missionaries’ lives had become an example to these children.

There are various classes offered there, but English and guitar are taught for a specific reason — so that the children can one day sing a song of worship, becoming worshipers themselves. That’s why their prayer request isn’t for a house, but for a center — a building — where they can worship freely, without restraint. May the day come soon when a place of worship is established there, and when the children and women who come through its doors are raised up as worshipers.

Ju Hae-rim, staff