Persecuted Church
Faith Through Fire
Finding Hope Amidst Violence
Warning: The following story contains descriptions of violence that may be unsuitable for some readers.
On that morning, everything was very normal, very usual. I called the office and no one answered. It was still the very early hours of the morning when we got an email from Uruzh. He told me the schedule that day was not so busy, so we could relax. I went to my wife after breakfast and told her, "There's something weird going on in the office." I tried to call them again. Again, nobody answered, so I called the police. As we opened the door, I saw the blood on the floor. I realized there had been a massacre.
My name is Gokhan Talas and I'm a Christian in West Asia. Every day when we are leaving our homes, we are facing darkness and this darkness is growing every day across the country. War, massacres, genocides, it's a typical life in this area. Some people left the country after the massacre. Some people lose their motivation, but I gained a new kind of motivation after the massacre. I just realized our methods, our way to evangelize across the country must change. I was a graphic designer and I often think, "I can use this for the ministry." Especially using media for evangelism, for reaching people.
Miras was the first professional Christian magazine in my country. We are publishing the magazine bi-monthly. In each edition, we talk about violence, sport, education, and we are approaching them from a Biblical perspective. God gave me this vision and God gave me this strong faith for my people. I'm not sure what will happen in the future for the Christians in our country.
All I can do is mind the Bible's instructions for a Christian's life and follow them. Staying as a Christian in Western Asia is a lifetime challenge. It's very hard to manage this life, especially as Christian parents. We need your prayers for the protection of our kids. We need your prayers for the country. Not only for the Christians, but for our leaders, for our governments; that they will see the benefits of the peace. Some of you are living under the remains of a bombed home or maybe, some of you are in jail. But this is the history of Christianity: suffering and pushing forward. The Bible says, "To live is Christ and to die is gain."
On that morning, everything was very normal, very usual. I called the office and no one answered. It was still the very early hours of the morning when we got an email from Uruzh. He told me the schedule that day was not so busy, so we could relax. I went to my wife after breakfast and told her, "There's something weird going on in the office." I tried to call them again. Again, nobody answered, so I called the police. As we opened the door, I saw the blood on the floor. I realized there had been a massacre.
My name is Gokhan Talas and I'm a Christian in West Asia. Every day when we are leaving our homes, we are facing darkness and this darkness is growing every day across the country. War, massacres, genocides, it's a typical life in this area. Some people left the country after the massacre. Some people lose their motivation, but I gained a new kind of motivation after the massacre. I just realized our methods, our way to evangelize across the country must change. I was a graphic designer and I often think, "I can use this for the ministry." Especially using media for evangelism, for reaching people.
Miras was the first professional Christian magazine in my country. We are publishing the magazine bi-monthly. In each edition, we talk about violence, sport, education, and we are approaching them from a Biblical perspective. God gave me this vision and God gave me this strong faith for my people. I'm not sure what will happen in the future for the Christians in our country.
All I can do is mind the Bible's instructions for a Christian's life and follow them. Staying as a Christian in Western Asia is a lifetime challenge. It's very hard to manage this life, especially as Christian parents. We need your prayers for the protection of our kids. We need your prayers for the country. Not only for the Christians, but for our leaders, for our governments; that they will see the benefits of the peace. Some of you are living under the remains of a bombed home or maybe, some of you are in jail. But this is the history of Christianity: suffering and pushing forward. The Bible says, "To live is Christ and to die is gain."