also today: Gibraltar

Answers to Prayer

1 Increasing religious freedoms being gained despite ongoing opposition

2 After centuries of confrontation between Greece and Turkey, the unexpected lowering of tensions since the Istanbul earthquake of 1999 opens up real possibilities for resolution of such intractable problems as the division of Cyprus

Challenges for Prayer

1 Greece was the first European country to be evangelized (Acts 16:10), but Christianity is now more cultural than spiritual, with only 2% of the population in church on an average Sunday

2 The Orthodox Church was a focal rallying point in the dark years of Turkish and German occupations

3 Discrimination, harassment and persecution of minorities still happens – especially those who 'proselytize' – Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses

4 Greek Evangelicals are few, socially marginalized and mainly concentrated in the Athens, Thessaloniki and Katerini areas

a) Courage to witness in a society that generally despises, and occasionally persecutes, them

b) Unity in the Spirit

c) Greater growth after small gains during the past 40 years

d) Vision for multiplying congregations in many centres as yet without an evangelical witness

5 Widespread evangelism with effective follow-up discipling is the need

a) EHC's goal to reach every home with gospel literature

b) The OM Love Europe and Hellenic Ministries' (HM) summer evangelistic campaigns

c) The Thessaloniki Evangelistic Team's year-round evangelism and summer outreaches

Above all, pray for the development of a nation-wide vision for prayer, outreach and church planting

6 Theological training has been a lack

7 Many Greeks have never heard a clear presentation of the gospel

a) The 150 islands

b) University students

c) Albanians, who have flooded into Greece during the 1990s seeking seasonal employment, many of them illegally

d) Immigrant communities in the Athens area

e) Indigenous ethnic minorities in the north

f) The 200,000 drug addicts

8 Foreign missions have not found Greece an easy field because of strong nationalism, visa restrictions and the high degree of cultural adaptation required

9 Literature has been a fruitful form of evangelism

10 Christian Radio and TV

11 The large Greek diaspora totals nearly 5 million in 88 countries: USA 2 million; Germany 500,000; Australia 272,000; Britain 220,000; Canada 132,000; Italy 100,000; South Africa 72,000

also today: Gibraltar

Geography

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Area 131,957 sq.km. Southernmost part of Balkan Peninsula in SE Europe and 150 inhabited islands in the Ionian, Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.

Population (2000) 10,644,744 +0.29%AGR

Capital Athens 3,150,000.

Peoples

Greek 90.8%; Indigenous minorities 4%; Immigrants and refugees 5.2%.

Literacy 95.2%. Official language Greek. All languages 14. Languages with Scriptures 6Bi 2NT 2por.

Economy

EU membership has boosted tourism, industry and modernization. HDI 0.867; 27^th/174. Public debt 15% of GNP. Income/person $11,640 (37% of USA).

Politics

Nearly four centuries of Turkish rule ended with independence in 1827.

Religion

The Orthodox Church is recognized and legally protected by the state as the dominant and established religion.

Churches in Greece

Missionaries from Greece

36 in 15 agencies; 30 in Greece.

Missionaries to Greece

150 in 38 agencies from 12 countries

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