This is an MSC project which facilitates ministry initiatives in the city of Antakya (ancient Antioch) in Türkiye, where Ric & Darlene Munro have served for many years.
Antakya Mesihçiler Kilisesi (Antakya Christian Church) was a small church with a few believing families and several singles. The church began growing when a new children’s ministry drew 50+ children each Sunday. Another outreach was among Syrian refugees in Antakya. As God supplied, church members were able to take food and other essentials to 1500 refugees for five years.
We praise God that through this project, praying friends have been able to support other ministries such as:
- A children’s retreat where we had over 100 Muslim children come to learn about Jesus.
- Purchase of a new van for the refugee work in 2019.
- Assistance for ladies attending the 2019 SE Turkey Women’s Conference.
- COVID relief in 2020-2022 for helping very poor neighbours living around us during lockdowns and afterwards as the men had no jobs.
The Munros report: “During 2023-2024, this project facilitated relief assistance for survivors of the massive February 2023 earthquakes. Praise God, none of the believers in our church were killed or even hurt. After the quakes, most of the church members left Antakya for some months, and some left permanently. Nevertheless, we have gone from only three believers remaining in Antakya to meeting rooms filled with 100 to 250 people at times. Our new neighbourhood (just outside ancient Antioch) has many families who have been seeking not just the earthquake relief being provided, but also seeking meaning in life.”
The Lord wonderfully provided the Antakya believers with a new church building, which they gratefully began using in 2024 for regular church activities and also for special ministry events (such as a Women’s Conference in May 2025). We praise and thank God for His provision through this MSC project which makes possible many strategic ministry initiatives in Antakya, Türkiye.