IN PAUL'S FOOTSTEPS

by Damianos Papadopoulos

From the moment we began to settle back at Mylotopos (northern Greece) as evangelists with OAC we have been coming to realise what an enormous responsibility we have.

Now, however, after carefully organised evangelistic evenings, children's programmes, Bible studies and evangelists' training sessions for teams and churches, we sense that opportunities are increasing and we are continually seeing confirmation of that.

Preaching the Gospel in towns and villages where this is happening for the very first time is very satisfying. We often feel we are in the company of St Paul when he responded to the vision of the young man of Macedonia calling him to "come over to Macedonia and help us".

The apostle Paul had a really new ministry as he travelled around northern Greece preaching the Messiah wherever he found ready listeners. It is a moving experience to continue the work Paul began, walking through the same towns he walked through and preaching the same message he preached.

Of course there are many negative reactions and we expect them to increase rather than decrease: the Orthodox Church does not take a good view of our evangelism and there are often problems. Some people show contempt and mock us.

Nevertheless, we rejoice because the Gospel is proclaimed. In the street, people open their hearts and share with us not only their pain but also the terrible bondage with which Satan has bound them. "Today my heart is really rejoicing" were the words of a young man in Alexandria, (a small town near Berea) when he attended the evangelistic programme we did there.

Indeed, we see that the Good News brings joy to the hearts of the people who hear it, but it also brings joy and satisfaction to those of us who impart it. Little by little the Lord is leading us to thirsty people in the small towns of northern Greece, and people are opening their hearts to us.

At the same time the children's work has a prominent place in our hearts. Every Saturday we organise a children's club which is attended by about forty children.

For two hours we have the opportunity to sing, watch puppet shows, do handicrafts, memorize Bible verses by entertaining methods, learn Bible truths with the help of attractive visual aids or conjuring tricks, hear a Bible story told with the help of a sketchboard and play games.

We firmly believe that, as the homes of many Greeks are closed to the Gospel, the only means for these people to be won to Christ is through these children who take part in the club.

At present, we are preparing for Balkans Outreach in September, and we hope to go to other towns after this campaign.

Damianos and his wife Evodia have recently returned to Greece after training in Bristol with OAC.

A small group led by Rob and Traci Davis will be joining the mainly Greek team for Balkans Outreach. It is expected that the team will be entirely Greek in future years.