MISSION TO VOLOS

by Damianos Papadopoulos

A special evangelistic mission took place in the city of Volos from 20th to 27th July. It was special, first because it was organised by a local church which had not done this kind of outreach before, and secondly because it involved doing community work - cleaning the town - as a means of evangelism. 20-25 of us took part, and we stayed on a seaside campsite just outside the town.

Volos is one of the most beautiful towns in Greece, as it is set between the sea and the mountains, in which many lovely villages nestle. The mission team was divided into two groups working independently but to the same end. The first group was responsible for cleaning certain areas of the town, so bringing the church to the attention of the people. This did not go unnoticed by the local broadcasters, newspapers and the mayor.

The second group went out every afternoon to preach in the parks and the port area. More than forty children and their parents watched us. We did conjuring tricks, puppet shows and Bible stories. We feared the police would intervene at any time, but in the event we had no problems at all. With the permission of the parents, we gave out leaflets to the children, and we were pleased to see a lot of the youngsters actually asking for them. Stephanos Botonis (a young member of the church who has been working with me for the last three years) led the children's programmes, which included sketchboard work. After this, we had the opportunity to tell our fellow countrymen how much God loves them.

Apart from one day, when we met some opposition from fanatical members of the Orthodox church, the mission went quite smoothly. We had some very interesting and positive discussions with those who attended the meetings. Nearly fifty people listened to our presentations every night. Two Christian students, Manolis and Nick, shared the sketchboard preaching with me.

I believe this is a time of sowing in Greece. There is a great need for our fellow countrymen to hear the Gospel. And for that to happen, we need young people working with the local churches to proclaim Jesus Christ in our land.