A criminal court in the country's southeast region recently dropped all charges against a pastor accused of opening an "illegal" church. On May 12, Ahmet Guvener, who leads the Diyarbakir Evangelical Church, was fully acquitted in the opening hearing of his case, Compass Direct reported. He was charged with "using a building registered as a home to open a Protestant church and conducting religious worship together with music for the people attending." The quick resolution of the case surprised both Guvener and his lawyer, who said a criminal case typically extends for a year or more before a verdict is issued. "It's a great step forward for Turkey," Guvener told Compass, "for Christians here, for religious freedom, for democracy." Elsewhere, a producer and host of a Turkish TV news show was recently sentenced to nearly two years in jail for airing false provocations against Turkish Protestants. On April 5, a panel of judges ruled that Kerim Akbas' programs on Baskent TV had incited violent attacks last year against local Christians and their places of worship in Ankara. Shortly after the first report by Akbas, 37, a local church was attacked and another congregation received bomb threats, Compass reported. Charisma News Service, June 2004

Operation Mobilisation staff in Turkey published the number of a “prayer telephone” in newspapers, and distributed it on business cards, inviting people to call if they need prayer. “It is in real demand,” they report. "Sukru, for example, called to thank us for the Jesus Film we sent him. Excited, he told us about a dream he had had the previous night: 'I saw a white, glowing angel, who brought me something to eat'. We told him about the verse in the New Testament which says 'Man lives not from bread alone, but from every word which comes from the mouth of God' (Matt 4:4)." Operation Mobilization, April 2004

While reports of persecution against believers in Turkey continue to surface, it doesn't appear to be a deterrent to the gospel. The country wants to be admitted into the European Union, so authorities are keeping a sharp eye out for human rights violations, says one worker of Hope Builders International. As a result, Christians are experiencing a greater degree of religious freedom. Despite the heavy Islamic presence, this man and his team discovered an entire village last fall that had rejected Islam. They acknowledged God, but knew little else. Team members laid the groundwork in an introduction to Christ. Then they rented 38 buses and transported everyone in the village for a gospel presentation. Following a fellowship meal and preaching sessions, he says what happened next was beyond words. "I asked the nearly 700 people, 'Who wants Jesus Christ?' Almost the whole crowd raised their hand. It was awesome! The Lord showed me that the time is right for His name to spread through Turkey." Since returning to the U.S., he continues to hear reports of people in Turkey openly confessing their faith in Jesus Christ. "In March we're going back to Turkey where we will have a big baptism celebration," he said. Mission Network News, January 2004

An anti-Christian group recently hacked into a web site of a Turkish believer, reported the Inter-National Needs Network. An advertising campaign via the web site offered to send Christian books to some 6 million email addresses. "There have been complaints and attacks as a result of this strategy," said a web site report. "But there have also been thankful messages from people who have received the book which we have sent. They ask if we can send any other books. Last month we sent out 103 Scriptures, 'Jesus' films on CD and calendars. We are also working on cartoon films for children using Bible stories. As a result, we have received 23 emails and 10 telephone calls from people asking about Christianity." Inter-National Needs Network, September, 2003

From Turkish World Outreach: Our good friend Isa Stanboli, 82, passed from this life on August 28. Isa was the son of a Muslim mullah in Kutahya, Turkey, and was raised as a strict Muslim. As a young man in the 1940's, he served as chief of police in Adiyaman, Turkey. He said that during that time he ordered the beating and jailing of an itinerant Christian worker for passing out Christian literature in the city. Later, Isa was tried and sentenced to prison because of corruption in his department. But guards who knew him allowed him to escape. He then fled the country and travelled to Damascus, Syria, en route to Mecca for the Hajj. In Damascus, he wasted his money in gambling and riotous living and had to give up his plans to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. Instead, he found employment there in Damascus. His landlady there was an elderly Armenian widow who invited him to visit church services with her in both Orthodox and Protestant churches. He told of lighting candles in the Armenian Orthodox church and then hearing fiery sermons in the Armenian Protestant church. Not long after, he was gloriously converted through the preaching of an Armenian evangelist. When his hometown in Turkey learned of his conversion, several men were sent to kill him. But God miraculously delivered him by suddenly giving him supernatural strength as they were mercilessly beating him. Recognizing God's intervention, two of the same men later came to him to apologize. Following his conversion, Isa attended Bible college in Beirut, Lebanon, and became fluent in Arabic and Armenian. There, he met his wife, Lucie, a precious and devoted follower of Christ. Following graduation, Isa pastored Arab and Armenian evangelical churches in Beirut, Damascus, Jerusalem, and Cairo. It speaks highly of him that Armenians would allow a Turk to be their pastor. He also served as the Middle East overseer for Worldwide Missions, a US agency, and helped plant churches in Egypt and Syria. Following an amnesty passed by the Turkish parliament, Isa was able to travel to Turkey again and gave oversight to congregations sponsored by Worldwide Missions. Eventually, he was even able to visit family members in Kutahya. Before going there, he told us he fully expected to be killed. Nonetheless, he was determined to share the Gospel with his loved ones. To his surprise, he was well-received and treated with respect. In the 1970's, he and his family moved to the United States, where he retired. He and Lucie became active in an Armenian congregation near Glendale, California, and Isa also attended North American Turkish Believers Conferences. We were delighted to have him preach in Turkish. One man whom Isa led to Christ now oversees a worldwide ministry to Muslim Arabs; and I'm sure there are numbers of others in Christian ministry because of Isa. He is survived by his wife Lucie; two sons: Robert and Richard; two daughters: Mary and Alice; four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Lucie asks all of us to pray that their children will return to a close relationship with the Lord. As adults, none appear to desire His rule in their lives, though they were very devout as children. Turkish World Outreach, September 2003

More New Testaments were sold in Turkey in 1997 than in the whole previous decade, and the number of congregations in Istanbul has grown from two to 16 in those ten years. A power struggle between the secular military and Islamic politicians has many young Turks asking questions. Some observers believe Turkey is nearing an important spiritual breakthrough. Prayer Track News, October-December, 1998