Turkey played a significant part in the early Christian Church as the center of much of the Apostle Paul's work. With the establishment of the Ottoman Empire, however, it became the guardian of Islam for centuries. The twentieth century brought severe persecution and from 1915 to 1923, the Armenian people (who were predominantly Christian) were subjected to deportation, expropriation, abduction, torture, massacre and starvation by the Turkish government. Roughly three-fourths of the two million Armemians disappeared in the Turkish government's attempt to eradicate the Armenian population. As a result of this and other factors, the number of Christians has dramatically decreased from twenty-two percent in 1900 to today, where 99.8 percent of the people are Muslim and most people have never heard the Gospel of Christ.

Despite the government reforms to facilitate joining the European Union, there is no indication of increasing religious freedom. While the Turkish constitution includes freedom of religion, worship services are only permitted in "buildings created for this purpose," and officials have restricted the construction of buildings for minority religions.

The few who dare to profess Christ face harassment, threats and prison. Evangelism is difficult. One pastor was even accused of being a Nazi and awoke to find a swastika painted on his door and a hate note shoved underneath. While proselytism is not specifically forbidden, many prosecutors and police view it with suspicion, arresting them for disturbing the peace, "insulting Islam," conducting unauthorized educational courses, etc. Generally the courts dismiss the charges. Foreigners may be deported. Local officials have caused difficulties for Christians attempting to change their religious designation on their identification cards. Christians also face persecution from militant groups, such as two Christians beaten for distributing Bibles in October 2003. One of the men, Yakup Cindilli, was left in a coma in critical condition. He has made a considerable recovery, but the final legal outcome remains in question. He has been able to regain his ability to communicate, and despite pressures from his family to return to Islam, has made it clear that he will remain faithful to Christ.

• Pray for opportunities for Christians in Turkey to share the truth of who Jesus is with those around them.
• Pray that local officials will stop harassing Christians.