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We bring people together to help the oppressed
Lives and communities transformed by the power of God
Athens Koukaki Church Ministry Center
Special Project
Provide urgent relief to an Athens
community devastated by the Greek
economic crisis
The Project
Establish the Koukaki Ministry Center, an outreach of the
Second Evangelical Church of Athens
Duration of Project
September 2012—September 2014
Project Leader
Themis Sirinides—ITeams worker in Athens, Greece
Budget
$39,000
PROJECT DETAILS
Less than a mile from Mars Hill
where Paul spoke to the Athenians
of their unknown God in Acts 17,
thousands have been ruined by the
Greek economy.
As the economic crisis devastates many middle-class Greeks, the
numbers of those in desperate
need continues to rise. Mixalis has
had his small pension cut nearly in
half. After paying monthly rent and
utilities, there is not enough left for food. He depends on the
soup kitchens for his daily meals.
Ahmed came from Egypt 15 years ago and opened a tailor
shop. He could support his family until the recent economic
crisis ruined him. Eventually he had to close the shop. He has
not been able to provide for his family since, and depends on
the help of neighbors and the Koukaki church for food.
Some newcomers have already begun attending Sunday
and mid-week services. The Koukaki church now feeds more
than 120 Greeks, refugees, and immigrants every week. But
the crisis is deepening and they can’t possibly keep up with
the exploding demand. That is why they need your help to
establish a center to feed the poor and reach many more
people with the Gospel.
ANTICIPATED RESULTS
Install kitchen
Provide hot meals for hundreds more
Install showers
and laundry facilities
Give dignity to the homeless and those
without access to water or electricity
Open clothes closet
and food pantry
Meet basic needs of individuals and
families
Set up classroom
Offer Greek and English classes to refugees as well as Bible studies for Greeks
Start library
and computer access
Provide Christian books and other online
resources
The Koukaki neighborhood is filled with people on the periphery
of society. Impoverished Greeks, refugees, and immigrants are
often treated as second-class citizens. The mission of the Koukaki
Church Ministry Center is to present Jesus to the poor and
marginalized by demonstrating and proclaiming the Gospel. Those
whom the church serves will have access to:
• Basic necessities such as food, clothing and hygiene
• Training in basic Greek and English language skills
• Christian witness, including Bible studies and discipleship
The successful launch of this project will mean that:
•
Thousands in the Koukaki neighborhood will be exposed to the
Gospel.
•
The evangelical church in Koukaki will start a movement
among sister churches in Athens to reach out to their communities with the Good News of Jesus Christ and address the
oppression of the marginalized.
Partnership Opportunities
Give
Use of Funds
Building
$25,000
• Rent through Sep. 2014
• Utilities including water,
heat, electricity
Short-Term Individuals—Six-week to one-year service
opportunities for people with experience in institutional
cooking, youth work, nursing or computers. Other vocational skills considered
Materials
$6,500
Short-Term Teams—Periods of 9-14 days to help with
the feeding program, local youth ministry, community
cleaning projects and special relief outreaches in Greece
Project Development
$7,500
• Partnership Development
• Administrative Services
• Promotion
• Travel Costs
Total
$39,000
• $1,000 covers rent and utilities for a month
• $6,500 covers kitchen equipment purchase, building
furnishings and computer purchase
Go
Long-term Workers—Individuals or couples with a
heart for youth; individuals or couples who have a passion
to serve the oppressed through relief ministry. Minimum
of two years for these opportunities
Pray
• pray for the Greek Evangelical Church
• pray for Greek people going through severe crisis
About the Project Leader
Athens is full of impoverished Greeks,
refugees, immigrants and homeless
people, unable to meet their own basic
needs. Now is the time to reflect
Jesus’ heart for the disadvantaged
Themis Sirinidis has a long legacy of
helping the oppressed in Greece. For 15
years this Greek American co-led the
team that started a significant outreach
(“Helping Hands”) among refugees in
Athens.
The strategy was to help develop and
encourage this organization to become
independent, where Greeks could lead
the vision and support the work. Helping
Hands now has an active Board of Directors and the yearly Greek donations are
sufficient to sustain the ministry.
But Themis’s passion to encourage
the local church in joining Gods Kingdombuilding work just continues to grow. Instead of asking the local church to join
forces with an independent ministry, Themis is now asking the church how he and
his team can empower the church to
reach those in need.
The response of the
local Greek Evangelical church is very
positive.
Since adopting this new approach,
the outreach program has increased
from feeding 30 people once a week to
more than 120 three times a week .
In the next five years, Themis’s goal
is to cast the vision to five other sister
churches. The model currently being
honed will become the standard for
Athenian churches seeking to be beacons of light in their communities by
giving access to food, freedom and forgiveness to the oppressed.
For more information:
Contact Project Developer, Keith Allison—336.693.8747—[email protected]
www.iteams.us