Turkey, 2006. World factbook map.

Members of the Conservative Mennonite Conference first entered Turkey as self-supporting "tentmakers" (Acts 18:3) in 1982. One individual was enrolled in the university as a student. The other was hired as a university teacher of English. Conscious of the fact that the Turkish government finds the presence of western missionaries offensive in a country where 99 percent of the people are Muslim, the Mennonite personnel were sensitive about how they shared their faith and worked to make responsible professional contributions to the country.

The Turkish constitution grants complete freedom of religion to all individuals. Christians are sometimes arrested and called in for questioning, but when brought to trial, they have always been acquitted.

One Mennonite worker was thus tried, acquitted but eventually evicted. The harassment and societal pressure make conversion to Christianity extremely difficult but a small, national Christian fellowship was growing in 1986. Mennonite workers were contributing to this effort. They hoped to maintain a low-key presence in the country.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, pp. 893-894. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.

To cite this page: