Illustration, Story

Ihsan Ozbek is the president of Foursquare in Turkey, a country that is 99.8% Muslim. He and his wife Cigdem pastor the largest evangelical church in the nation – it is a church of about 150 people. A few years ago Muslim terrorists attacked a group of Christians in Ankara, killing many of them. Several ladies from Ihsan’s church were among the dead. The government of Turkey, in response to public outcry, broadcast the memorial service for the dead on national TV. Ihsan spoke at that service, over the airwaves, and shared the gospel of Christ to a national audience. Soon after, his family began receiving death threats. As they walked the streets of Ankara, Ihsan and Cigdem and their two little girls would see Muslims looking at them and drawing their fingers across their throats. The Ozbeks live, pastor, and serve Christ in continual persecution, and under the constant threat of martyrdom.