What happens when 6 couples, from 5 different church backgrounds, sent from 5 different ministry organizations, come together, put aside their own agendas, and work toward building THE Kingdom of God?

The short answer? Amazing, miraculous, 2nd chapter of Acts types of things!

In June, we (Mark & Michelle) went to the Greek island of Samos with Hope4Nations (H4N) co-founders Caleb & Lydia Camp. Samos is one of several Greek islands along the coast of Turkey (in the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas) that are temporary homes for thousands of refugees from the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa that have made their way to these islands through Turkey. Hope4Nations met with 2 couples that are living there full-time ministering to the refugees. After 3 days of meetings and collaboration with these 2 couples and others, A.M.I.R.A (Aegean Mediterranean Island Reach Alliance) was birthed.

AMIRA is an alliance of Kingdom-minded people sharing resources to make disciples who make disciples through:

• Worship and Prayer
• Hospitality and Relationships
• Outreach and Education
• Equipping and Training
• Strategic Partnerships

The Mission of AMIRA is to revive the call of the early church in the Aegean and Mediterranean region.

Hope4Nations will continue to be actively involved in this ministry; from recruiting & training to sending, to being on the islands in person to teach and reach – all for the purpose of discipleship that multiplies in to the nations. The refugee camp on the island of Samos houses 100’s of people from multiple African, Middle East and Central Asian nations. The team has already established a community center, Hope House, where they hold weekly discipleship on Wednesdays and Sundays  (Sunday meetings include a meal). They are teaching them to worship in song, to study the Word together, and to share their faith and questions with others. Since June, attendance has more than doubled!  Consequently, they are now negotiating for a larger place to rent. They rarely go one week without a salvation and / or baptisms.

One of the ministries participating in the collective alliance of AMIRA, Waymaker International, owns a sailboat that is currently being used to travel between the islands. They have a vision to own other boats and make frequent trips around the islands establishing relationships and building the Kingdom. In fact, since we were there, they’ve been able to take a couple of prayer journeys to some of the closer, smaller islands to begin establishing these relationships. On these trips they have been able to pray for several who have had encounters with Holy Spirit or with “the man in white”, Jesus, Himself. We are very excited and have a deep anticipation! This is, for us, 18+ years of prayers being answered for the Greek islands off the coast of Turkey!

When we started H4N, it was created with the belief that we are called to build the Kingdom of God, NOT an organization, a local church, or our own kingdom. We are part of a body, and we need ALL the other parts to complete our mandate to “go into all the world and make disciples…baptizing them, teaching them ALL that I (Jesus) have commanded you; heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, cleanse the lepers; telling them the Kingdom of God is near, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God.”

ONE HEART, ONE ACCORD, CO-CONSPIRATORS in building His Kingdom! The Body doing what we are commanded – working, living, serving in UNITY – many members, many various gifts, different callings – all knit together under the headship of Christ for the purpose of worship through obedience.

Paul said, “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1 Cor. 2:3-5

So, as an organization, we are excited about this new addition to the mission and vision of H4N “to bring the hope of Jesus to the nations of the world through discipleship, training, mentoring, and compassion ministry.”

Because our strategy is collaboration and our goal is cooperation, when you partner with H4N, you are also partnering with other organization all over the world. Your seed is being multiplied and truly planted in the nations!

Stayed tuned to future updates and testimonials of what God is doing to reach the unreached through the collective efforts of AMIRA.