Discipleship Specialist

In Athens, Greece, the religious aspect of life is complex and multi-faceted. There are a multitude of different experiences that people have with faith. Although the country is devoutly Orthodox in theory, many young people find themselves distrustful of and at odds with the Orthodox church, and the percentage of young Orthodox people who actively engage with their faith is small and dwindling still. At the same time, there exists a vibrant evangelical community—but it, too, faces its challenges, given its extremely small presence in the country and its close-ranks mentality due to opposition from the Orthodox church. Many evangelical youth grow up in the church and have trouble separating true love for Jesus from cultural obligation. At the same time, migrant communities carry with them various other traditions such as Islam. Regardless of religious background, most youth in Greece struggle with a deep hopelessness due to distrust of the church and government’s ability to create a safe community for them to flourish and thrive. Greece’s difficult economic situation has resulted in uncertainty and instability in people’s financial situations, and many Greek youth experience a lot of hopelessness and uncertainty both in the present and about the future. While we work to address and support this need practically, much of the hopelessness also has roots in spiritual oppression and there is a need for people who carry the hope of Jesus that goes deeper than seemingly hopeless circumstances.

On our team, we are searching for spiritually mature people who are deeply in love with Jesus, who are knowledgeable and skilled at handling and teaching scripture, and who are deeply convinced to carry on Jesus’ teachings about loving the poor and marginalized. We hope that a Goer in this position will help lead Bible studies and outreaches, build deep relationships with both Christian and non-christian youth to encourage them and grow together in understanding of who Jesus is, as well as helping strategize for discipleship initiatives in the city and connect well with our partner orgs who share this goal of discipling the youth of Greece.