Summer in Nicosia, the capital city of Cyprus, is an interesting experience to say the least…200,000 people essentially took their extended European-style vacation all at the same time.

First, there’s the weather. It’s hot…uncomfortably hot. The average daily temperature for August was 42C…that’s 107F. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except it was also humid. And since most houses – including ours – only air-condition particular rooms…usually bedrooms…you can get pretty warm during the day.

There were more than a few times I took a mid-day shower and changed shirts. And to answer the likely question…no, it doesn’t cool off at night. In fact the air gets unnervingly still. So it’s no wonder that most of the population leaves the city in August.

You might take that last sentence as hyperbole…but it isn’t. The Central Tourism Office tracks everything in terms of hotel occupancy, airline flights, yada, yada, yada…It’s a hold over from the island’s communist past (they still have lots of communists…more on that later). The CTO estimated that nearly two-thirds of Nicosia’s population left the city in August…Remember, there are over 300,000 people in Nicosia. So 200,000 people essentially took their extended European-style vacation all at the same time.

The place was a ghost town. You could slowly cross boulevards at rush hour and not have to dodge a car. At night it was eerily quiet. Even major stores closed. And the government – the people’s government (the president and the party in power (AKEL) are communists) – shut down…literally. Then, just as quickly as they disappeared, they all showed up again after September 1st.

Now there is an advantage to this. The few restaurants and other establishments that are open treat you like royalty. And you can get anywhere in the city in five minutes…you just can’t buy anything. Tried hanging out at the Mall one day…I think the remaining third of Nicosia’s population was there – it’s air conditioned – and you don’t have to pay the power company.

Of course there’s always the beaches. We learned to make great use of those. You find a spot, rent your chaise/umbrella from the “municipality” (think local government) and then spend the entire day soaking in the Mediterranean. Eventually you’re so “pruney” you force yourself out of the water and bake in the sun until the wrinkles go away…then you restart the cycle again.

The oddest thing about summer – no cold water – unless you have it in the refrigerator. You see, your water passes through a white, translucent tank on your roof. It’s a requirement here…a sort of solar heater for your water. Works great in the winter. But during the summer…let’s just say that by dinnertime you can almost cook an egg in the stuff that comes out of the tap. So needless to say, we kept gallons of water in the ‘frig. That and tons of ice cubes in the freezer.

All this had its effects on church attendance too. It dropped to levels I have never experienced. Admittedly we’re a small congregation to begin with: 70 folks – with an average attendance of around 35-40 depending on where the NGOs, businesses, and embassies send people. (Remember…I never know how many people to expect or who to expect on Sundays.) So August hits, and attendance starts to dwindle: 12, 12, 7, 7, 7…yup single digit church…and the number included my wife and I.

Like the rest of the city, my congregation abandoned ship. My Americans and northern Europeans went home to see family…or just rotated to another assignment, and the Cypriot members moved to the beach. As with the city, folks have started coming back. Some of my northern Europeans get here this week so things should pick up…once they’re back and the children’s various activities settle in.

All my smart-aleck journalism aside, I know many of you follow life at Nicosia Community Church through these dispatches. I also know many folks are praying for us so we want to share with you some of the ways that God has revealed His care for our congregation and used us to extend His Kingdom since we arrived in Cyprus last October.

· NCC is on its way to becoming an elder/deacon lead church with an excited, empowered & reinvigorated Leadership Team, and increasing excitement among church members as they begin to step out in involvement in the life of the church.

· Through prayer and broad input from the congregation, the Leadership Team has been able to develop and begin implementing an achievable, focused, and leader/congregation-supported vision for ministry within the church, and ultimately to the island.

· My wife’s Christian education background has enabled us to revitalize our youth ministry (6-teens), and restore a faith development/discipleship focus to this ministry. We spent this spring going through a series of lessons on the underpinnings of faith. It’s not all serious, however, as we continued the traditional teens versus the church bowling tournament and had a day at the water park to celebrate the end of the school year.

· We’ve also restored broken relationships that have existed not only between NCC and other English-language congregations & ministries such as the Mercy Center and the Pregnancy Care Center, but also with the Greek Evangelical congregation with whom we share facilities – ending years of self-isolation and division within the Christian community.

· The lack of Christian counseling resources on Cyprus has led to a growing pastoral counseling ministry for me, not only to members of NCC but also to other believers in Nicosia and throughout the Island as word gets out that I’m willing to do this. (Sadly, many pastors/churches aren’t.)

Although God is working, we continue to face some unique and significant challenges as we minister to the people of Cyprus. Our biggest challenges are related to the size and demographics of our church.

· As an international, interdenominational, evangelical, English speaking congregation, NCC’s primary emphasis is to provide worship and community to non-orthodox believers with English as the common language. This includes both permanent residents of Cyprus and expatriates who are usually employed here for a short time. As a result, the size of our church can change quickly depending on the turnover of those who are here for short-term employment purposes only. Turnover during the past year has reduced the size of our congregation by about one-half.

· Additionally, a large number of the couples in our congregation are mixed faith couples, e.g. the husband is a practicing/believing member of the Cypriot Orthodox Church and the wife is an American or European evangelical worshipping at NCC. Because the Protestant and Orthodox faith traditions are very different in terms of community involvement and giving, many of our members are not able to support the church through involvement in ministry or with their financial resources in a significant way.

I know that many of you are already praying for Nicosia Community Church and for my wife and I as we serve in this community. Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us – that God will give us wisdom to know how to serve this unique community and to know how to reach out and find English speakers who may be interested in joining our faith community.

We also need prayer for the financial health of our church. For the first time in its recent history, the challenges above have resulted in an increase in the church’s financial needs that the congregation can’t support on its own. Recognizing this, the Leadership Team and the congregation have asked us to seek financial support to help sustain the life, worship, and ministry of this small, but active, congregation. There are two specific financial needs:

· General Support: Nicosia Community Church currently needs financial support for its general operating budget. Our current giving is approximately 65% of what is needed on a monthly basis. An additional $1,500 (US) a month in general support will return us to 100% of our current budget. Our hope is that this will only be a short-term need and that renewed efforts to reach out to the English speaking community will bring new people to our church in the near future.

· Facilities: NCC is blessed to be able to share worship facilities with the Greek Evangelical Church congregation here in Nicosia. Unfortunately, the building we worship in does not have office space, or suitable meeting space for other activities. The previous pastor of NCC had received a sizeable inheritance and was able to purchase his own home on Cyprus, which provided office and meeting space for the church. With the transition to a new pastor, the church has had to absorb the cost of not only the space for church events, but also living space for us. NCC currently rents a flat that serves as an office, Christian education facility, general meeting space, and pastoral residence. The Leadership Team recently voted to begin the process of purchasing a flat as a way to better utilize the church’s resource and to provide a sense of identity and legitimacy to our church’s credibility in this orthodox culture. Because Cyprus is an island, property is expensive. We estimate that the purchase price for a flat that meets the church’s need will cost between $300,000-$390,000 (US). Over the last several years, our congregation has raised slightly more than $124,000 to either purchase the flat outright or make a mortgage affordable. Any gifts given toward the purchase of property will be added to the property fund and go directly towards the purchase of a church flat.

Please pray that God will provide some financial supporters who will want to partner with us as we minister here in Cyprus. As you pray, and plan, your giving for the remainder of this year and into next, please considered giving to Nicosia Community Church. If God is calling you to support NCC financially, either with a one-time gift or regular giving, we would love an opportunity to share with you more about our ministry here, Nicosia Community Church, and how your gifts will be used. We will look forward to following up with you, via email initially, to answer any questions you may have.

Terry Burns is a PCA minister and member of the Presbytery of the Blue Ridge. He is ministering WAY out-of-bounds as the Pastor of the independent Nicosia Community Church in Cyprus. He writes an occasional dispatch for the folks back home. Email him at [email protected]