Below are testimonies from some participants in the AEUNA's May 2019 Macedonian Mission to Beirut and Athens:
After months of praying and planning, Rev. Berdj Djambazian and his team, comprised of Rev. Hrag Karageozian and Pastor Harut Khachatryan, along with singers Arpy Aintablian and Raffi Kerbabian, arrived in Beirut for a series of evangelistic worship services at the Armenian Evangelical Emmanuel Church of Nor Amanos.
The services began on Thursday the 16th of May at 8 pm. The church was packed with people of all ages, not only from different Armenian Evangelical churches, but also from the Armenian community of Beirut and the surroundings at large. The worship band, led by Pastor Harut Khachatryan, created an uplifting atmosphere as the congregation joined together in song, and the beautiful hymns sung by soloists Arpy Aintablian and Raffi Kerbabian prepared the way for the gifted evangelist, Rev. Berdj Djambazian, to deliver the messages God had put on his heart to share.
Rev Djambazian did his utmost, with God’s help, to overcome all obstacles that might have prevented his coming to Lebanon and delivering these evangelistic sermons. For three consecutive days, May 16, 17 and 18, the evangelistic team was a great blessing indeed. Many committed their lives to Christ. Many were renewed in their faith. The spark of joy in the eyes of many in the community and all who were involved with this evangelistic event said one thing: that God was present and the Holy Spirit was at work in all that took place.
I believe it was God’s will for Rev. Djambazian to come to Lebanon, despite so many challenges on his path. This man of God, true to his Master’s call and the gift given to him answered, “I will go where you send me to preach the Gospel.”
We in Lebanon and in the Armenian Evangelical Emmanuel Church thank God for granting us the opportunity to host these evangelistic services, as well as numerous other events and encounters that took place in those few days.
We thank the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East for endorsing these meetings. We especially thank Rev. Berdj Djambazian, Minister to the AEUNA, Rev. Hrag Karageozian, Pastor Harut Khachatryan, Mrs. Arpy Aintablian and Mr. Raffi Kerbabian for being with us and for sharing the message of the hope we have in Christ. May God bless the seeds planted in Beirut by his faithful servants!
Pastor Sevag Trashian
Pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Emmanuel Church of Nor Amanos, Lebanon
” And Jesus said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.’ ” Mark 16:15
The Lord calls His true and faithful children to share the joy of the gospel of Christ and the message of the gift of eternal salvation with all the world, and that’s what we humbly did when we went to Lebanon and Greece in May. We went on our mission asking for the Lord to prepare the hearts of people who would attend and bless us and our ministry. Pastor Sevag Trashian welcomed us and took care of all our commute needs and made sure all went smoothly during our stay. We are very thankful to him for his patient and kind services.
All three nights, the Armenian Evangelical Emmanuel Church of Nor Amanos was full of people who were hungry for the Word of God. I could feel the presence of God as we were singing and prayed for all to be blessed and souls to be touched with every hymn and song. God blesses people and reaches their hearts with songs as well as sermons. I strongly believe, with God’s help, I ministered through my singing, as written in I Chronicles 6:32a "They ministered with song before the tabernacle of the tent of meeting...”
Many people expressed to me their gratitude and joy, mentioning that they were very blessed by my singing, and I glorified the Lord for touching their souls effectively. I felt very blessed and joyful when I saw how my singing impacted many people’s hearts and filled them with peace and joy. It was an honor to minister alongside my brothers in Christ, who were also a blessing to all.
We departed Lebanon for Greece with a great satisfaction and inner joy, praising God for preparing the field and for drawing people closer to Him. Rev. Vicken Cholakian was very grateful for our visit and service in Athens. He did his best to make our stay comfortable. The worship services went smoothly in Greece as well. The Lord gave victory to us and our mission was also accomplished at the Armenian Evangelical Church of Greece. The Armenian church fathers, leaders of our community and members of the congregation expressed their appreciation of our talents and singing and warmly congratulated us for the ministry and for using our God given talents effectively.
Our Heavenly Father was indeed glorified, and many souls were touched as they listened to our singing with tearful eyes and joyful hearts.
It was such a pleasure and honor to meet the pastors and congregation of both churches. Thanks to Pastor Sevag Trashian, Rev. Vicken Cholakian and all who supported and helped us during our mission trip and for their warm welcome, kind service, hospitality, and humble dedication. I am also very thankful to Rev. Berdj Djambazian and the AEUNA for making this mission trip possible. I especially thank God for giving Rev. Djambazian all the strength needed to go on this trip and to preach the gospel boldly and with authority.
I’m sure the Lord touched hearts and changed lives by using His servants, for His glory. We used our God-given talents obediently and planted the seeds gracefully and now we pray faithfully for God to bless our work and help the believers grow and mature in faith and thrive daily to be Christlike, for His glory. I’m looking forward to other trips to minister with singing, and to make my light shine before men for the Lord to be magnified and glorified.
In His grace,
Arpy Aintablian
From the first minute of our landing in Beirut to the last, we were treated with extraordinary hospitality and love by a wonderful team from the Emmanuel Church. We thank Pastor Sevag and Sam Svadjian for their efforts to coordinate our stay.
For me personally, the five nights of devotional singing and the worship services in Beirut and Athens were a blessing. Seeing the worshipers and the congregation singing and clapping along with us inspired us by nothing else than the Holy Spirit. Appreciation and excitement shone on the face of every believer who attended the worship series. They thanked us again and again, and asked us to return for another devotional week. "Come again soon, please..." they said to us in the courtyard following the services, "...we loved and enjoyed your singing very much, and we were blessed by the songs you sang," they continued. It was a blessing to see quite a few people attending church more than one night.
There are so many individuals to thank, who provided us with special attention and care throughout our mission. I'm personally thankful to God for giving us the opportunity to meet Pastor Sevag and Rev. Vicken Cholakian, who went the extra mile to show us around and drive us to and from church and provide our needs. Their love and dedication were an inspiration. We pray that God will give them the strength and wisdom to continue serving the Armenian communities in both Beirut and Athens.
Raffi Kerbabian