Dreaming of the Kingdom of God

AUGUST 2026 · FRED SHIN

A group of adults, young people, and children gathering together in Kırıkkale, Türkiye, during a Koinonia Ministry visit connected with Grace Church Kirikkale and the local Christian community.

When did I begin to dream?

Sometimes I wake from sleep unable to remember exactly what I was dreaming about, yet certain that I had been dreaming. It makes me wonder: When did I begin to dream? How long will I continue to dream? And why do we dream at all?

After returning from a visit with the members of Grace Church Kirikkale in Türkiye on July 18, two new dreams began to take shape in my heart. One is to see more Home Churches established. The other is to share more widely the story of refugee ministry and what God is doing among refugees and migrants.

Looking Back Before Moving Forward

Before building the Koinonia Ministry website, I began looking back over the journey God has allowed us to walk.

What surprised me most was not simply how much ministry had taken place, but how many people we had met along the way—and how many times we had also said goodbye.

Some remain close to us today. Others were with us only for a season. Some became friends, students, ministry partners, or leaders. Others passed briefly through our lives before continuing on a journey of their own.

Yet looking back, I began to realize that none of those encounters were insignificant.

Each person became part of the story God was writing.

A Journey Among Refugees

Our ministry journey in Türkiye began in 2015. Later, when we encountered Persian-speaking refugees in Athens, we became increasingly aware of the need not only to help people in difficult circumstances, but also to raise up spiritual leaders who could serve their own communities.

When we moved to Athens in January 2019, we could not see what the years ahead would bring.

One step led to another.

Koinonia Education Center began. Refugee children came. Young leaders studied theology. Bible studies formed. Relationships deepened. Some whom we had once supported began serving others. Home Churches emerged. Churches were planted. And eventually Bible College Europe became another part of the journey.

None of this followed a plan that we could have drawn in advance.

Again and again, God seemed to open the next door only after we had walked through the one before it.

A New Dream in Kirikkale

Our recent visit to Grace Church Kirikkale brought many of these memories back to me.

What began there on November 13, 2022, as a Home Church led by Harpak and Ghazal eventually grew into a worshiping community. On March 12, 2023, with the support of a donor, the congregation began meeting in a new worship location.

Standing again among the believers there reminded me of something simple but important: a church does not begin with a building. It begins when people gather in faith, open their homes and lives to one another, and begin following Jesus together.

That is why the vision for Home Churches has become increasingly important to me.

There are refugees and migrants scattered across cities and countries who may never begin their journey of faith inside a traditional church building. But they can gather around a table. They can open the Bible together. They can pray. They can care for one another. And, in time, they can become a community that carries the Gospel to others.

Telling the Story

The second dream that grew in my heart was to tell these stories more widely.

Refugee ministry is often described through numbers—how many people crossed a border, how many are waiting for asylum, how many need housing, food, education, or legal assistance.

Those realities matter.

But behind every number is a person with a name, a family, a loss, a hope, and a story.

We have been privileged to walk alongside some of them.

This website is therefore more than a place to introduce Koinonia Ministry. I hope it can become a place to remember what God has done, to tell the stories of people we have encountered, and to invite others to pray, participate, and dream with us.

Still Dreaming

I do not know where all these dreams will lead.

Looking back, I realize that much of this ministry began in ways we could not have predicted. Perhaps that is why I am learning not to ask only, “What can we accomplish?” but rather, “What might God already be doing, and how is He inviting us to join Him?”

There are still people to meet.
There are still leaders to encourage.
There are still Home Churches to be planted.
There are still stories waiting to be told.

And so, by God’s grace, we keep dreaming of His Kingdom.

— Fred Shin
Athens, Greece · August 2026