By Giannis Papageorgiou
This article originally appeared in Ariel Magazine, Summer 2026, Vol. 1, No. 59. Readers who wish to view the article in its original magazine format may access the complete issue here.
A Story of Coffee, Conversation, and the Gospel
My name is Ioannis (Giannis) Papageorgiou. I was born on August 21, 1981, in Thessaloniki, Greece. My parents were Greek Orthodox Christians, but they were not born-again believers. I consider myself blessed because, from a young age, I had the opportunity to encounter Yeshua in my life.
Divine Encounter at the School Gate
In January 1990, when I was nine years old, an incident occurred that changed our family’s life forever. One day, my mother came to pick up my sister and me from school. As she was leaving and looking at some photos from our school’s Christmas celebration, she said out loud, “Thank you, God, for my children.”
At that very moment, a sister in the Lord happened to be walking by and overheard her. She approached my mother and said, “You’re doing well to thank God for your children, but do you know that God loves you?” My mother replied, “Yes, He probably loves me, but not as much as I would want Him to love me.”
After a brief conversation, that sister invited my mother to a nearby house where a Christian fellowship was meeting. My mother dropped us off at home and went with her. That same evening, for the first time in her life, she attended a gathering at a local congregation of believers. Soon afterward, she gave her life to Messiah Jesus and began bringing my sister and me to church as well.
Trusting God as a Teenager
Soon, we attended church regularly. I was part of our youth group, made many friends, participated in evangelism, and was actively involved in many other church activities. When I was 16 years old, God revealed Himself to me through the Holy Spirit. At that moment, I personally decided to follow Yeshua and give my life to Him.
At school, I was a quiet, reserved student with a small circle of close friends, and I often shared my testimony with them. I never experienced any opposition or persecution because of my faith.
After completing high school, I pursued accounting studies in my hometown of Thessaloniki. When I was 22, I began working in an accounting office and later joined an international transportation company as an accountant.
Marrying the Right Person
I met my future wife, Melpomeni (Melpo), at a Christian conference in Berea. The conference was hosted by the local church where Melpo’s father served as pastor. Marrying her was by far the best decision I have ever made. God led us together and, after a time of prayer and confirmation, we were married about six months later, in September 2008.
Melpo and I became active members of the church in Thessaloniki, where we remained until 2011. At that time, Greece was experiencing a significant economic crisis, which ultimately cost me my job. We frequently visited my in-laws in Berea on weekends. At one point, my father-in-law, Pastor Nikos Dimoliaras, suggested that I send my résumé to various local companies. Soon afterward, I received a job offer at a well-known export company in Berea, where I ended up working for 14 years.
For me especially, moving from a large city like Thessaloniki to a considerably smaller one like Berea was extremely difficult, but we trusted that God knew what He was doing. My wife and I began serving at Pastor Nikos’ church. Soon afterward, our first daughter, Ifigeneia, was born. We subsequently had two more children: our son, Panagiotis, born in 2014, and our younger daughter, Vivian, born in 2021.
In September 2012, I was ordained as an elder in the Berea church. Since then, I have been involved in youth ministry, evangelism, and the preaching of God’s Word. Along with other believers, we visit the local nursing home, where we sing worship songs and share Messiah’s love with the elderly residents.
In addition, our prison ministry is dedicated to supporting the incarcerated population by addressing both their material and spiritual needs. During our visits, we provide inmates with essential clothing and footwear, including shoes and slippers, as well as personal hygiene products such as shampoo and toothpaste. Beyond these practical donations, we are granted a dedicated hall within the correctional facility where we invite inmates to join us in worship. There we joyfully sing hymns to the Lord and share brief messages of hope and faith. We also contribute to the prison library by donating numerous copies of the New Testament in various foreign languages so that the Word of God is accessible to prisoners from many different backgrounds and nationalities.
Mercy on the Borders
In September 2015, my wife and I began ministering to Middle Eastern refugees entering Greece from Turkey. At that time, there was a large refugee camp in Eidomeni (Kilkis), near the border between Greece and North Macedonia. More than 15,000 people were living there in tents while waiting to cross into Europe.
For about six months, my wife and I drove from Berea to Eidomeni every Tuesday, making a round trip of about 240 kilometers. We provided water, food, clothes, tents, milk, diapers for babies, and blankets to those in need. We also distributed Arabic New Testaments, shared the gospel, and prayed with many people. It was a very difficult period yet also a fruitful one, as we had the opportunity to lead many Muslims to the Lord.
Since April 2016, we have continued helping refugees in two camps in Berea, which together shelter more than 1,200 people. Pastor Nikos and I have obtained special licenses from the Greek government that allow us to transport refugees to the local hospital using our own vehicles. We often drive sick children, pregnant women, and elderly people for medical treatment and provide them with clothing, shoes, and other necessities.
But the most important thing we offer is the Word of God. We distribute the New Testament in Arabic or Farsi, and we have witnessed many people come to faith in Yeshua the Messiah, be baptized in water, and dedicate their lives to Him.
We have also visited some of them in Germany and the Netherlands, where most now live after leaving Greece. Many attend local churches and are active members of those congregations. Some families have also returned to Berea to visit us and have either been baptized themselves or had their children baptized in our church. In fact, this coming July 2026, a Kurdish family from Syria—close friends of ours who now live in Germany and are followers of the Messiah—will visit us in Berea for a week. It is a great joy to see Muslims give their lives to the Lord.
A New Door in Ancient Berea
Our church in Berea is situated directly across from the synagogue where the apostle Paul preached nearly 2,000 years ago, as recorded in Acts 17:10-15. The nearby Jewish neighborhood, called “Barbouta,” is a historic area that attracts hundreds of visitors each day, both Jewish and non-Jewish.
As I mentioned earlier, in 2011 I received a job at a well-known export company in Berea, where I worked for 14 years. I served as the head of accounting, a position that carried significant responsibility and a wide range of duties. Over the last three years, however, I began to sense that such a demanding environment was no longer where God wanted me. There were months when I barely had the time or the strength to attend church, especially during the week. I felt the Lord calling me away from the corporate world so that I could be more available for His work. Yet I did not want to make the decision on my own; I wanted God to intervene and lead me according to His will.
In April 2025, God brought things about in a remarkable way, and before long I left the company. I did not panic because I knew that God was in control and that He had a plan for my family and me.
Earlier that same year, in January 2025, we had applied to start a new business for my wife. The business was approved by the authorities in May 2025, and we began preparing a gift shop located next to our church, directly across from the synagogue in Berea. A few months later, we were able to open the shop for business. This has become a wonderful opportunity not only to earn a living but also to share the gospel with tourists who visit the synagogue.
Today we use the shop as a hub for evangelism. Pastor Nikos and I are often there to welcome visitors, offer them a cup of coffee, speak with them about faith, and share the good news of Yeshua.
My daughter Ifigeneia and my son Panagiotis have been immersed in the Hebrew language from a very young age. Under the guidance of their grandfather, Pastor Nikos, they have learned to recite several Psalms in Hebrew, including Psalms 1, 23, 122, 125, 133, 137, and 147. They can also fluently recite the names of the kings of Israel, the judges, the prophets, and the 12 tribes of Israel in Hebrew. When Jewish tour guides and visitors stop in front of our shop or our church and hear two young Greek children reciting these sacred texts and names so proficiently, they are often deeply moved. It is a unique and touching experience to see people who are not Jewish show such appreciation for Jewish culture and heritage. Many take photographs or record videos and give them a warm round of applause, visibly touched by this unexpected moment.
We also keep New Testaments in more than 35 languages, which we freely distribute to anyone who is interested. Last year alone, more than 20,000 people visited the synagogue, about half of whom were Jewish. The others were Americans, Europeans, and Asians following in the footsteps of the apostle Paul. We offer the New Testament not only in Hebrew but in many different languages, and we strongly believe that it is God’s will for us to be there to share the message of salvation with them.
I thank God for the great privilege of being called His child. I am unworthy of this calling, yet I am eternally grateful for the precious blood of Yeshua the Messiah, who saved me. — Giannis
This article originally appeared in Ariel Magazine, Summer 20026, Vol. 1, No. 59. Readers who wish to view the article in its original magazine format may access the complete issue here.
Copyright © 2026 Ariel Ministries. Originally published in Ariel Magazine, Summer 2026, Vol. 1, No. 59. This article is republished on the Ariel Ministries website with permission. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from Ariel Ministries. Permission requests may be directed to corporateoffice@ariel.org.
