By: Judd Spencer
Coming out of the COVID season in 2021, the Eastern Regional Conference of the Churches of God sponsored a series of virtual theology lectures from biblical scholars and theologians around the world. One of those lectures was by Dr. Myrto Theocharous, an Old Testament expert who teaches at the Greek Bible College in Athens, Greece. Through that lecture, I learned about a ministry that Dr. Theocharous is involved in called Nea Zoi (New Life Ministries). Nea Zoi ministers in the red-light district of Athens to women, many of whom are being or have been trafficked. I was struck almost immediately by this work. After all it’s very rare to find someone who is doing the kind of high-level academic scholarship that Dr. Theocharous is doing, and living that out through boots-on-the-ground ministry to the disenfranchised. I brought this ministry to the attention of Liberty Community Church where I pastor in Manassas, VA, and shortly after, the church began supporting Nea Zoi financially and through prayer.
Dr. Myrto Theocharous
The last few years, Liberty has designated a week in the spring as a time of concentrated prayer for Nea Zoi and the city of Athens. Church members meet nightly over Zoom to hear prayer requests and to pray together. We have also had Zoom meetings with Dr. Theocharous who has shared specific prayer requests for the work in Athens. For years, Liberty has been praying for “A”[1] who was able to escape her trafficker, and through Nea Zoi has received counseling, job training, and legal services as she took her trafficker to court. More recently we have been praying for “C” who immigrated to Greece from Venezuela but is now hoping to escape her circumstances and return to her home country.
This year, during a Zoom meeting with Dr. Theocharous, we learned of a specific need for Nea Zoi. The team members who minister in the red-light district have a ministry center that they use as their homebase. They gather there to pray before going out on the streets. This space is also available during the week for women who can escape their situations to come and receive counseling, legal services, job training, or just to find a safe space and a cup of tea. “It really is a sanctuary in the middle of the city,” Andrew Larson who serves on the Nea Zoi team told us. This year, the rent of this ministry space is being covered by a donor, but this donor has shared that they will not be able to continue this funding into 2027. Dr. Theocharous asked Liberty to be in prayer for Nea Zoi’s future finances.
As the call ended, several members of Liberty felt burdened to explore if there was something more that we could do beyond prayer. Quite honestly, I wished during that call we could have told Myrto we would just cover the rent, but that just isn’t realistic for a small church like ours. But then God gave me an idea; that’s really the only way to describe it. The rent for the ministry space is 1200 euros a month (roughly $1400). Liberty couldn’t take on that kind of expense for a year, but we could certainly cover one month. If we could find eleven other ministry partners who would each be willing to take one month of 2027, together we could stand in the gap for Nea Zoi. I began to make calls to individuals and churches that I knew would have a heart for the hurting and lost. To be honest, I really didn’t know what to expect. I figured a lot of people would say, "I’m glad that this is a ministry that is meaningful to you, but we’re supporting other ministries right now."
Instead, God’s people stepped up. As of this writing, pledges have been given to cover all of 2027’s rent and Liberty is hopeful that we can continue this work and raise rent for 2028 as well. Nea Zoi is doing such an amazing work bringing God’s light to the darkness, and if we can do just a little bit to ease the financial burden of ministry, that’s a blessing for us. And quite honestly, it’s felt like blessings on top of blessings because so many that I called seemed to catch the vision immediately without me having to do any kind of “convincing.” One of the lessons that has come out of all of this for me is recognizing that the resources are out there, we just need to be able to pull together to direct them to where they can do the most good for the kingdom.
Judd and Katie Spencer
In Matthew 13, Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a great shrub. It’s something that might seem very small, very insignificant, but God is working to bring out of it something bigger than we could imagine. This season Liberty Church has gotten to experience a little bit of that reality, and we are excited about what God might do next! As I reflect on the Churches of God, and John Winebrenner’s legacy, I am reminded that during the days that led to the formation of our denomination, even as Winebrenner was consolidating his vision for his church, he was also becoming more ecumenical. Liberty is in a unique spot in many ways as the only CGGC church in our state, but we have been so blessed by the relationships that we have formed with other gospel-centered churches in our area. In many ways I feel that we are more fully the Churches of God when we are reaching across the aisle to partner with other denominations and members of God’s one true church. Working together, God can accomplish through us more than we could ever ask for or imagine.
If you are interested in learning more about Nea Zoi or supporting their ministry, please contact Pastor Judd Spencer at or go to: Home | Nea Zoi
Dr. Myrto THeocharous's Lecture: Justice and Care for the Poor in the Book of Deuteronomy
Learn more about Dr. Theocharous by checking out her commentary on Deuteronomy: Deuteronomy (5) (The Story of God Bible Commentary): Theocharous, Myrto, Longman III, Tremper, McKnight, Scot: 9780310490791: Amazon.com: Books
[1] Names are not used to protect the identity of Nea Zoi’s clients.
CGGC eNews—Vol. 20, No. 43
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