Theo Karvounakis is a Langham Scholar in Greece, working as Director at Greek Bible College (GBC) in Athens. Theo first encountered Langham through All Souls Langham Place in London, founder John Stott’s church, where Theo was a member for five years from 2007 to 2012.
Conviction for serving at home
Over his time in England, Theo had a growing sense that God was calling him back to Greece to serve the church there. This conviction led him back to his home country and into GBC and his PhD.
Theo shares, “In God’s providence, the Lord used my bad experience in the Church [in Greece] in combination with my great experience in the Church while I was in the UK for studies to create, not a calling at first, but certainly a burden to return to my own context and environment to be a true disciple of Jesus or a witness really…a relevant witness, to my own environment as a Greek to the Greeks.”
The Evangelical Church in Greece is small, only 0.3% of the population. The country is predominantly Eastern Orthodox, and many are nominal Christians. There is a great need for trained ministry workers, and for active, faithful Christians to witness to the people of Greece.
Scholarship and community
Theo is soon to finish his PhD study, which has been enabled by a Scholarship from Langham. He says, “I’m privileged with a generous scholarship from Langham Scholars for my PhD work on historical theology. I’m so blessed by Langham.”
More than money, Theo is thankful for the people and community of Langham. He explains, “The best thing that Langham and Langham Scholars have to offer to scholars or to the Church is that community of people who care for each other and help each other grow in Christ. So it’s not just about money or equipping people for ministry, but it’s long-lasting relationships that make this whole thing really count.”
Building trust in theological excellence
Many people in Greece mistrust theological education because of a historical idea that formal training ‘drains relationship with the LORD’, but as Theo sees it – the opposite is true, and the church needs trained leaders.
He says, “The church needs leaders. Of course these leaders need to be spiritual leaders, but they need to be trained in order to know the Lord and serve the Lord and worship the Lord. They need to know more about Him, and that comes through original languages, through Greek, through Hebrew, through systematic theology, historical theology. Of course, there is a way that someone can teach these disciplines in a draining way that takes out life, but that’s not the only way. There is a way that brings life, a way that actually deepens our worship toward God, and this is what we’re trying to do here [at GBC].”
GBC has been active in Greece for over 50 years. Although they’re a small college, they have an immeasurable impact in their country as they are the only formal theological institution in the Protestant world in Greece.
Theo explains, “We are really key and pivotal for the ministry here in Greece, as Christian witness, since everyone, and I mean everyone, every man and woman who is in ministry today in Greece, whether this is full-time or part-time or no time, they’ve come through the doors of our college for a formal theological education or just for one or two classes. So we’ve been privileged to have everyone, every single believer, coming through our doors for theological education.”
Langham has made a great investment in the college, and in turn, has had a great impact on its multiplying work. In addition to Theo, two other teachers at GBC have benefited from Scholars funding. Firstly, they have Myrto Theocharous, the first person trained with a PhD in Old Testament Studies in Greece. Lastly, there is Olga Vassiloglou, a new Greek Langham Scholar who is currently doing her studies through the University of Aberdeen.
Theo shares, “I can see how Langham Scholars have blessed our institution. They’re committed to the kind of contextual work that is happening here, which is really important. It’s really important for people like us to be able to have that type of training, which is top-notch, but then be encouraged at the same time to continue blessing the global church and to return to our context.”