An Interview with Thomas Cosmades

Can you give us background information about yourself?

I was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1924. I am of a Greek heritage. We were a minority in an Islamic country.

So your families migrated from Greece to Turkey?

No, this is a question people always ask me. Our ancestors always lived in Asia Minor, present-day Turkey. Our people were in Turkey before the Turks themselves.

How did you become a born again Christian?

My grandparents were converted into the Evangelical faith through American Congregational missionaries. I was born a 3^rd generation Protestant and was raised in a nominal Christian home. Even my father was saved at a later in his life. By the time I grew up, I didn’t want to continue to live in Turkey. I wanted to go to a freer country. I set my mind to migrate to Australia as I thought I could establish a better life there. I had all my papers ready to migrate to Australia when my life took a drastic turn.

In 1949, an American archeologist called Dr. A. J. Smith came to Turkey with the intention of climbing Mount Ararat to find Noah’s Ark. When Dr. Smith came to Turkey, newspapers found his expedition interesting. Daily, they were writing articles about this peculiar group of archeologists. It was a novelty for them. At that time, I was working as an accountant, having completed my military service. I should mention that I always attended a Protestant church. The born-again Christians in this church were a minority. Our preacher never preached salvation. I kind of liked this group of born again Christians. Later I realized that they had been praying for me.

One day, I was reading the paper and I said to myself, “I am going to meet Dr. Smith.” I inquired and found the hotel he was staying at. At the time, Istanbul was small with a population of seventy-five thousand. Today it is about fifteen million. When I went to meet Dr. Smith, he impressed me with his kindness and meek and gentle spirit. Soon, I found out that he was a minister of the Gospel. I introduced myself to him, and he was happy to know that there were evangelical churches in Istanbul. He said that he would like to come to our church. Right then and there I arranged for him to speak in our church the following Sunday. It was called “The Bible House Church” where services were held in Turkish. The church put an ad in the newspaper that Dr. Smith would be speaking there. A rather large crowd gathered that Sunday morning. Many people came out of curiosity to meet Dr. Smith and to hear him talk about his expedition. But his interested was to preach the Gospel, which he did in a powerful way. An old congregational missionary translated for him. The born-again people were so happy and asked him to preach again in the afternoon. He agreed but the person who was translating had to leave. So there was no interpreter.

Vahram Tatikian, an Armenian evangelist who was on fire for the Lord, asked me to translate. At the moment, I was so afraid; I didn’t know if I could manage it. I had never translated before. They insisted since there was no one else who knew English and I fearfully stood next to him and translated. He started telling his testimony and how he had come to Christ. He was shedding tears. My heart was deeply touched for the first time in my life about my sin. I knew I had to be converted. I wanted to have such a testimony. I was deeply touched but didn’t want to show my conviction of sin, as I was a proud person. So, I composed myself and carried on interpreting his message. I quickly left at the close of the meeting and crossed over to our home on the Asiatic side of Istanbul. There I knelt at my bedside and confessed my sin, receiving Jesus as my Lord and Savior. My life was totally changed and it new horizons opened before me.

How was your life changed?

One thing that happened to me after my conversion is that God gave me the spirit of witness. Naturally, I couldn’t have done this before because I didn’t have Christ as my Savior. Istanbul is located between two continents, Europe and Asia. It used to have various groups of people. I was witnessing to Turks, Greeks, Jews, and Armenians. People who knew me were asking me, “What happened to you?” And I told them that Jesus saved me.

At that time, were people open to hear the gospel message?

People were open because the message was unknown. Today, there are many missionaries in Turkey. At that time, there were none. Only Vahram Tatikian, a local Armenian brother, was faithful in proclaiming the good news.

Did you remain in Turkey?

The Lord was working gradually in my heart and I was losing interest in business. Where once my mind had been set to go to Australia and become a successful business person, now I knew that the Lord wanted me to preach the Gospel. So I wrote to Dr. Smith that the Lord was calling me into the ministry. He took my request seriously and invited me to come to the USA. In those days, it was easy to come to America. He sent me an invitation and I came. I buried my dream to go to Australia.

It was in November 1950 that I landed by ship in New York with ten dollars in my pocket. I was twenty-six then. America impresses everyone, and it impressed me, too. The first place I visited was Boston where I had an uncle that I never had seen; he came to the USA before I was born. I started making friends among church people. They were very kind and generous to me. My whole idea was to find financial assistance for going to school; I had no possibility to pay by myself. Thank God, he opened one door after another, and I had wonderful education in the USA.

What did you study?

I studied Bible and Theology, mostly in Chicago, at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.

What happened after you completed your schooling?

Well, in 1954, I met Lila in Indiana. She had just graduated from university. We got married in 1955, and ever since then we have been in the Lord’s service in various capacities and countries. Throughout these years, I cannot forget God’s faithfulness in my wife’s and my life. Next year, God willing, we will celebrate our Golden Wedding Anniversary.

What kind of ministries did you get involved in?

We first went to Idaho, where there were three small Baptist churches without a pastor. They invited us and I became the pastor of these three churches. I had three services on Sunday, one in each church, and other services during the week. We ministered there for about two and a half years. This is where our two daughters were born. It was a time I never forgot. It was educational in different ways and very helpful for us. But while serving there in that beautiful mountainous region, I never abandoned my commitment to go and preach the Gospel in Turkey. I never lost sight of this dream. In April 1960, we took off for the Middle East by a Dutch cargo ship from New York. Plane trips were not common in those days. It took us three and a half weeks to reach Beirut, Lebanon. It was an excellent trip, except for a storm on the Mediterranean Sea. We paid $250 per person, and half price for each of our two daughters.

When we finally reached Beirut, we contacted some missionaries. Beirut was a good launching place for missionaries at that time. Then we moved to Turkey and our ministry began right away. Because Turkish was one of my mother tongues, I could immediately get involved with the Turks. During the course of my years, I translated the New Testament from original Greek into Turkish, wrote evangelistic/ theological/ educational literature and had daily broadcasts from Trans World radio from Monte Carlo for fourteen years. Those days short wave radio was the main medium for broadcasting. We got many letters from people who were extremely eager to tune in, any time of day or night. In those days, most people in Turkey did not even own a television set, so radio was the only means of communication. We received hundreds of letters every month, which we followed up with letters and literature. Some came to Christ through this ministry and became Christian workers themselves.

How long did you stay in Turkey?

We visited Turkey off and on during the several years we were living in Greece. In 1968, we moved to Germany because of the great influx of foreign workers coming to Germany to work. In Germany, we held evangelistic meetings from one end of the country to the other among the Turks. I gave myself to broadcasting and also to translate the New Testament into modern Turkish. I also started producing Turkish literature and cassettes, which to this day are widely used.

At that time, God put in our hearts to start visiting the Eastern European Communist countries, which we did two or three times a year for many years. It was a rewarding ministry. We carried in Bibles and books in a concealed way as it was illegal to bring Bibles into these countries. We also took in needed items of food, clothing and other equipment. Once I was caught on my way to Russia from Finland and they confiscated all my Bibles. It was only one time that I got caught. But the main thing we did in these countries was to preach in churches. It always gave me great satisfaction to visit isolated Christians, encourage and comfort them and keep in touch with them. This was carried on until the Iron Curtain fell. Eventually my age was caught up with me. I cannot travel very much now. I am 80 years old.

What countries have you ministered in?

We visited Australia, New Zealand. Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, and most European countries. Everywhere we went we stayed with local people. We never stayed in hotels. When we visited these countries, we primarily preached in churches, taught the Bible in various ways, and made personal contacts with people, and also relating to people the experiences of others. People would listen to the stories and pray for the other countries. Now we live in Germany where our girls are settled.

Do you feel we need more missionaries these days?

We need Christian workers always. The Lord said that the fields are ripe and ready for harvest. We rejoice for all Christian workers, whether they are involved part time or full time in the ministry.

What should we pray for?

Pray for Christians under severe oppression, even martyrdom. In many parts of the world, Christians are intimidated and worshiping under threat such as in Sudan, northern Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and other countries. In our times, the message of Jesus Christ is unwanted, but people should know that it is for their benefit and their salvation.

So you feel there is more intolerance towards Christians these days?

Yes, there is more intolerance of Christians coming from the Islamic world and also from the Hindus. There is opposition in the West in this post-Christian age, and where paganism is the norm, even though people don’t think about their societies in this way. Even in the West, some people are trying to return to the ancient idolatrous religions in places like England and Denmark.

Do you think that there will be a revival in our time?

In all frankness, we cannot see revival happening soon. It is time of persecution, hatred of Jesus and his message, and a time of materialism, especially in the West. It is time of anything but of Jesus Christ. But in many places, the Holy Spirit is moving and convicting people. We need to pray for revival.

How do you describe today’s church?

Today’s born-again church is being entrapped by the philosophy of materialism. Even in Third World countries materialism influences and controls people. In the meantime, Christians who want to live for Jesus Christ are being crushed.

Many people have the desire to evangelize, but they don’t how. What would you say to these people?

People who cannot preach, personal conversations and encounters with everyone are wonderful opportunities. You would have no problem striking up a conversation in the train, on the streets, or anywhere else. People are greatly burdened and are waiting for someone to give them a word of compassion.

Do you think that the average Christian man and woman are doing a good job in grasping these opportunities?

The average Christian doesn’t care enough to see a revival, a change from the normality that their family is being trapped in. Revival is the work of the Holy Spirit and can only be materialize when Christians pray in the Spirit, something that is not quite there in our time. World events which are speedily taking place tell us a lot regarding eschatological happenings taught in the Old and New Testaments. The world is racing towards its end. The Bible contains prophecies about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and that the present world will not continue as it has been.

In your 80 years on this earth, what have you learned about God?

On April 29, 2004, I turned eighty. I know God’s abundant and inexplicable grace. He is the God of Grace, or else none of us could have stood before him. The grace of God can only be apprehended by faith, faith in a reality that we cannot see with our physical eyes, but our hearts and minds tell us that it is very real. If one is truly are a believer in Jesus Christ, he should daily anticipate His return and the establishment of His everlasting and righteous kingdom.

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