Pastor Troy stands above the City of Antioch (Antakya) where

we were first called Christians. He later preached in the first church located in a carved out cave on a hillside where both Peter and Paul preached.

Pastor Troy & Pastor Scott in Turkey Ministering

The ruins of ancient Biblical city of Epehesus. This place is amazing and is truly remarkable. I stood in front of these ruins and read aloud the warning that Jesus gave to John in the book of the Revelation while thousands passed by.

Hundreds of thousands of people visit these placesfrom around the world without really ever knowing the significance of them. Paul the Apostlr walked these EXACT same steps to preachand minister to the estimated 400,000 people!

There are ancient ruins throughout this nation. There are none like them anywhere---even in Israel. This is the place that the Church was birthed in the 1st Century.

This is one of the many places that Paul the Apostled sailed from. We came here to minister to and encourrage a Christian couple that run a roadside stand near here who are being heavily persecuted because of their faithin Christ. Of the 80,000,000 Turks--only an estimated 3500 claim to beleive in Jesus as Lord and Savior---we are trying to change that.

Headed to the Nation of Turkey

Raven Ministries
International, Inc.
P.O. Box 1897
Daytona Beach, Fl 32115
(386) 682-4141


My Dear Friends,

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We are just about twenty-four hours removed from departing Daytona Beach for our trip to the nation of Turkey. We’ll be flying to Dallas, Texas tomorrow and will be with our friends at 1st Baptist Church Fairfield for Resurrection Sunday.

Our trip to Turkey will begin on Monday and we’ll be arriving in the City of Izmir in Western Turkey near the Aegean Sea. This is a City of over 3,000,000 people and was the ancient city of Symrna (Revelation 2:8). We’ll begin there and pray as to the leading of the Holy Spirit for the remainder of our two weeks in Turkey.

Some of you may be unaware that Turkey was area where all of the seven churches written to in the Book of the Revelation where located. This included: Ephesus, Thyatira, Pergamos, Laodecia, Sardis, Philadelphia, and of course Smyrna. Turkey is also the modern location of the City of Antioch where Acts 11:26 declares, “…the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.”

The history of this place is obvious. It is where the Apostles of old walked and talked and saw the Gospel impact the world as it has now impacted generations. You and I that call ourselves Jesus’ disciples are the offspring of the work began there 2,000 years ago.

While the history is compelling, we are not going there to reminisce about what was—because there is still much history to be written in this Nation. I am reminded of Esau “selling his birthright” to his younger brother, Isaacs, for just a “bowl of soup.”

This nation had its birthright (the New Birth) taken from them by 1500 years of Muslim domination. The nations where “we were first called Christians” is now an estimated 99% Muslim. But God is His infinite mercy has kept the door open for the preaching of the Gospel in this Nation.

Unlike most of the other Islamic Nations, there is freedom of religion in Turkey. A right that I do not believe was established through their parliament—but through the promises of God to our spiritual forefathers who gave their lives to see the message of the Cross taken to the lost and dying.

It is fitting that our departure and ministry there coincides with the day that separates Christianity from all other faiths and religions—the day our Lord and Savior defeated death, hell and the grave!

Depending on the availability of the internet, we will be trying to post updates from our journeys on our blog at www.RavenOutreach.BlogSpot.com and on my personal FaceBook account as well by clicking HERE

Please keep us in prayer as we are out of the country and please keep all of our local teams in prayer as well. They continue to take the Gospel to the lost and hurting even as we are doing the same in Turkey.

Raven Amarillo is out ministering on the streets every weekend.
Raven West Coast is feeding and ministering to hundreds each week.
Raven Midwest is touching lives on the streets and in housing projects.
Raven Guadalajara is preaching, teaching and reaching Mexico.
Raven Daytona Beach is going after a generation for Jesus.
Raven Gulf Coast is taking on Bourbon Street every week.

These are just a few of the things that are ongoing in the ministry that God has raised up as one of His voices of redemption and reconciliation in the last days. Your prayers and support have allowed us to “Go into ALL the world and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Thank you for your financial gifts to the ministry. Would you consider making a special investment into SOULS during this Resurrection Season? As soon as I return from Turkey—I will be preparing for outreaches into inner-city Philly and revivals in several US cities as well, and then some major youth training and evangelism events this summer.

Many blessings!

Pastor Troy D. Bohn
Raven Ministries International, Director
P.O. Box 1897
Daytona Beach, Florida 32115
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You can give securely online
by electronic check, credit or debit card by clicking the link below.

Tim Tebow: More than just a football player

New York, NY (LifeNews.com) -- University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow became the first sophomore in the history of the NCAA to win the coveted Heisman Trophy as the best football player in the nation.However, Tebow's accomplishments may never have been supported had his mother followed a doctor's recommendation to have an abortion.

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With 29 passing touchdowns and 22 rushing touchdowns, Tebow displayed the kind of versatility that has become more valued at the quarterback position. Pam Tebow and her husband were Christian missionaries in the Philippines in 1985 and they prayed for "Timmy" before she became pregnant.

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Unfortunately, as the Gainesville Sun reports, Pam entered into a coma after she contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in a contaminated food or drink.The treatment for the medical condition would require strong medications that doctors told Pam had caused irreversible damage to Tim -- so they advised her to have an abortion.

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As the Sun reported, Pam Tebow refused the abortion and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians predicted. Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and, eventually, gave birth to a health baby boy in August 1987.

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As she told the newspaper, Pam was not surprised that her son would be up for the Heisman despite no underclassman receiving the award since its inception in 1933."The combination of Timmy's God-given talent, hard work, character and leadership have made a mark on and off the football field," she said.

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As prominent researcher Joel Brind writes in a new LifeNews.com editorial, doctors are frequently telling women they should consider abortions when confronted with various medical situations affecting their health. Yet, as he notes, physicians can successfully treat both mother and child without suggesting that the baby be killed to spare a mother's life.

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Because Tim Tebow was spared, he's wowed a nation by his athletic skill and, at his younger age, has an opportunity to become the second person to win two Heisman awards.

ASHAMED TO DIE!

"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity" Horace Mann

Educational reformer, Horace Mann, was so well known for the above statement that it was chiseled into his headstone upon his death—and the student body of Antioch College (where he served as the President) still recite it at each commencement ceremony.

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Mann's desire was that at the end of his life and his student's lives that they would feel confident in that they made some impact upon the world in which they lived. While Horace Mann was anything but a devout follower of the Lord Jesus—he certainly touched on something that we would all be well served to consider in this New Year.

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It is no secret what we are now up against today as followers of Christ. The condition of this world in every facet is in a steep moral decline—and sad to say—the Body of Christ has been satisfied with serving in a spectators role as it has happened.

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Go stand on any inner-city street corner and the chances of finding a battle-tested, heart-broken street preaching crying out for the lost souls of a generation is pretty slim.

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What you will find though are the drug dealers and gang-bangers devotedly selling their demonically fueled fix of drugs, and violence on the sin infested turf that has been long abandoned by churches looking for greener pastures and more desirable real estate.

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Go visit most any Christian secondary school or College and rather than finding a student body yearning for the deep truths of God's Word and weeping for revival to sweep their generation; You'll probably find the same self-indulgent, self-centered, sensuality infested environment offered by the world.

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Go sit in some of the most "successful" churches in America and you'll be hard pressed to find people craving the uncompromising, hard-hitting, Word of God as they soak the altars with their tears.

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What you'll find are coffee bars, flat screen televisions, wi-fi connections, and messages devoid of a call to repent that are neatly packaged and sold later for $29.95 in the lobby book store.

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Go listen to most conversations between professing believers, and rather than hearing the wailing of the intercessors or the encouragement of a word brought in season—–you'll hear an endless flow of critiques and criticisms as they shred other people's character and vomit out their self-willed and self-righteous opinions….all the while trying to dress it up as genuine concern!

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You may not personally be…
Standing on that street corner as it is being ravaged by the adversary.
Visiting that campus as Satan infiltrates and defiles our young people.
Sitting in that church as people draw near with their mouths while their hearts are far from Him. Or
Listening to that conversation that is sowing seeds of discord among the brethren.

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But you had better know this...Jesus is standing on every corner and visiting every Christian school and college, sitting in every Church, and listening in on every conversation.

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There is a fleshly rancidness where there should be a spiritual righteousness. There is the self-consuming lust, pride, and jealous where there should be the fear of the Lord and the endless crying out for the mercy of God to move in our midst! "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."

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The word "victory" s found (12) times in the Word of God. Six times the word is found in the Old Testament and six times it is found in the New Testament.

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That is one victory for each of the twelve Tribes of the Old Covenant and one victory for each of the twelve Apostles of the New Covenant!

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In each of the New Testament instances it is referring to the VICTORY that the genuine follower of the Lord Jesus will experience in the day we see Him face to face.

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Matthew 12:20 speaks of the day in which victory will carry the justice that the Lord will bring upon the nations at the end of this age.

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1 Corinthians 15:54 speaks of the victory which will be experienced what the Bride of Christ is snatched from this word and into the presence of the Lord.

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1 Corinthians 15:55 speaks of the victory that causes us to prevail over death itself!

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1 Corinthians 15:57 speaks of the victory that unites our testimony to that of Jesus so that they become intertwined and inseparable!

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1 John 5:4 speaks of the victory that promises that we'll eat from the tree of life and of the hidden manna; that we'll receive a pure white stone with our new name written on it, and that will be clothed in white raiment as we are given power over the nations!

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Revelation 15:2 speaks of the victory experienced by those who were ashamed to die until their life impacted humanity!

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Is that the type of VICTORY-PRODUCING life that you lived in the year of 2008? Is that the type of life that you are determined to live in 2009?

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If not—then you need to cease from all of the self-righteous gum-flapping and the dry-eyed, self-indulgent testimonies and fall on your face before a Holy and Righteous God and cry out for a life of true victory that is only realized through devout consecration.

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This world has seen more than enough of itself wrapped up to resemble the Church of Jesus Christ

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This world has tired of our religious lip service that only amounts to vain communication

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This world is looking for something or someone who will be "ashamed to die" until they have impacted their schools, churches, families, neighborhoods, jobs, cities and nations!

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This world is searching for someone who will fall on their face each and every day and beg God for just one more day to solidify their testimony so that they will never be ashamed!

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Will this New Year be another year of shameful excuses as to why we refused to obey the will of God for our lives or will it be our Year of Victory?

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Will this New Year be the year that His Body finally looks, acts, and talks like the one who has gotten us the victory through the Cross of Calvary?

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Psalm 25:2 "O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me."

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Lets live each day of this New year as though it is the day in which we will stand and give and account to God face to face—–unashamed