From east to west
While attending a small Greek Evangelical Church camp at age 14, Greek national Costas Macris received Christ as his personal Savior. At that time, God planted a seed in his heart for a missionary career. After his high school education in Greece, Costas went to Millar College of the Bible in Saskatchewan, Canada where he received his Bible education. Upon returning to Greece, he fulfilled his obligation to the Greek army and then married his childhood sweetheart, Alky Haritonidou.
In 1962, Costas and Alky became the first Greek couple to become foreign missionaries, serving under the auspices of Regions Beyond Missionary Union (RBMU). Their assignment: Irian Jaya-a lush tropical wilderness with dangerous, craggy mountains, cannibalistic Stone Age tribes and a breeding ground for tropical diseases. After 16 years in Irian Jaya, Costas and Alky returned to their homeland, Greece. In 1980, the first national Greek evangelistic and missionary organization, the Hellenic Missionary Union (HMU-now HM) was born under Costas’ able leadership.
Outreach programs in the 80's
Since its founding, Hellenic Ministries has sought to cover this nation with the good seed of the gospel through a variety of means:
In 1981 we began summer outreach programs, proclaiming the gospel in city and village squares throughout all of Greece; Many of today's pastors, ministry leaders, elders, and workers were shaped, inspired, and empowered by the outreach platform that evolved into both a pulpit and a bridge for young people. It was here that they lived, learned, and preached the Word of God, gaining the foundation and passion that would guide their ministries.
Maritime & Porto Astro
In 1987 we started a maritime ministry with the schooner, Morning Star, and since then we’ve been privileged to take the gospel to every inhabited Greek island and have completed thousands of visits to isolated believers.
In a quiet bay just north of Athens we operate a retreat center named Porto Astro dedicated to sharing the gospel and building up the next generation of leaders (especially refugees) through a combination of sports, activities, Bible study and worship.
Love meals
In 1981, Athens was a city where the needs of the homeless, refugees, and the destitute were largely overlooked. However, a generous donation of a central location in the heart of the city made it possible to offer a lifeline to those in need. Every week, hundreds of individuals were welcomed and provided with a hot meal. Costas, with unwavering dedication, would go out onto the streets, personally calling out to the homeless, the poor, and the struggling, inviting them to share a meal. Since that time, our center on Evripidou Street has remained a steadfast refuge for those in need, providing hot meals, distributing clothing and food packages, and, more recently, offering access to showers and laundry facilities. The center has been a beacon of hope for Athens’ most vulnerable for over four decades.
First mission trips
Beyond Greece, HM desired to reach the nations and began sending teams to Cyprus and other islands with the Morning Star. In 1989, the first mission trip to Albania was launched, with a bus loaded New Testaments. Over the following years, HM expanded its outreach, organizing additional missions trips to places like Kosovo, Serbia, Turkey, China, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and beyond.
Operation Joshua
Between 2004 and 2023 our “Operation Joshua” initiative hand delivered 1,573,716 Modern Greek New Testaments to residents of 8,040 villages. That’s one Bible for every household in rural Greece! Our commitment is to see communities of faith across Greece developed and encouraged through “Oikos Network.” Operation Joshua was perhaps the greatest challenge our ministry has taken on in our entire 40+ year history.
Zontas TV programs
The evangelistic TV program Zontas airs weekly through local television networks, delivering powerful gospel messages directly into Greek homes. The impact of the program has been profound, reaching millions of Greek speakers worldwide and touching countless lives with the message of the gospel.
The program started in Toronto in 1979. It was addressed to Greek expatriates and soon expanded to the US and Australia. In 2010 it appeared on television in Greece, managing to acquire its own audience. The program includes hymns from local churches, testimonies of people on how they came to know Jesus Christ as Savior, as well as a short Bible message.