Touched by the love of the Heavenly Father who sent His son Jesus to become our Savior, we felt compelled by God to open a center in the heart of Athens where the divine commands “Feed the poor” (Deuteronomy 15:11) and “Preach the Gospel” (Matthew 28:19f) could be realized.

It started in 2012 with an Iranian couple, Farzad and Parisa Daniel, and since then we have opened our doors for the needy, especially refugees from Muslim countries – Iranians, Afghans and Kurds. We have been assisted by different volunteer groups and more and more by AVC Switzerland, who sent relief goods and donations.

In 2016 we were registered as an NGO by the Greek Government under the name of AVC Hellas. With the influx of refugees our work grew over the years. More venues, more apartments for the very vulnerable were rented. Thus we tried to help the needy, feed the poor and pass on God’s fatherly love.

By distributing clothes, food and other vital items we want to meet the immediate needs of the people who come for help. Then we offer regular programs - like language classes, home craft classes, children’s clubs, ladies’ meetings, evangelical meetings, Alpha courses and Bible studies – so that they get to know our Christian faith better and they can check the authenticity of our personal faith. This is the great challenge in our everyday life, especially with those who live in the center.

With the years the activities expanded also to the areas the refugees came from, because we saw it was much better for people to receive help in their home countries than to flee into countries with completely different ways of life. So a refugee camp at the Turkish border was founded, then a Christian center in Kobane, Northern Syria. We were called to help in another camp in Iraq and even to Rwanda in Africa. Everywhere people are helped regardless of their race, belief and social state, when we have the means. But we see that God confirms our work with miracles, changed lives and by filling our hands with what we need in His time.