Alumni Profile – Kerem & Buse Koc

From Turkey to Canada To Turkey, “Heritage International Students

I am married to Buse, and we now have a Canadian son, Josiah. I come from a Muslim background; I knew nothing about Jesus Christ. One day while mountain climbing, I fell from a cliff. It was -25 degrees. I was hurt and my body went into hypothermia. That was the first time in my life that I prayed, and I felt someone help me. Most mountain climbers who fall and go into hypothermia never live to tell about it. I didn’t know who helped me, but I started to search.

I read books about religion, and finally one day I visited the church in Antalya. I met a Turkish pastor named Ramazan who told me about the good news of Jesus Christ. He told me about salvation and freedom from sin that I can have because of what Jesus accomplished. After a couple of days, I confessed my sins and gave my whole life to Christ, and started to follow Him. Two years after I came to Christ, I began to work in the church as the assistant to the senior pastor, as well as the youth group leader. Here I met Charlie McCordic.

Now, I am the first international student with a Bible College scholarship from Turkey. When I finish at Heritage, I’ll be one of the first Turks with a theology degree. This is very important for us, because we want to go back to Turkey to share the Good News and train people to lead the church there. I have been very blessed to receive an education here, but many pastors in Turkey will not have the same opportunity. My education here is therefore not just important for me, but also for the Church in Turkey. When I return, I’ll train those who want to be ministers, so that we can take the good news everywhere in Turkey, and beyond.

Kerem & Buse Koc