Middle East

The Syrian War’s toll of death and displacement has been horrific, but it has also opened new opportunities for the saving story of God’s redemption to spread. 

In most Middle Eastern countries, Christians are a vanishingly small minority. They face constant pressure to convert back to Islam, and this comes hand in hand with a great deal of persecution.

God is building his church in some of the most closed nations in the world through daring conviction of his children who put their lives in danger to share the gospel. 

Abdul was unfamiliar with the good news of Jesus until a friend shared it with him. He recalled, “This message stuck to my heart, and I thought about it for weeks and continued to meet him.” Every time they met, Abdul had more questions for his friend, and his longing to know more grew.

Throughout his ministry, Christ showed a compassion for women that was highly unusual for his culture, and our partners are echoing that heart two thousand years later.

The Lord is reaching people through our partners in the Middle East through the miraculous peace found only in communion with his Son.

World Challenge partners are working to help those believers who are facing an uncertain future after their nation fell to the Taliban.

Few of us will be able to sponge away the images of desperate Afghans clinging to the landing gear of planes taxiing down Kabul’s airport runways. Some chose to fall to their deaths rather than be trapped in a country that was swiftly being taken over by the Taliban.

God is reaching refugees out of the Middle East through dreams of his Son and through the outreaches of World Challenge’s partners.

It was not an easy year for ministries and individuals in Turkey and Greece as the countries were impacted by the pandemic and long lockdown periods.

Christ reached one young man through a violent interrogation at the hands of those who claimed to follow the same god as him.

One of the highlights on any development trip abroad is the chance to meet the people we’re helping and working alongside. This most recent time in Turkey, I was able to visit several refugees’ homes and hear stories of how they escaped Syria and came to faith in Christ.

Many of World Challenge’s partners around the world face immense opposition for their beliefs, and yet they boldly continue to love their communities.