Feature
6 minute read
The Middle East is always full of challenges. Whether it’s an earthquake, a war or a refugee crisis; they’re all synonymous with the Middle East. This part of the world has probably generated more front-page news in major news outlets than any other part of the world. It’s always in the news, and that’s been the pattern for some time. But in the last five to ten years, we have seen growth – major growth – in the gospel. It’s been quite incredible.
Probably both and more – Arab Spring, an Internet-enabled world, conflicts all play a part in causing an openness or belief disruption, as some academics call it. And people tend to search online. This has been happening for years, and I think it will continue. There is no sign of it stopping soon. If anything, it continues to grow. This year, we have been praying that at least 365 people will come to faith through our media ministry alone.
Something else we’ve been seeing is that the Lord is speaking to Arab nationals, calling them to go into mission themselves – something we should not ignore. I suspect that we will see more Sudanese, Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian cross-cultural workers on the field, willing to take the gospel to wherever the Lord calls them.
In terms of gospel work, growth will continue. My prayer however is that these things will consolidate. There are a lot of groups that form but then collapse, which makes me think that we need to put more effort into discipleship. Yes, we’re already doing a lot of it, but we need to do more. We need to do more leadership training; we need to do more to build trust; and we need to do more to root believers into Jesus.
Yes, there is, and it’s very important. Without that integration, the media ministry is limited in its capacity to sustain groups that are forming online. If the number of people you can accommodate is limited, then you also limit the number of spiritual conversations that can take place. So integration with workers on the ground is really key. The same thing is true of PALM**. The PALM team is small, and it follows an itinerant shape and form of ministry. So every time they go to a place, it’s all about how they can empower the localised workers to continue the ministry. They’re always asking the question, ‘How do we give them what they need and launch them?’ I think that’s going to be our modus operandi as we go into the future.
We’ve got a number of people struggling with mental health issues across the region. This may be the effect of the COVID pandemic and various lockdowns, perhaps leading to people not processing this massive disruption well enough. Or for others, it may be that they’re in a place in their ministry life where they’re thinking, ‘I’ve been here for six or seven years now, yet I’ve seen little fruit – so what’s next?’ For me, this is heart-breaking, because ministry in the Arab world is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. But it also breaks my heart to think that they would spend so much of their lives on the field, yet see so little fruit. The fruit that the Lord gives is just that: it’s fruit that the Lord gives – it’s not a fruit that we create. This is a challenging issue at the moment. I’ve had one family that’s gone back to their home country, and another family that’s on the way. They’re saying, ‘We’ve lost the reason to be here’. That’s so sad, you know. But we trust the Lord is not done with people. Whether we serve here, or whether we serve in another place, we’re still His servants, and He’s still at work. We should respect the choices that people sometimes make; we should honour them and celebrate with them what the Lord has done. But it does become difficult.
People always ask me about opportunities. Every opportunity that you find in the UK to share the gospel with somebody is an opportunity that you’ll find in the Arabian Peninsula or the Middle East to share the gospel. It’s about what the Lord has put on your heart. If the Lord has put on your heart to minister to women who are living without a voice, or to minister to the deaf community, or if you are a football fanatic and you want to use your football skills, or you are a teacher of the Bible or an evangelist…there are plenty of opportunities.
Whether we serve here, or whether we serve in another place, we’re still His servants, and He’s still at work.
One thing I would love to see more in people is a bit of an apostolic gifting come to fruit. By that I mean a can-do attitude, more of the ‘I want to go beyond’ in blazing a trail, going to a community, and making a difference. My wife and I had a friend when we were in the Middle East who was a physiotherapist. He went to live in a very rural village for about a year. He wanted to learn Arabic. He learned it by just practising physiotherapy. He didn’t ask anybody for permission. We can sometimes be too proper as Christians. We should just go and do it. And if we must apologise afterwards, then we do that. But he just went and learned a lot of Arabic. In a way he was a pioneer – which is what we are all about as an organisation.
I would say that if I was given 100 or even 200 people each year who would arrive on the field, that would be perfectly fine. We could find them all wonderful ministries to do. There is no shortage of opportunities; there is just a shortage of labourers. Of course, there are some countries where it is hard to get a visa, but in many cases, we are made very welcome and can get a visa on arrival. We can often overthink things. We need to try pushing the door until it opens and see what happens.
I think my biggest prayer for our members is that they walk closely with the Lord. That day by day His mercy would be enough for them. That the Lord would give them a glimpse – even if it is just a glimpse – of what He is doing to keep them motivated and focused, and that they would thrive. We don’t have to see the whole picture, but we must trust that there is a big picture. Just that glimpse is important.
I think for our Team Leaders I would pray that the Lord would grant them wisdom. Wisdom in how to facilitate their team, how to encourage them also to walk closely with the Lord. Our ministry is so diverse, there are so many languages being spoken, and so many opportunities for miscommunication. How do we create this family that loves one another?
For Area Leaders my prayer is that as they oversee countries and teams, that the Lord would give them what they need. Sometimes they must make some very hard decisions. How do you help a person struggling with a mental health issue? How do you keep them accountable? It can be very hard work knowing how to express truth in love. And I pray that people would trust that their leaders want what is best for them.
And for myself and other Regional Leaders, my prayer is that we would be good stewards of our people. Different Regional Leaders express their leadership in different ways; we need to try to encourage each and every one. Again, how do we express truth in love to them? There can be very hard conversations. But above all, I pray that the Lord would give us resilience. It’s a very dynamic place with many things happening at any given time, and rapid change. So, we pray for resilience to bounce back and to keep our eyes focused on Jesus the whole time.
*Name changed to protect identity.
** Preparing Arab-world Leaders for Ministry
