Dear Friends,
I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately, not just with gratitude, but with a growing sense of awe at what God is doing through your prayers and generosity. While the world’s attention is fixed on headlines of war and instability in the Middle East, there is another story unfolding. And in a very real way, you are part of it.
It’s a quiet story. In many of these regions, there are no church buildings, no public gatherings, and no organized relief efforts that can operate openly. Following Jesus often comes at great personal risk. And yet, the Church is there, not as an institution, but as people living out their faith in everyday, costly ways. It brings to mind the early believers who “shared everything they had” and cared for one another in tangible ways (Acts 2:44–45).
We’re hearing stories of believers in Iran and other war-torn areas opening their homes to children who have been abandoned or orphaned in the chaos of the conflict, feeding them, loving them, and raising them as their own. Others are caring for the sick and injured with what little they have. Some are even sharing food and shelter with those who might be considered enemies. There’s no spotlight on these acts of love, just quiet obedience to Jesus.
What’s even more remarkable is that the Church in these places isn’t shrinking, it’s growing exponentially. In countries like Iran, where persecution is intense, many are coming to faith in deeply personal ways encountering Jesus through dreams and/or visions as they seek the truth. And when they find the Truth, they carefully and courageously share thier new found hope with others, sometimes at great personal cost. And this is where the weight of Jesus’ words becomes so real: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”(Luke 10:2).
Across the Middle East, the fields are ready—hearts are open, communities are forming, and the gospel is spreading. But these growing communities are in great need of trained leaders to shepherd local disciples, to guide them in truth, and to strengthen what God is already doing. There are no systems holding this movement together. No central leaders directing it. It’s simply ordinary people, filled with the Spirit, living out their faith one relationship at a time. In many ways, it looks a lot like the early Church, marked not by visibility, but by love, sacrifice, and a bold trust in God.
That’s the kind of movement you’re helping sustain. Every prayer you’ve prayed and every gift you’ve given is part of a much bigger story than you may ever fully see. You may never meet the family in Syria who received a meal at just the right moment, or hear the full story of a child in Iraq who found a home—but God sees it, and He is using it. “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).
So thank you being a part of God’s story and for choosing to lean in and believe that the light of Jesus is still shining bright in the darkest corners of our world. Please continue reading in our Story from the Field below for an up close and personal reference to these acts of love and compassion of His “hidden” Church.
CLICK HERE if you would like to help equip and encourage our frontline leaders. Your support directly empowers them and strengthens the future of His Church in the Middle East.
For His Global Glory,
