
Mariana Schietti in Brazil
Pray that our Christmas can be the celebration of Christ’s birth in our lives every day that we have breath.
read moreEach week, our prayer community of ~700 intercedes for a Christian Majority World leader. If you join, you will receive an email that contains an introduction to that leader’s work and home country, followed by a personal message from the leader with prayer requests.
Religion, especially Islam, uniquely characterizes the Middle East and North Africa. According to Pew, more than half of the 20 countries in this region have populations that are at least 95% Muslim.
Despite their ancient heritage, Christians remain vulnerable and relatively few. Today, the region is home to 15 million Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians, who persevere as a faithful remnant amid adversity and, in some places, violent persecution. The Middle Eastern and North African Church needs well-equipped leaders who can preach the Gospel amid hostility and address urgent questions concerning suffering, reconciliation, and engagement with Islam.
Through LeaderStudies, ScholarLeaders supports 11 leaders from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine as they pursue PhDs to guide the Church in understanding Christian history and identity, teaching and preaching in context-responsive ways, engaging Muslim neighbors with integrity, and pursuing biblical approaches to peace and justice.
Through the Vital SustainAbility Initiative, ScholarLeaders has worked closely with Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo to develop plans for training pastors in Egypt and throughout the Arabic-speaking world.
In 2009, we celebrated the reconciliation ministry led by Musalaha founder Dr. Salim Munayer and his colleagues at Bethlehem Bible College with the ScholarLeader of the Year Award. In 2019, we also recognized Dr. Yohanna Katanacho, Academic Dean at Nazareth Evangelical College, who writes, speaks, and teaches on love for enemies made possible in Christ.
To learn from the theological wisdom shared by Middle Eastern and North African Christian leaders in the ScholarLeaders Fellowship, check out these Global Insights:
ScholarLeaders’ own Wageeh Mikhail, Director of Catalytic Venture – Religions, also hosted this 12-part House of Wisdom video series, which originally aired in Arabic on SAT-7. Watch to learn how Arab Christians in the Middle Ages developed theology that continues to guide Christians worldwide today, as well as how these forerunners of our faith interacted with their Muslim neighbors. (English subtitles are available, thanks to a generous gift from The Village Church, Rancho Santa Fe.)
Join us in prayer for our sisters and brothers who live and serve in the Middle East and North Africa. Pray for Christian leaders who teach, train, conduct research, produce resources, minister, and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ amid hardship and danger. Pray for new believers who choose to follow Jesus at great cost. Pray for the peace of Christ to reign.
Photo: “Hills above Jericho on the West Bank” (2021) by David McLenachan (Unsplash)
Pray that our Christmas can be the celebration of Christ’s birth in our lives every day that we have breath.
read moreAs we celebrate Christmas in Ghana and throughout the rest of the world, may the reason for this season overshadow all other traditions and purposes.
read moreAs we look back on 2022, we give thanks to God through Christ!
read moreDespite all these obstacles, please pray that we will continue to equip students to proclaim Christ faithfully and winsomely in an increasingly hostile environment.
read moreLiving in a country where diversity thrives, I enjoy friendship with people from other faiths. At the same time, I seek godly wisdom to be relevant to the needs of my local and national community.
read morePray for current institutional leaders to plan for smooth leadership transitions and to raise up the next generation of transformational leaders who can engage their contexts prophetically.
read moreDue to our complicated political history with India and the failure to reach a ‘solution’ to date, Nagas continue to search for peace and reconciliation within our fragmented society and with the Indian government.
read moreThe Nagaland Baptist Church Council has initiated a ‘Clean Election Movement’ to advocate electing God-fearing, righteous, and honest candidates.
read moreI am trying to understand how these communities negotiate their ecclesial identity and mission in an increasingly hostile sociopolitical environment.
read moreAs you all know, Pakistan is facing the most terrible situation caused by rains and floods unprecedented in our national history. Pray for Pakistan and its suffering people.
read moreThree weeks ago, the school’s location was exposed. All the faculty and students were evacuated without incident before the police arrived.
read morePlease pray for the development of the next BTS strategic plan, with help from the VSI consultation process.
read moreI serve a Christian community in a Buddhist Southeast Asian country that has a close relationship with a restricted country. I am now a part-time academic coordinator responsible for organizing a new MA program in Marketplace Transformation.
read moreI will be taking on a new ministry as Director of the Malaysia Pentecostal Research Centre, a new department of BCM that will be launched in September.
read moreAccording to the latest report from the World Bank, Myanmar has reached a poverty rate not seen in over 15 years. In this situation, churches in Myanmar have faced a lot of violence and challenges.
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