The report from the Middle East representatives came from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, and it stated that the national Evangelical Baptist Church in Baghdad is growing. In addition, people are meeting in house groups in the Kurk area outside Baghdad, therefore a second church is planned.
Iraqi leaders told how the Church there continues with meetings on Sundays, and also carry out youth and women’s activities despite the unstable social and political factors. He expressed his faith in the future of the country with God’s help.
The new ministry started last February in Syria, and so far it has attracted people from different villages to listen to the Word of God. In Jordan, 30-40 people are regularly meeting in a home in the Zarkar area. In addition, a new church was also planted in Egypt, as well as a dynamic Christian bookstore ministry in Amman.
As the host country, Lebanon reported that a new church of 17 regular members in a small Lebanese village in the region of Kesrwan was formed through the EBF program of indigenous Baptist churches’ evangelistic ministry. Another church was started last March in another town.
Ghassan Khalaf, President of the Evangelical Baptist Churches of Lebanon, spoke of the challenges faced by Middle East ministers. The region is under the influence of pluralism and people think that all religions are equal. Nevertheless, the adverse situation has motivated the Baptists to preach the Gospel.
“I am a Baptist preacher and I will speak about Jesus Christ. Pluralism challenges us to change the preaching of Christ to allow him to become one prophet among other prophets,” the President said. “From Beirut I cry out and say, ‘Preach Christ! Preach Christ as supreme and alone! Preach Christ as the Son of God! We should continue to preach Christ as Lord of all, a unique reflection of God’s glory and the unique reflection of God’s image. There is no better spirituality than God the Father who showed His love through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and we must continue to show that love to the world. Christ is the final authority. There is no other revelation to come.”
Lebanese Baptist leaders were thankful that their brothers and sisters in Christ came to support them at what they say is a very critical time in the Middle East, “when the church is coming into a difficult situation and particularly with persecution.”
Another highlight of the Annual General Meeting was the visit by European Baptist leaders together with Denton Lotz, General Decretary of the Baptist World Alliance, to the Lebanese Authorities.
Lotz thanked the President of the country, Emile Lahoud, who is a Maronite Christian, for his support of religious freedom and praised the progress of the country after a 15-year civil war that killed thousands of Lebanese. The meeting with Lahoud ended in prayer.
When meeting with Rafic Hariri, the nation’s Prime Minister, stressed the need for peace between Israel and Palestine as an opening for further peace throughout the Middle East region. “It is a matter of belief that this country is for Christians and Muslims,” he said. Both leaders supported freedom of religion and especially tolerance.
Some new personal arrangements were also confirmed during the meeting in Lebanon. Tony Peck from England, former General Secretary of the Yorkshire Baptist Association and a tutor at British Baptist College succeeded Theo Angelov of Bulgaria and become the new Chairman of the EBF. With the change of leadership, the offices of the EBF, one of six regional fellowships of the BWA, moved to Prague, Czech Republic at the home of the International Baptist Theological Seminary (IBTS). It is hoped that the Seminary will be a hub for Baptist life in Europe.
With a view of increasing the evangelists in the Middle East, this meeting also focused on the education and training of Baptists. Representatives from many of the 35 countries from Europe and the Middle East were present at the inauguration of the new learning centre at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. Although evangelicals make up only one percent of the population, they have a big influence through education, through their schools and through the Seminary.