Syria (MNN) — Syria re-enters the global energy market with its first official crude export in 14 years. Earlier this year, the U.S. lifted sanctions, sparking renewed interest in Syria’s energy sector and foreign investment.
But there’s more than economic opportunity at play. In a similar way, spiritual doors are opening for Gospel work. “Syria has opened up,” Marc with Global Catalytic Ministries says.
“Because it’s now accessible for the first time in decades, we are starting work in Damascus.”
Working through a network of Syrian Christians, Marc says, “We’re going to be spreading to the north and south, building disciple-making communities, starting to see house churches formed, starting to see baptisms happen.”
Global Catalytic Ministries is known for equipping Muslim-background believers in underground churches across the Middle East. More about that here. These believers, once hesitant, are now eager to bring others to Christ.
“When our people come into contact, they’re already ready; the harvest is truly ready. We have a disciple maker sitting in Syria about to baptize a new believer tonight,” Marc says.
(Graphic courtesy of VOM Canada)
Still, eagerness doesn’t always come with experience. Many Christians from Muslim backgrounds long to share the Gospel but lack practical training.
“We’re seeing this massive hunger for disciples to be made,” Marc says.
“I sat in a room with 25 locals yesterday, pouring into them for about five hours on disciple-making strategies, and they’re like, ‘Tomorrow, more. Friday, more. We need more,’ because they’ve never had this before.”
This hunger offers hope in a region where traditional churches often struggle to grow.
“In this region, not many people are coming to the Lord because the churches are content with the status quo. They’re just moving Christian-background believers from church to church,” Marc says.
As Syria opens to new opportunities, believers see a rare chance to plant seeds of faith that could flourish for generations. Pray for training to take root, for leaders to rise up, and for the Gospel to spread like wildfire across the country.
Header image is a representative stock photo depicting a market in Damascus courtesy of Mahmoud Sulaiman/Unsplash.
