As we prepare for Christmas, the headlines we see daily are anything but festive. Occupation, crisis, persecution — sound familiar? That’s the backdrop Jesus was born into.

Denise Godwin of International Media Ministries reminds us that the first Christmas didn’t happen in calm.

“What Herod did in Bethlehem was a persecution, was a terrible thing,” Godwin says. “If we saw that in the headlines today, we’d be horrified and freaked out!”

This Advent, the persecuted Church needs intercession from fellow believers (Photo courtesy of Ismael Paramo via Unsplash)

And still — this is the Advent message: joy despite the threat.

“Jesus also has seen these things and is walking this crazy world out with us,” Godwin says, “to help us be able to see the peace that surpasses all understanding — peace that will come one day in a perfect way when Jesus returns.”

Many people around the world are suffering — persecuted Christians, communities under bombardment, and families facing natural disasters. Believers have an opportunity to respond with generosity toward these needs.

“So there’s so much opportunity to extend the Branch of Jesus Christ as our one and only hope,” Godwin says.

Christians in these regions continue to stand on the good news. Those in safer parts of the world have a responsibility to pray for the persecuted Church to remain steadfast and strong in faith.

And the chaos surrounding Jesus’ birth reminds us that God is with us — and God is at work.

“What a beautiful thing if we can pause in the chaos of headlines, the chaos of Christmas plans and travels, and say, God is at work, and He is multiplying the people who are going to join the great chorus in heaven one day!” Godwin says.

May your Advent involve prayer for different nations. Visit International Media Ministries to learn how they bring Jesus to many through media!

Header photo: The Holy Family Stained Glass Artwork (Photo courtesy of Pixabay via Pexels).

And while we wait, we worship. 

Church services during Advent traditionally center on four themes: hope, peace, joy, and love. Denise Godwin of International Media Ministries says Christians can point lost people around us to the source of these universally desired gifts. 

“I believe we have a great gift in engaging with hope and peace and love – knowing that what we have we can share. It’s a privilege that we can bring with us as part of the gifts of Christmas season,” she says. 

Sharing can take many forms: conversations, media interactions, formal ministries, or simple acts of generosity. During this Christmas season, and always, Christians can offer the world an extension of the love that Christ offers us. 

“We see a demonstration of a different kind of love in Jesus Christ,” Godwin says, “and I think it’s a faith and a peace and a hope that we need in the times that we live in.” 

In our dark world, many Christmas traditions incorporate the dawning of light: Jesus Christ, the life and light for all mankind. 

Yet in the midst of our lighted celebrations, 3 billion unreached people still walk in darkness. In many countries around the world, there is no Christmas season: no celebration, no symbolism, no meaning. No light. 

“There’s no purpose behind this season for them,” Godwin says. “They don’t understand the light of the world.”

Photo courtesy of Valeriya via Pexels

Primarily through media initiatives such as radio and tv programming, International Media Ministries works in the world’s darkest places to bring Gospel light. Godwin recalls the significance of one of the first projects she worked on: a Christmas program that went into the Eastern Bloc countries after the fall of communism.

“To bring the whole concept of Jesus to a culture that’s been absent Him: they have been waiting for years and years to find hope,” she says. “Each person that comes to Jesus Christ in a closed and dark country is so enthusiastic to share with others despite the risks to themselves.” 

In the midst of our Advent meditations this year, Godwin asks: 

“What does it look like as we wait for this hope to be revealed in our own hearts and lives?” 

In our homes, churches, workplaces, and communities, let’s remind our dark world that light has come, treasuring the gift of Christ in our own hearts as we share Him with others. 

“It’s a lovely privilege that we can incorporate into our Advent as we wait and dwell on the birth of Jesus Christ and what that means,” Godwin says, “as light came to the world in a unique way to save us once and for all.”

Featured photo courtesy of Gareth Harper via Unsplash

As we reflect on waiting in the Advent season, Ed Weaver with Spoken Worldwide says a posture of faithful waiting before the Lord is a good thing, even if it’s hard.

(Photo courtesy of Milada Vigerova via Unsplash)

“This is the posture the Lord wants us to have anyway on a daily basis. And the good that’s coming out of the pandemic is just feeling like we’re in a crucible [and] that there is a purpose in mind by God Almighty to teach us things that we should have been doing all along and that is being helpless before Him, but being hopeful in how He’s going to deliver.”

Spoken Worldwide provides Scripture access to oral learners around the world. Restricted travel because of COVID-19 means Spoken Worldwide has had to change plans many times.

Weaver says, “We’re trying to launch 20 new language projects in the next two and a half years from this point. We’re struggling at some level to say, ‘How in the world are we going to launch 20 new oral Bible translation projects in two and a half years when we’re not sure which countries we can get into? How to develop the right skill sets amongst translators?’ It just seems to be overwhelming.”

But because they work mostly with indigenous partners in other countries, God is opening doors.

(Photo courtesy of Spoken Worldwide)

Weaver says, “We’ve been able to launch some of our programs virtually. We can actually do training from here in the United States to wherever they are and allow them then to go forth into their particularly more rural regions and do work with oral learners. We don’t always have to be present.”

So how do we “wait well” during Advent? Whether it’s waiting for open ministry doors, waiting for family to safely gather, waiting to travel somewhere, or waiting for God to move?

“Particularly, as we think about the Advent season, it’s all based on hope,” says Weaver. “So I think one of the things that all of us that believe and have confidence in is that there is a future hope, which also means that there’s a present hope. Which means that we truly can pray and say, ‘Lord, whatever ways I’m exhibiting unbelief right now, help my unbelief. Give us wisdom and insight how to navigate in a place that we don’t even know how to do this.'”

Pray for God’s peace in waiting this Advent season.

Click here to learn more about Spoken Worldwide!

Header photo courtesy of Max Beck via Unsplash.

But Greg Yoder says Keys for Kids Ministries wants to point kids and teens back to Jesus. “Keys for Kids and Unlocked (our teen devotional) have brand new Christmas devotionals. They’re not very big. They only have about 13 or 14 stories inside. There are also some activities inside that go along with Christmas. We wanted to provide these for kids who may not necessarily go to church every week, or who may not go to church at all.”

Ways to use the booklets

Yoder says churches or even schools can hand these booklets out after Winter or Christmas programs. “There are so many churches that have programs but don’t have the follow-up to go with it. We want to provide a resource to churches, and even Christian schools, for people who have come to Christ, or maybe are just visiting.”

Yoder also believes the booklets will also introduce kids and teens to the regular devotional books. Keys for Kids and Unlocked engage with the story of Jesus in new and creative ways every day of the year. “What I hope grows out of this is an Advent type of study. In fact, we’ve been talking about creating a 30 Days of Christmas book for probably four or five years. So potentially this is the beginning of something like that.”

Learn more about the Keys for Kids and Unlocked devotionals.

 Want your own copy of the Christmas booklets? You can find them here. Yoder says, “There are discounts if you want to get hundreds of them for churches and things like that.”

Header photo courtesy of ELG21 on Pixabay.

To that end, Keys for Kids Ministries is featuring a special 12-day Christmas edition of their Keys for Kids devotionals! The Christmas devotional contains 12 short and engaging stories to teach children about Jesus, the Gospel, and what Christmas is all about.

Keys for Kids’ 12-day Christmas devotional (Image courtesy of Keys for Kids Ministries)

Emily Tenter, Keys for Kids’ director of marketing, says, “All of our stories put the Gospel in the context of real situations at home, so each story features a kid learning something new. In this case, it’s going to be all centered around the truth surrounding Christmas.”

Keys for Kids devotionals aren’t just for parents and their children; they are also great for churches, schools, and even grandparents or other family members to give to kids!

Tenter says the Keys for Kids Christmas devotional is meaningful for all children whether or not they go to church or are familiar with the Bible.

“Families who already know the reason why we celebrate Christmas, this is just a great time to reflect and remember Jesus and the gift that He is to us. And families who don’t know Jesus, this is a great way to introduce these kids from maybe unchurched families who aren’t familiar with the story of Jesus.”

Each Keys for Kids Christmas devotional costs just 20 cents per booklet, with a minimum order of ten booklets. Tenter says you can “order tons of them and give them to every kid you know!”

Click here to order Keys for Kids Christmas devotionals online! Or you can order by calling Keys for Kids at (616) 647-4500.

Finally, you can support Keys for Kids by joining the Keys for Kids Virtual Celebration on November 12 from 7:30-8:00 pm ET. They will be praising God for the past year’s outreach and raising funds to continue telling kids about Jesus through radio and print devotionals.

RSVP to the Keys for Kids Virtual Celebration here!

Header photo courtesy of Chris Benson via Unsplash.

For many believers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), that risk during Christmastime is very real. Muslim extremists often see the Christian holy day as an ideal time to attack believers.

Tom Doyle with Uncharted Ministries says, “We think about [Christmas] in the States: ‘Oh, it’s a time to reflect and be with our family….’ We praise God that we live in a country where we have the freedom to worship Jesus, but many do not.

(Photo courtesy of 8thirty8)

“These are hot times for believers that live in a context of being surrounded by Muslims that are not open to their faith and probably don’t want them expressing their joy and happiness during this time.”

Uncharted is taking the Gospel to Jews and Muslims in the Middle East as well as supporting persecuted Christians there.

“We just got stories out of Egypt about leaders that were shot. And [there is] difficulty in Pakistan and in Africa, cases that just happened this week of overt persecution. Some were killed for their faith.”

Unfortunately, Christian persecution is not isolated to the Christmas season either. Doyle says, “This is normal.”

Uncharted’s national teams stay updated on security concerns and, at times, need to pull believers out of dangerous situations.

Niger Christians worshiping in their church after it was attacked and burned. (Photo, caption courtesy of 8thirty8)

“Our national leaders will pray with those that are targeted, and if they feel like that person really wants to go and leave the country or get out of the area, they help them go. If…that person says, ‘No, God’s calling me to stay and I realize that the end might be martyrdom. I’m staying,’ they honor that request too.”

However, Doyle says when it comes to persecution, most Christians in the MENA region value Gospel declaration at the expense of self-preservation.

“I think it’s just easy for us in the West to [say,] ‘Okay, where’s the escape hatch? How do I get out of this?’ It’s not so in the Middle East. They look at the situation [and] they pray, ‘Is God calling me to stay and this could cost me my life?’”

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus today with loved ones, please also pray for the global Church family who may not be able to celebrate openly or freely today. Ask God to protect persecuted believers around the world and ultimately use their faithful Advent witness to proclaim His glory.

Learn more about Uncharted here!

Header photo courtesy of Dan Kiefer via Unsplash.

Perry LaHaie with Frontiers says, “We want to see viral movements of the Gospel among every Muslim people group by 2025 and beyond. One of the ways we do that, of course, is by recruiting, training, and sending workers into Muslim people groups.”

The heart of Frontiers’ mission is inviting all Muslim peoples to follow Jesus with love and respect. They focus on areas with the highest concentration of unengaged Muslim people groups.

(Photo courtesy of Frontiers USA)

With every Muslim people group that gains a Gospel witness and sees Church growth, the Great Commission advances.

“In Matthew 24:14, Jesus says, ‘This gospel of the kingdom will be preached…as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.’” LaHaie says, “It kind of blows my mind that in some way, shape, or form that as we bring the Gospel to the people who have never heard — Muslim people groups — we’re somehow speeding the day of Jesus’s return.

“The Bible promises in Revelation 7, we see this huge throng of people from every tribe tongue, people, and nation gathered worshiping the Lamb. That’s going to happen. That is God’s promise. So we’re moving toward that day.”

Right now, in the thick of the Advent season, Christians around the world are reflecting on Jesus’s first coming — over 2,000 years ago as a baby born fully-God and fully-man to be a sacrifice for our salvation.

(Photo courtesy of Frontiers USA)

LaHaie says as we ponder Christ’s first coming, it’s the perfect time to also pray for and look toward His second coming someday.

“I’m just longing for the day when Jesus will come and make everything right again, and some [people] from every Muslim people group, every people group in the world [are] worshiping the Lamb.”

Inspired by these reflections, LaHaie recently released a new song just in time for the Advent season called “O Come, O Come Emmanuel (How Long).”

LaHaie’s song is a reimagining of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” with the lyrics transitioning from Christ’s first coming to looking towards His second coming.

The added bridge sings:

How long until you come again,

bring evil’s final end

and justice finally wins?

How long till Heaven comes to stay

and all nations have been saved;

when not yet will be no more?

How long? How long, Emmanuel?

LaHaie says, “It’s a prayer for the Gospel to come to all the people groups of the world — the Muslim people groups and Buddhist and Hindu and so on, and that Jesus will come again. He will wipe away every tear and sorrow and pain and suffering and even death itself. It’s a prayer for the new Heavens and the new Earth and for all of us to be gathered there.”

(Photo courtesy of Frontiers USA)

You can listen to the song and watch the music video below. As you do, LaHaie hopes you are moved to respond and get involved in what God is doing in the world.

“If you can feel God’s heartbeat for every people group, every tribe and tongue and nation to be gathered around the throne one day, making a gift to Frontiers is one way to bring about that day because that’s what we’re all about.”

Click here to give to Frontiers!

Also, if you feel the Holy Spirit stirring your heart for the Muslim world, LaHaie encourages you to go! “Our short-term trips are posted at our website, frontiersusa.org. This is a really cool ramp into what it might be like to work long-term in the Muslim world, but even if you don’t do that, it will change your life to go.”

And, of course, pray. Ask God to stir spiritual revival among unreached, unengaged people groups, including Muslims. Pray for the Church to rise up and spread the name of Jesus to the ends of the earth as we wait for His second coming.

Header photo courtesy of Amaury Gutierrez via Unsplash.

Edmonds and his family lived for a long time overseas and raised their children outside of an English-speaking context. But eventually, he shares, “Our oldest son, he had a desire to go to an American college. So just before his junior year in high school, we put him on an airplane all by himself and he flew to the United States to live with one of my brothers and be incorporated into an English-speaking school. And that was tough for him in many ways because he’d grown up in another culture, another context.

“I was reflecting on that from the standpoint that I had to trust my brother and sister-in-law at that point. I had to trust the people into whose hand I was going to place my very own son. I thought about it in relationship to Jesus, that the Father gave his own Son who couldn’t speak the language when he became a baby, he turned [Jesus] over to Mary and Joseph, he turned him over to a harsh and cruel environment. But he trusted them to care for [Jesus], to nurture him, to protect and provide for him.”

As we ponder the meaning of Advent, it’s a poignant picture of loving sacrifice – a sacrifice that Jesus not only made himself later on that cross, but also the sacrifice of a Father sending his Son down to earth to reconcile the world to himself. This sacrifice that cost our Heavenly Father was his grace to us.

Edmonds was struck again by this reflection on his recent trip to Uganda and Rwanda. Food for the Hungry brought together senior leadership for strategic ministry planning. They visited northern Uganda where there are a lot of refugees coming from South Sudan. Some of the displaced people even trekked for six months to reach safety in northern Uganda.

“It’s estimated there could be 1.2 million people there who have fled in from South Sudan because of the war, the conflict, and the drought situation. Nine out of 10 of them tend to be women and children.”

One of Food for the Hungry’s critical ministries in northern Uganda is medical clinics in the refugee camps.

“We’re working in that context of Adjumani, [and] here come these mothers. They’ve often been traumatized, they’re confused, the children are fearful and timid — and yet at the same time, our people, our staff, and the people we’ve mobilized are there to love them.”

As FH and their ministry partners provide medical care for refugee children, there is still often a language or cultural barrier present. They try to reassure parents, most of them mothers, that their children are receiving good medical attention and will be cared for. And some of the mothers are uncertain about allowing strangers to tend to their children. But as the FH team builds trust with the mothers, “reluctantly, cautiously, these mothers will hand their children into our care because they believe somehow…that we will love [and] care for their children.”

(Photo courtesy of Food for the Hungry)

It struck Edmonds that the decision to hand over your child into the temporary care of a stranger is especially agonizing for these refugee mothers who have worked so hard to protect their children.

“I think about that for Christmas. God has given his own Son to us in such a way and he says, ‘Come, follow me. Follow the way of Jesus.’”

This Advent reflection, the recognition of God’s sacrifice that led to Jesus being born as a human child, fully God and fully man, is what gives us hope in the Gospel. And that is what Food for the Hungry’s ministry is all about.

“That’s the work of Food for the Hungry, to be relational, to follow Jesus, to invest wisely, carefully in nurturing and seeking the well-being of these people who often are simply just survivors of a cruel world right now — a world that’s been negatively affected, whether it be by drought and famine, whether it be by war, civil war, and hardships.”

Edmonds says proclaiming the Gospel through relational service is truly the heartbeat of their outreach, and really at the heartbeat of the Great Commission. “We lead off and we say we follow Jesus. The second value that we establish is our work is relational. So I think as we look at the Great Commission, the call that’s been on our life, we make a statement that we’re following Jesus.”

Click here to learn more about FH and how you can support their ministry.

Global Disciples is passionate about missions, and their central focus “is to equip leaders selected by their churches to multiply Christ-like disciples, who multiply churches among least-reached people.” But they also want to encourage their partners and supporters to get involved in the Great Commission with whatever the Lord has placed in their hands.

Last year, Global Disciples asked Liz Hess, a local artist in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to paint an image they could send out on their Christmas cards.

Wendy Nagle with Global Disciples says, “We often talk to our partners about how they can connect with the ministry that would be unique. Many of our partners are businesspeople and have a particular business that they’re working with. In Liz’s case, she’s an artist!”

But what started as a simple art commission went viral and thousands of people were moved by the Gospel message.

‘King of Kings’

The Global Disciples team walked into Hess’s art gallery last year and asked if she could help them as they prepared to put together their Christmas card. They suggested she could create an image for their ministry to send out on their Christmas card as a way of saying thank you to their partners.

Hess was excited about the project. As they discussed ideas for the image, Global Disciples knew they wanted international characters in the image since they are an international ministry. Together they came up with the idea of a Creche or Nativity scene.

Hess says, “But as they were walking out my gallery door, one of them turned around and said, ‘But we want you to be creative and to be led as the Spirit would lead you. So you have freedom to change this if you want.’

“Well, when I sat down to then think about how I was going to lay this out and create this, I prayed a lot about it of course. And immediately images started to come into my head. The typical Creche or Nativity scene disappeared. What I was left with was just the manger and then above the manger in kind of a celestial, ethereal concept was a lion and then under the manger in the same way in stars, kind of celestial, was a lamb. And then I saw kings and queens and religious leaders from around the world – all different international figures – laying down their crowns before the manger and bowing before the manger.”

‘King of Kings’ (Image courtesy of Liz Hess with Global Disciples)

Hess was excited about this renewed concept and ran it by Global Disciples. They loved it and encouraged her to go with it.

This painting was called ‘King of Kings’. The response Global Disciples heard from their partners were resoundingly positive. But as more ministries and people experienced the painting, it quickly spread. Soon Hess was getting requests to purchase prints of the image from all over the world.

Nagle says, “As they experience the paintings for the first time, just really taking it in,…to see the interactions and the changes of hearts and the impact as people are experiencing them is wonderful.”

‘The King Has Come’

Going into 2017, Global Disciples’ founder Galen Burkholder returned to Hess’ gallery in the spring and asked if she would be willing to create another image for this year’s Christmas card. Without skipping a beat, she said yes.

But, according to Hess, “I said, ‘Galen, I will be glad to do this for you. But I need to know the Holy Spirit is giving it to me. What I don’t want to do is start to create typical Christian pictures which are pretty. I want it to be impactful and meaningful.’ So I said, ‘I will do it for you on the condition only that the Holy Spirit gives it to me again.’”

They agreed. Then later this year, Hess received an invitation from a ministry called The Jerusalem House of Prayer for All Nations to come visit them in Israel. They had seen Hess’ King of Kings painting from last year and loved it.

Hess was looking forward to the Israel trip and Global Disciples even asked if she would paint the image for this year’s Christmas card while she was there. Again, she said yes – if the Holy Spirit gave her something to paint. She had not yet been inspired with anything from the Lord.

As she sat on the plane in New York City before taking off on her journey, Hess spoke with a friend on the phone who wanted to pray for her.

“She’s praying for me and she interrupted the prayer and said, ‘The Lord is saying that he is going to give you an image. He is going to download an image for you to paint while you’re in Israel.’ And I said, ‘Did you know I was going to Israel specifically with the idea in mind that I wanted to create an image for Global Disciples?’ Well, no! She had no idea. I had not shared that with her.”

From that interaction, Hess shares, “I had two thoughts. First of all, I thought this is interesting that she’s using the word download. She’s an older woman and I thought it’s kind of a millennial term. I’m not sure it’s part of her vernacular. Then also, why would God use the word download? It just seemed unusual to me. But I pondered in my heart, I thanked her for the prayer and for the word and just took it with me to Israel.”

While in Israel, she felt inspired by various ideas of things she wanted to paint for her gallery. But nothing came to her that would specifically be for the painting with Global Disciples.

Finally, the trip was close to its end. They were four days away from departure and had just arrived in Jerusalem to stay at the Jerusalem House of Prayer for All Nations.

Then, Hess shares, “Two women came up to me from the ministry and said – and again, I didn’t know [these women]. I had met the one woman before, I had never met the other – and they both said, ‘The Lord is telling us that we are to anoint your hands with oil because the Holy Spirit wants to give you images that he’s going to download for you to paint.’

“I thought this is so fascinating! Two continents, two different parties give me the same exact word and use the word download.”

Hess says what happened next was completely the movement of the Holy Spirit.

“That night, I received such a clear image. It literally came crashing into my mind. It made me stop everything. I had to write down what I was seeing. I wasn’t having a vision per se. But it was such a clear mental image that came out of nowhere. I wasn’t thinking about it. It was very random. But the word crashing is what I use because it literally just crashed through my mind. There was this image with all these details. So I started writing everything down.

‘The King Has Come’ (Image courtesy of Liz Hess with Global Disciples)

“In the middle of the night at three in the morning, I woke up with a start. There were more details coming in, and then the next day. So it happened three times within 15 hours, this image was downloaded. So I can’t even say I created this. It was really created in the Heavenly realms and God literally downloaded it to me.”

The image Hess was given depicts a Jewish huppah held up by four Jewish characters and there are international characters dancing around it. Under the huppah is a lamb, and above is a lion. She named this image ‘The King Has Come’.

“When I think of the word download now, I thought, ‘Why would God use that word?’” Hess ponders. “Download means that there is an image already created and we’re just transferring it from the internet or from a file to our device. And that’s exactly what God did. He transferred an image from Heaven to my device, which was my brain. So all that I can say is I’m the paintbrush of this particular painting. I’m certainly not the creator of it.”

A Commission for the Great Commission

Nagle says every year, the paintings prompt spiritual reflection and worship, which is really the beauty of Christian art in ministry. “We all talk about ‘what’s in your hands’. In Liz’s case, it’s a paintbrush. It’s a beautiful paintbrush that God is using for Kingdom purposes in very special and extraordinary ways. That’s the perfect kind of partnership.”

The paintings have raised awareness for Global Disciples’ ministry as well. And a portion of all sales for the two paintings go directly to support missions through Global Disciples.

“We’re not a sending organization. Much of our time is spent interacting with our global partners. So to have people in the local community begin to understand who we are and what we’re about has just been a tremendous blessing for us.”

Nagle shares, “The other day, our team sat down and together signed 1,200 Christmas cards that we’re sending out and kind of wishing we could be there as each one is opened because we know the impact of that painting is now traveling all across the country and literally around the world. And it’s a blessing!”

Liz Hess painting ‘The King Has Come’. (Photo courtesy of Global Disciples)

Hess hopes that she can be an encouragement to Christians everywhere who want to use their gifts for God.

“I think the arts – whether it be music, writing, dance, painting, anything involved in the arts – I think are closest to the heart of God because they are the creative giftings and he is the great Creator…. I think that is why that particular gifting is so under attack. There is so much dark art out there and music and writing and I think that’s why that whole realm is so attacked. And those of us Christians who are musicians or writers or artists or dancers or whatever we are, to be that vehicle, that platform for communication is so impactful.

“I think no matter what we’re doing in life – whether we’re serving food at a restaurant or whether we’re evangelists taking the Gospel around the world – whatever we’re doing in life as believers has to be set apart for the Lord. And God will use us no matter where we are. He’ll also take us where he wants to take us.”

“It’s true that everything is decorated and everyone’s getting ready to have Christmas and to celebrate, but at the same time you can feel the pressure everybody’s under,” Nuna said.

Political, economical, financial, and even personal tensions are high, even for people who aren’t directly involved. Relations with Muslims, Arabs, and Palestinians are especially rocky, and according to Nuna, most of the tension comes from conversations, not experiences.

Photo Courtesy Triumphant Mercy Missions

“Some Palestinians had a demonstration in front of the US embassy, and in that they clashed with the Lebanese army and Lebanese forces on the ground,” Nuna said. In other words, it’s not just about politics. “The demonstration was on the streets. They hit each other on the streets. The army had to come and separate people on the streets.”

Still, Nuna and other believers aren’t in new territory. “We’re used to this, we’ve lived through this,” she said. “We still think God is in control, and we have to believe He’s on the throne.”

“This doesn’t affect our move, it doesn’t affect our work,” Nuna said. “It’s the opposite, actually. We just go on and we say ‘This is a time when we can actually share more about Jesus because he’s the only one who can settle all this matter.’”

Groups like Triumphant Mercy Ministries want to show their neighbors that Christ can unite Lebanon and offer a message of peace and unity. “We’re not here to be on someone’s side,” explained Nuna. “We’re here to just say ‘there is hope’”

And the Advent season gives local believers a perfect opportunity to do just that. For example, Triumphant Mercy Ministries is heading to Syria to provide a Christmas celebration with food, a message, and gifts. They’re also heading up a campaign to get gifts for children and families that can’t afford to celebrate Christmas in a traditional way, and they’re providing dinners for hurting families. They’re doing everything they can to spread joy and hope this holiday season.

Photo Courtesy Triumphant Mercy Ministries

So far, it’s working. So far their ministry has learned that offering someone an opportunity is significantly more powerful than condemning a current course of action, especially with so much societal tension. “We’re not coming against them, we’re just submitting a solution,” Nuna explained.

And the opportunity is definitely there, especially around Christmastime. “We see nativity scenes all over, in restaurants and malls, places like that, so it’s not a foreign idea,” Nuna said.

But the Church in Lebanon still needs your support. According to Nuna, politically, the situation isn’t getting better, and financially, it’s actually getting worse. When it comes to the ministry’s work, they’re hoping the coming year provides plenty of powerful outreach opportunities. ”We have seen some fruits, but I want to see a full harvest.”