A man we’ll call Brother Izik with Global Catalytic Ministries explains the conflict between Israel and Hamas has many background factors that made it volatile. Just one of these factors is the 1917 Balfour Declaration from Britain during World War I. (Read a quick summary of that event here.)

In history and the current realities, Izik says Christians must ground themselves in one fact: “God loves the Jewish people, and God loves Arabs and Palestinians. If we can keep that in our heart, then we will not isolate our hearts to feel like we have to love one and hate the other,” he says.

Hunger is a rising crisis in Gaza — both physical and spiritual. On the physical side, the UN World Food Program says half a million people in Gaza are on the edge of famine.

On the spiritual side, Izik says, “Tragedies ultimately lead to hunger for something deeper. I believe God is exposing Islam to the Palestinian people. There [are] reports coming out that the Palestinian people in Gaza are starting to say, ‘What has Hamas brought us? What has Sharia law, or the Islamic regime brought us?’” 

The conflict has a layer of spiritual warfare to it as well. Izik points to a future of blessing promised in Isaiah 19:23-24.

“The enemy wants to fight Jews and Arabs in this region being a blessing [to] the entire earth,” says Izik. “It doesn’t quite look like a blessing right now, but ultimately, when I watch these conflicts, I have that in mind.”

As you consider Israel and Gaza, align your prayers with God’s gospel purposes for Palestinians and Israelis. 

“Pray first of all that we won’t be swept away by any propaganda on either side. [Pray instead] that we would be swept to prayer for their salvation and for a hopeful view of God’s promises being fulfilled and ultimately [to] reconcile the world to Himself,” says Izik. 

A mosque destroyed in the Jabalia area of the Gaza Strip (Photo courtesy of Jaber Jehad Badwan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Header photo is a stock image courtesy of Chuttersnap via Unsplash.

But Israeli and Arab pastors are defying expectations to elevate the Gospel.

Pastor Konstantin Tsivin is an assistant pastor with Beit Hallel Congregation in Ashdod, Israel. He recently traveled to a conference in Turkiye with other pastors from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Pastor Tsivin says, “They gathered together and prayed and preached. It was amazing because we also shared that, yes, we are now in Israel and we pray for you. We pray for Muslim countries, we pray for Arab countries because we know that we are brothers. And we know a lot of Christians now there are also standing and praying for Israel.”

It’s a profound picture of radical love in Christ — when most of what the world sees in the region is radicalized hate.

(Photo courtesy of Pastor Konstantin Tsivin/Beit Hallel Congregation)

Additionally, ever since Hamas’ attack in Israel on October 7, Beit Hallel Congregation gathers believers in Israel for one hour every morning and evening to pray.

“We pray for peace – peace for Jerusalem, peace for Israel, peace for our neighbors here [and] neighbor countries,” says Pastor Tsivin.

These prayers, too, are profound when you understand that even in the midst of praying, “Every day, we hear a lot of sirens and rockets fly above us and get intercepted by our Iron Dome.”

In many parts of Israel, people are trying to get back to a semblance of daily life. But in border areas where they still see frequent rocket fire, “Our government and our military spread information for civilians that it’s better to stay at home, not go away. Because if you go outside, you can find yourself under the fire. On the street, it’s hard to hide somewhere.”

Yet, despite all this, believers in Israel are praying for the terrorists who shoot the rockets.

Pastor Tsivin says, “We bless Hezbollah, we bless Hamas because God told us you need to bless your enemies. So we bless them. It’s tough, very tough. But we do as our God told us to do.”

You can link arms spiritually with our Christian brothers and sisters in Israel and throughout the MENA region. Pray that both Jews and Arabs would know and follow Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord to open the eyes of terrorists so that they may abandon a life of violence in favor of the Prince of Peace.

Header photo of a steeple in Jerusalem, Israel. (Photo courtesy of Jonny Gios/Unsplash)

Warring parties must agree to a ceasefire soon, the United Nations humanitarian chief said earlier this week. Aid groups cannot reach people trapped in the war zones. All previous ceasefire efforts brokered by international and regional leaders have failed.

In the past three months, 3.1 million people have fled Sudan’s capital and Darfur to safer locations. More than 700,000 crossed into neighboring countries.

War in Sudan is nothing new. This is simply the latest episode. A society devoid of Jesus only leads to two outcomes – death and destruction. “I know what a joy [it is] to follow Christ and to be freed by Christ,” Voice of the Martyrs Canada partner Yassir Eric says in a recent podcast.

“When we don’t have Jesus in our hearts, it is very difficult to have peace.”

As military and paramilitary forces vie to control Sudan, a second battlefront opens in West Darfur. RSF and Arab militias target non-Arab tribes, shooting people as they flee and torturing those left behind.

“Our challenge in Sudan is not only Islam; we have another challenge – the tribalism with different groups,” Eric says.

In 2011, ethnic conflict in Sudan gave birth to a new nation – South Sudan. The world’s newest nation quickly inherited its predecessor’s sins; South Sudan’s ongoing civil war began two years later.

“When [Sudan and South Sudan] separated, I always hoped that peace would come, but we have tribalism [in both locations]; it is devastating,” Eric says.

(Screenshot image courtesy Prayercast: Sudan)

The true enemy

Even before Sudan’s latest war started, believers from a Muslim background – like Eric – faced severe persecution under Islamic rule.

There was a brief window of freedom for believers after former dictator Omar al-Bashir’s 2019 ouster. However, true reform is problematic and old habits die hard.

A transitional civilian committee tried to make gains in 2021, but a military coup derailed the progress. Tensions simmered for months between military and paramilitary forces before erupting in mid-April.

Islamist radicals meet little resistance as security entities fight amongst themselves. Yet Eric and others like him continually pray for their persecutors.

“Nothing will happen to make me hate Muslims,” Eric says.

“My message to the West: we need to distinguish between Islam and Muslims.”

Eric says it is a mistake to assume individuals and the ideologies they claim to follow are one and the same.

“Islam is a religion; we can have our opinions [about Islam], and even Muslims will not have a problem with that because they do the same thing,” he explains.

“We can speak critically about [Islam and] all of the things that interfere [with] peaceful coexistence. But we cannot start to hate people.”

The header image shows the flag of Sudan. (Image by David Peterson from Pixabay)

Explosions in Gaza at night. (Photo courtesy of  Bethlehem Bible College on Facebook.)

The unrest began with the evictions of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem. Jack Sara, President of Bethlehem Bible College, says, “What happened recently was related to the confiscation of several houses and a major neighborhood in Jerusalem, called Sheikh Jarrah.”

Over the weekend, Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites. Sara says the violence isn’t limited to Gaza or Jerusalem. “Last night was one of the most horrific nights. The police started to control things and wanted to calm things. So they put a curfew on all the cities. But they found buses, a lot of buses, coming into those cities from all over the Israeli cities, carrying radical groups. These groups made the call for Israeli settlers to come and attack the cities. They started attacking Arab shops. And the Arabs they found in the street, they start kicking on them. There were even two or three lynchings of Palestinians who were caught in the middle of those groups.”

Pray for lasting peace

Pray for a lasting end to the violence and that the love of Palestinian Christians will point a way forward. Sara says, “Pray for protection for Christians. Christians are not in isolated places, they live in the midst of Palestinians. And they’re Arabs, which means they are targeted as well by radicals who want to target Arabs.”

The header photo shows destruction from the bombing in Gaza. (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College on Facebook)

Ken*, a Gospel worker focused on Sudan, says believers in this north African nation were severely persecuted for decades. Now, “the Church [and] believers in Sudan have been invited to the table to have conversations about the future,” Ken says.

“December 2022 is the next election and, for the next year and a half or more, we have an opportunity where the country of Sudan is saying, ‘Come help us’.”

Sudan: a summary

Shell casings litter the ground in the Nuba Mountains, one of the conflict areas targeted by Bashir’s military.
(Photo, caption courtesy of VOM USA)

Former dictator Omar al-Bashir ruled Sudan with an iron fist for thirty years.  When he was ousted last year, “windows [of opportunity] opened up that surprised everybody,” Ken says. Church leaders were invited into planning discussions by their former persecutors. In March, officials dissolved committees that were used by Bashir’s Islamist regime to confiscate church properties and proposed a bill to remove the death penalty for apostasy.

See more Sudan headlines here.

Ken says many of the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC)’s latest moves have an underlying motive. “Politically, they want to gain favor in the world’s eyes and, quite frankly, they need the help,” he explains.

“They (Sudanese) have not had the entrepreneurial ‘see-what-needs-to-happen-and-go-create-it’ mindset for decades now. They need what is oftentimes referred to as the western world’s influence: ‘Don’t do this for us, but show us how to do it.’ Politically, that provides an opportunity.”

This political openness creates Gospel opportunities. In an unexpected twist, the coronavirus pandemic creates opportunity, too.

“The UPGs in Sudan tend not to have good jobs or steady jobs. Now, they can’t go out, they can’t get income, and they’re hungry. They’re scared, they don’t know what to do. Believers can provide food packs and reach out to UPGs in a brand new way,” Ken says.

A new collaborative effort is underway to reach five “language clusters” in Sudan. Language clusters are groups of UPGs who speak a common language. The Sudanese Arabic language cluster includes 27 people groups.

Sudan’s largest unreached people group

As described here, Sudan is a complicated place. Over 100 languages reflect diverse people groups and tribes; 130 of Sudan’s 162 people groups are unreached. More about Sudan’s UPGs here.

(Photo courtesy Prayercast)

According to field research obtained by MNN, Sudanese Arabic speakers are the country’s largest UPG:

The Sudanese Arabs originated in the Khartoum region of Sudan many centuries ago. Today, they live primarily in northern and central Sudan and in Egypt. A few groups are scattered in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Libya, and Yemen… Sudanese Arabs are Muslims. Identification with the Islamic religion is one of the primary cultural characteristics…

Pray for Sudanese Arabs here. “A lot of these people are very rural; they’re very remote [and] they don’t have (biblical) resources,” Ken notes. Researchers say Sudanese Arabs “have some Christian resources available to them, but churches are often closed, destroyed, or not allowed to be built.”

Next steps

Now that you know, how will you respond? Ken lists the following questions as ideas for prayer and discussion-starters with fellow believers:

• What does God want to do?
• How do we use our resources and partnerships to reach the unengaged?

“The entire world’s kind of on lockdown in various forms [due to the coronavirus pandemic] … God has forced us to take a timeout and say, ‘Think about this. What’s the best use of your time?” Ken observes.

“In the West, we want to ‘do’, and I’ve never heard God say ‘do more.’ I’ve heard Him say many times, ‘be quiet and listen.’ Let’s take a timeout and listen to God.”

*– Name changed for security purposes.

Header image courtesy of Prayercast.

While Lent is often associated with fasting, prayer is also a critical component of the season.  Cry Out is offering a free 40-day prayer guide during Lent that focuses on the Arab Bedouins.  Speaking on behalf of Cry Out, Peter* says, “This is a people group that we don’t want to be forgotten.

“God’s heart is for not just the urban, but also the nomadic dwellers.”

You can download the prayer guide here.

Why the Bedouins?

The Arab Bedouins’ nomadic nature makes it difficult to determine their precise population. However, Joshua Project reports a Bedouin population of 1.2 million, and Peter says, “They make up about 10-percent of people in the Middle East, so it’s a big group of people.”

As Encyclopedia Britannica describes,

(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Most Bedouins are animal herders who migrate into the desert during the rainy winter season and move back toward the cultivated land in the dry summer months. Bedouin tribes have traditionally been classified according to the animal species that are the basis of their livelihood. Camel nomads occupy huge territories and are organized into large tribes in the Sahara, Syrian, and Arabian deserts. Sheep and goat nomads have smaller ranges, staying mainly near the cultivated regions of Jordan, Syria, and Iraq. Cattle nomads are found chiefly in South Arabia and in Sudan, where they are called Baqqārah (Baggara).

The Bedouins’ lifestyle also makes them difficult to reach with the Gospel. They are a friendly and hospitable people, Peter says, but Christians find it challenging to build lasting relationships. “If you found them once, it would be very difficult to find them again because they would be moving on with their sheep, with their cattle,” he explains.

“There’s a real hunger to see breakthrough because [the Bedouins] are an unreached people group.”

However, one of the biggest challenges to reaching Bedouins for Christ – their tendency to wander – also poses a great opportunity.

“Teams… have a really passionate focus to see stuff happen among this community because if they do move around, then they can take the Good News with them,” Peter explains.

(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Strong and historic ties to Islam also present a challenge to Christian witness. “We have not really seen a breakthrough among the Bedouins at all,” Peter agrees. A Bedouin nursemaid reportedly raised the prophet Muhammed, and some of Islalm’s first converts were from Bedouin tribes living in and around Mecca.

Download a free 40-day prayer guide here to pray for Arab Bedouins.

“This is a 40-day prayer guide that can be used during Lent, but to be honest, it can be used any time during the year,” Peter adds. He says some parents use the guide as a geography lesson, teaching their children about Middle East countries and culture as they pray for the region.

*- Name changed for security purposes.

Header image is of a traditional Bedouin in Southern Jordan. Photo credit: Dmitri Markine Photography

Yet, while the world looks on at the violence, war against ISIS, and Trump’s calls to ban all Muslims from the United States, God has a different plan for the people who are being thrown into the media’s spotlight just for their religion.

The truth is: the term Muslim is not a synonym for terrorist or terrorism. Pioneers USA knows this, and through its Arab World Media ministry, God is reaching Muslims through social media as part of its 2016 campaign, While It Is Day. Here’s how it works,

(Photo courtesy of Jason Howie via Flickr)

1.  Arab World Media is bringing the Gospel to Muslims.
2. It is helping strengthen, discipline, and encourage believers, new and old alike, from Muslim backgrounds.
3. It’s helping the global Church effectively minister to Muslims.

And so far, many of them have been responding.

In their recent report, Pioneers stated how they share Jesus’ love and hope with the Arab people, and how they’re asking questions like, ‘How can I make a fresh start?’ For some, this media ministry has become a place of encouragement as they receive Christ and engage in their new faith.

Sometimes, especially in closed countries where hostile acts against Christians and Christianity is acceptable, sharing the Gospel through social media is one of the only ways to do so. But, it’s a way which reaches hundreds at a time.

And as Pioneers continues with its campaign, it needs both prayers and financial support. Pray for God to continue to use Pioneers to reach Muslims everywhere through social media.

Or, if you’re willing, please consider donating to the campaign and helping fund the spread of the Gospel in a unique way.

To donate to Pioneers’ Arab World Media, click here.

To donate to Pioneers’ 2016 campaign, While It Is Day, click here.

To learn more about Pioneers’ campaign, While It Is Day, click here.

Panoramic view of Israel’s West Gate. (Image courtesy sheepdog85 via Wikimedia Commons)

With neighboring countries in crisis mode, where does that leave Israel? E3 Partners’ Tom Doyle is there.

“We’ve been talking to both Jews and Arabs, and they feel the stress and the pressure — the vice grip — of what’s happening around them in Syria and Egypt, and Iran,” says Doyle.

Earlier this week, the U.S. announced plans to curtail annual military and financial support it sends to Egypt until democratic progress is made.

“Christians in Egypt are scratching their head and saying, ‘We wish this would’ve happened when Morsi was in power and the Muslim Brotherhood was burning churches and persecuting Christians, and nothing was happening’,” Doyle shares.

The cut of U.S. aid to Egypt isn’t forecasted to decrease their military effectiveness. But it does have some Israeli leaders concerned, according to the Associated Press.

In a recent article, the AP quotes Israel’s Homeland Defense Minister Gilad Erdan as saying, “I hope this decision by the United States will not have an effect and won’t be interpreted as something that should have an effect” on the 1979 peace accord.

The 34-year old treaty ended decades of hostility between Israel and Egypt, and started the ball rolling for diplomatic and commercial cohesion. It was the first peace agreement Israel signed with an Arab nation, and resulted in Egypt being suspended from the Arab League.

The deal also arranged for Egypt to receive billions in U.S. financial aid. The United States’ decision to cut this aid could result in backlash on U.S.-ally Israel, states Eli Shaked, a former Isareli ambassador to Egypt.

Though trouble flares on every side, Doyle says there are some encouraging signs in Israel.

“The Lord’s moving here in Israel among Jews and Arabs, bringing them together in a spirit of unity under the banner of Jesus Christ,” he states.

Jews and Palestinians have been at-odds since 1948, when the United Nations voted to partition Palestine and Israel declared itself an independent nation. Conflict immediately ensued between Israel and Palestine and continues to this day, with surrounding Arab neighbors siding with Palestine.

“It seems like there’s often two targets of fundamentalist Islam in the Middle East: the Church and Israel,” Doyle notes.

But, Messianic Jews in Israel and Palestinian believers are bridging the societal gap. A man recently told Doyle he’s training fellow Palestinian believers to reach out to Jewish people with the Gospel. They’re also encouraging Jewish Messianic churches to share the Good News with Palestinians.

At the same time, a Messianic Jewish leader told Doyle people of Arab background come to their church regularly. He said they have “sweet fellowship time together.”

As unrest continues in the Middle East, please keep Israel in your prayers.

Doyle says, “I think our prayer for Israel would be that the world could see [peace can only occur] when people come to faith in Christ.”

To learn more about E3 Partners and their work in the Middle East, click here to visit their website.

With neighboring countries in crisis mode, where does that leave Israel? Tom Doyle with E3 Partners is there.

"We've been talking to both Jews and Arabs, and they feel the stress and the pressure–the vice grip–of what's happening around them in Syria, Egypt, and Iran," says Doyle.

Earlier this week, the U.S. announced plans to curtail annual military and financial support it sends to Egypt until democratic progress is made.

"Christians in Egypt are scratching their heads and saying, 'We wish this would've happened when Morsi was in power and the Muslim Brotherhood was burning churches and persecuting Christians, and nothing was happening,'" Doyle shares.

The cut of U.S. aid to Egypt isn't projected to decrease their military effectiveness. But it does have some Israeli leaders concerned, according to the Associated Press.

In a recent article, the AP quotes Israel's Homeland Defense Minister Gilad Erdan as saying, "I hope this decision by the United States will not have an effect and won't be interpreted as something that should have an effect" on the 1979 peace accord.

The 34-year-old treaty ended decades of hostility between Israel and Egypt and started the ball rolling for diplomatic and commercial cohesion. It was the first peace agreement Israel signed with an Arab nation, and resulted in Egypt being suspended from the Arab League.

The deal also arranged for Egypt to receive billions in U.S. financial aid. The United States' decision to cut this aid could result in backlash against Israel, a U.S. ally, states Eli Shaked, a former Israeli ambassador to Egypt.

Though trouble flares on every side, Doyle says there are some encouraging signs in Israel.

"The Lord is moving here in Israel among Jews and Arabs, bringing them together in a spirit of unity under the banner of Jesus Christ," he states.

Jews and Palestinians have been at-odds since 1948, when the United Nations voted to partition Palestine and Israel declared itself an independent nation. Conflict immediately ensued between Israel and Palestine and continues to this day, with surrounding Arab neighbors siding with Palestine.

"It seems like there are often two targets of fundamentalist Islam in the Middle East: the Church and Israel," Doyle notes.

But Messianic Jews in Israel and Palestinian believers are bridging the societal gap. A man recently told Doyle he's training fellow Palestinian believers to reach out to Jewish people with the Gospel. They're also encouraging Jewish Messianic churches to share the Good News with Palestinians.

At the same time, a Messianic Jewish leader told Doyle people of Arab background come to their church regularly. He said they have "sweet fellowship time together."

As unrest continues in the Middle East, please keep Israel in your prayers.

Doyle says, "I think our prayer for Israel would be that the world could see [peace can only occur] when people come to faith in Christ."

To learn more about E3 Partners and their work in the Middle East, click here to visit their Web site.

(Image courtesy SAT-7 USA)

According to the Arab American Institute Foundation, at least 3.5 million people living in the U.S. are of Arab descent; a third of them live in three states: California, New York and Michigan.

While Arab immigrants have been traveling to Canada since the 19th century, the past 25 years show a significant uptick. Between 1960 and 2011, the Canadian Arab Institute says 581,000 Arab immigrants came to Canada from countries like Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt.

In November, Arabs living far from home will have their own TV channel thanks to SAT-7, a satellite television ministry to the Middle East and North Africa.

“It will be in the Arabic language, and it will blanket all of the United States and Canada,” says SAT-7’s Rex Rogers. “We hope to use a lot of the programming that we’re already using on SAT-7 Arabic, and also SAT-7 KIDS, in the Middle East and North Africa.”

SAT-7 NORTH AMERICA joins the five channels serving the Middle East and North Africa: SAT-7 ARABIC, SAT-7 PARS, SAT-7 KIDS, SAT-7 PLUS and SAT-7 TÜRK.

Arab Christian programming in North America has been a long-time coming, according to Rogers. He says it’s been on SAT-7’s radar for a few years, but things only recently started coming together for a launch.

“We expect word-of-mouth to be quite significant, just like it is in the Middle East [and North Africa],” notes Rogers.

“There are other Arab channels and programs, but not a comprehensive one like SAT-7.”

SAT-7 NORTH AMERICA is being provided without subscription fee as a free-to-air channel on Galaxy 19 at 97º West, 11.867 GHz Vertical, Symbol Rate 22000, FEC ¾.

“Galaxy 19 is a service most internationals are aware of, those who are first- or second-generation immigrants…so most of the folks we’re [trying] to reach are already aware of [the provider], and if they’ve got that dish, they can pick it up,” says Rogers.

It also will be available online on the SAT-7 NORTH AMERICA website, on iOS and Android mobile devices and via Roku.

Rogers says they’ll be developing shows for North American Arab audiences to air in addition to existing SAT-7 ARABIC programming.

“They’re a little different culturally now, and they have different needs,” he says of the first- and second-generation Arabs they’re trying to reach.

Program topics include SAT-7’s kids, theological education, leadership training, health and lifestyle issues and Middle East current events. Periodic live special events and interaction with Middle East and North Africa churches will be shown in real time.

After 17 years of broadcasting the voice of the Arab church and Arab Christians to viewers in the Middle East and North Africa, SAT-7 will launch its new North American television channel on November 3, 2013.

Arab-Americans and Christians everywhere are urged to pray for the launch of SAT-7 NORTH AMERICA as it reaches into the homes of a potential audience of 4 million people.

“Pray that we can get on the air successfully,” Rogers requests. “Most importantly, that the audience will…find us.”

You can find updates on the SAT-7 USA Facebook page.

“Pray that the necessary funding for the launch and for the first year could be secured,” adds Rogers.

To support the subscription-free channel, click here or call 1-866-744-7287.