Explosions in Lebanon. (Photo courtesy of SAT-7)

As fighting has continued in recent months, more than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced.

John Cerniglia, president of SAT-7 USA, says, “Keep in mind, in Lebanon, you’ve got about 5.8 million people – that’s about the size of Metro Atlanta, just to put this in context here in the United States. Twenty percent of them…have been displaced in recent weeks, particularly on the southern border between Lebanon and Israel.”

Sharing Hope with Displaced Children

SAT-7 broadcasts Gospel hope via satellite television across Lebanon. Their program, You Are Not Alone, recently featured an episode made by kids, for kids fleeing the violence.

“Our program was centered on children who are being kept at a youth home where they’re provided with food and clothing,” says Cerniglia.

“We have the opportunity to share the Gospel, Good News, with children and with content that is appropriate for them – just reminding them of the biblical truth that you’re not alone.”

The families sheltering at St. Anne Youth Home are hoping to return to their homes in the south when the conflict ends. (Photo, caption courtesy of SAT-7)

Another one of the ministry’s most powerful recent projects came together under extraordinary circumstances. “We have a children’s song that was created by our Beirut team…and it’s called Your Peace, Jesus, Is Our Joy,” Cerniglia says. “It was literally recorded while bombs were falling across Beirut.”

The response surprised even SAT-7 staff.

“Children who were watching it were so moved by it, they started calling into our studios in Beirut and began singing the song back,” he says. “This message is spreading that you can have peace in Jesus even when there is no earthly peace.”

Requests for Prayer

Please pray the encouragement of Psalm 46 over displaced families and children: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Ps. 46:1)

Cerniglia reflects, “This has become a bit of a rallying cry for our brothers and sisters…living in Lebanon. That’s what we try to convey, of course, to all people, including children.”

Learn more about SAT-7’s ministry at sat7usa.org.

Header photo courtesy of SAT-7.

On Monday, Israel ordered the residents of seven villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate. Two of the villages are a mere 20-minute drive from Heart for Lebanon’s Hope Center. 

“We still can operate from our center, we still can reach out to people, but you could tell the fear that it can become another battleground,” says Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki.

Peace talks brokered by the United States haven’t fully collapsed yet. However, renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and the threat of Israeli strikes on Beirut, have thrown the talks off track. 

“If things keep getting worse, Israel might push the evacuation line beyond the Zahrani River, which means then our center would become part of those areas that need to be completely evacuated,” says Melki.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Heart for Lebanon’s summer outreach is on the line, including their Summer of Hope programs.

“This is VBS on steroids, a lot of fun activities, a lot of music, teaching, games, Bible stories, drama, singing,” says Melki. These programs give kids the space to be kids again and to learn about God. 

The Summer of Hope has already begun in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. But for their Hope Center in southern Lebanon, the team is developing an alternative plan.

“Instead of bringing the students to our center for our Summer of Hope ministry, we will take them to safer areas in southern Lebanon — places where they can play freely, where they don’t hear those drones over them all the time, or hear the air strikes,” says Melki.

Safety is becoming harder to find, however. On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Forces issued evacuation warnings for three more villages in southern Lebanon. The IDF has also warned Christian neighborhoods of Tyre that Hezbollah militants are among them. If residents do not expel Hezbollah, the IDF said, they will order more evacuations and take action. Tyre is less than a 40-minute drive away from Heart for Lebanon’s closest Hope Center.

Find your place in the story

Pray that Lebanese believers can continue to share Christ in word and deed.

(Photo courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

“The number of families that we are reaching to help keeps growing. In fact, the resources are very limited in the entire nation. We are coming alongside other churches and other church ministries and faith-based organizations providing aid to those small entities,” says Melki. 

For example, on June 1 alone, Melki says Heart for Lebanon provided 540 food parcels to sister churches and faith-based NGOs who had run out of resources.

“Pray for wisdom, pray for safety, pray for perseverance, and pray for the much-needed resources, so we can continue to do what God has called us to do: help lead people from despair to hope in Christ, and Christ alone,” says Melki. 

Connect with Heart for Lebanon and learn how you can help resource their ministry in further prayer and financial support.

Header photo of Summer of Hope outreach courtesy of Heart for Lebanon via Facebook.

Secretary Marco Rubio attends working-level peace talks with Israel and Lebanon at the White House in Washington, D.C., April 23, 2026. (Official State Department photo by Freddie Everett)

Tensions reached a boiling point yesterday when Israel responded to Hezbollah attacks, carrying out its deepest incursion since the 2000 war. U.S. President Donald Trump described a de-escalation between the warring sides on Monday afternoon:

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to dial back fighting after he held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communicated with the Lebanese militant group through mediators.

Trump announced the development in a social media post following a call with Netanyahu, whose forces recently made their deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than a quarter-century. Trump there would be no Israeli troops “going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back.”

Cease-fire hopes falter

As with most Middle East conflicts, the latest escalation doesn’t occur in a vacuum.

“Last Thursday and Friday, a military delegation from the Lebanese army met at the Pentagon with an Israeli delegation, which is the first time in the history of those two nations that military representatives meet together,” Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki explains.

“We were hoping that the outcome of that meeting would come to a ceasefire and some sort of an agreement on the Israelis’ withdrawal from southern Lebanon and Hezbollah’s disarmament,” he continues.

“Unfortunately, things are going in the wrong direction. That’s not what we’ve been hoping for. That’s not what we’ve been praying for.”

On Sunday, Lebanese media reported progress toward a new cease-fire agreement in U.S.-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon.

“The Lebanese government needs to figure out a way to contain Hezbollah and convince Hezbollah, for the better of the whole nation, that a cease-fire should be brokered and brokered soon,” Melki says.

“Iran, on the other hand, has pulled away from its negotiations with the U.S., which is not a good indicator at all, because that means even those negotiations seem to be stalled and might lead to further confrontation in the entire region.”

In a season where many feel forgotten, we believe that the Gospel is best shared through a ministry of presence.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Heart for Lebanon)

Christian villages face shortages

Monday was “A very, very violent day in southern Lebanon, in Beirut, in the Bekaa Valley, as well as in the northern villages of Israel,” Melki says.

“Hezbollah continues to shell Israel using drones and other military means, and Israel continues to retaliate against Hezbollah. We have seen a very high spike in casualties and damage all around.”

Most businesses are closed in southern Lebanon, and essential supplies are hard to find.

“There are a lot of small Christian villages right at the borders between Israel and Lebanon, and they’ve been under a significant economic and military siege. We sent 700 food parcels with the help of the Red Cross to those villages,” Melki says.

Each delivery offers encouragement to believers and a Gospel introduction to those who don’t know Christ. You can support a family in need here.

Pray for an end to the violence in Lebanon.

“Tuesday, June 2, and Wednesday, June 3, a State Department-brokered meeting will take place. Civilian delegates from the Lebanese government and the Israeli government will meet, and we hope that those meetings will turn out a little better,” Melki says.

Header and story images courtesy Heart for Lebanon. 

Tit-for-tat strikes between Hezbollah and Israel have spared Beirut until now. Combat in southern Lebanon lingers despite an April 17 truce agreement.

“Two nations have signed a ceasefire, but here we go again. The conflict continues,” Heart for Lebanon’s Camille Melki says.

“Though we have a ceasefire, we really don’t have a cessation of fire. Every day, there has been death, there has been destruction.”

U.S. pushes for peace

Diplomacy runs parallel to ongoing violence. The United States confirmed yesterday that it will host new talks between Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors next week.

“Lebanon and Israel, for the first time in decades of conflict, have agreed to sit face to face in negotiations, rather than have a third party mediate the negotiations back and forth,” Melki says.

In past years, “it was always some third party that dragged us into a conflict. Before, it was the [Palestine Liberation Organization]. Now, it’s Hezbollah. Previously, it was the Syrian regime that occupied our territory,” Melki says.

“Right now, the United States and the Lebanese people are seeing hope that, for the first time, the Lebanese government can speak for the citizens of Lebanon, and the Lebanese citizens can decide for themselves.”

Earlier this week, Lebanon’s parliament speaker said there could be no negotiations with Israel until fighting stops. Yet the U.S. continues to push for peace.

Washington’s “best interest is to separate Lebanon from the control of the Iranian regime,” Melki says.

(Photo courtesy Heart for Lebanon)

Gospel hope and humanitarian help

Continued fighting in southern Lebanon means higher displacement and more people in need. Heart for Lebanon recently added 2,600 new families to its aid roster. Your gifts help the ministry meet increasing costs.

Pray for believers distributing physical help and Gospel hope. “Prayer for wisdom, perseverance, for the ability to focus on what’s more important,” Melki says.

“What’s more important is that the Gospel is spread, the love of Jesus Christ is shared, and the message of encouragement is given alongside all the humanitarian aid that we provide.”

Header and story images courtesy of Heart for Lebanon. 

At the same time, Israeli strikes have hit the southern suburbs of Beirut, and Israel has issued urgent warnings for people to evacuate areas tied to Iranian officials.

Together, the developments signal the building pressure on both Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamist regime.

(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beiteddine_-_drapeau_libanais.jpg)

John Cerniglia, President of SAT-7 USA says, “I was in a meeting this morning with colleagues who live in the region. I have a colleague who lives in Beirut, and he turned his phone out the window of where he is in Beirut, and we were watching bombings happen.”

For many in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, conflict is not a new reality.

“As I talk to my colleagues who [were] born in the region and have always lived in the region, it’s been their entire lifetimes,” Cerniglia says. “When SAT-7 started 30 years ago, the Lebanese were fighting the Syrians in Lebanon, in Beirut. So I’ve got colleagues who’ve worked at SAT-7 for 30 years, and they will tell you war is all they’ve ever known.”

Yet just because it is familiar doesn’t mean it isn’t overwhelming.

Cerniglia says, “I think, in times of serious conflict like this or uncertainty or fear, some people could be tempted to think the unthinkable about their own lives. So just [pray] that God protect people and give them hope – Jesus is the hope of the world.”

(Photo courtesy of SAT-7)

Through satellite television and digital media, SAT-7 continues broadcasting the Gospel across the Middle East and North Africa, including into areas affected by conflict. The ministry regularly shares testimonies of people encountering Christ even amid war.

Learn more at sat7usa.org.

“The first thing I’d encourage everybody to do is go to our website and read and learn,” Cerniglia says. “There’s a lot of content there from Iran and around the region – first-hand stories and testimonies from Christians who are experiencing what’s going on there in the region.”

He adds, “The second thing to do, after learning a little bit, is join our prayer team. You can sign up, it doesn’t cost anything, [and] we’ll send you periodic prayer reports and requests for you to be praying for our brothers and sisters.”

As tensions rise in Lebanon, please pray ultimately for the spread of the Gospel. Ask God to bring hope and salvation to the Lebanese people – and even to fighters and extremists – that many would encounter Jesus and find true peace in Him.

Header photo: Beirut, Lebanon (Photo courtesy of Sara Calado/Unsplash)

Pierre Houssney with Horizons International calls it “a thermometer check” on the growing US-Iran tensions, yet he says on the ground in Lebanon, life continues as normal. 

The evacuation order comes as Iran and the United States have engaged in nuclear talks, but also saber-rattling and outright repositioning of military firepower. The US has amassed its largest military buildup in the Middle East since before the 2003 Iraq war. Meanwhile, in Lebanon stands the Iran-backed political and armed group Hezbollah.

“Hezbollah has been the best-supported kind of foreign proxy in Lebanon,” Houssney notes. “Hezbollah is a little budget line item in the Iranian ‘budget,’ but it makes a huge difference in their capacity to kind of take over the security control of [southern] Lebanon, and take over a lot of the public institutions of Lebanon.”

Houssney adds that if there is a regime change in Iran, the supply line to Hezbollah will dry up. If that ever happens, Houssney says “the playing field will be more level again” for Lebanon’s different political, religious, and ethnic factions, who would need to learn to work together to rebuild their country. 

Lebanon’s wartime Church

The US embassy evacuation order is a mark of seriousness, yet Houssney says candidly, “In Lebanon, we’re used to the US embassy having us at, like, ’DEFCON 4’ all the time — ‘do not travel to Lebanon’ kind of thing. And then we just keep coming in and out, and we live there, and that’s ‘business as usual’ for us.”

Throughout Lebanon, Horizons staff members meet with people in their homes to share the Gospel and pray together.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Horizons International)

This perspective, which some might call nonchalant, is nonetheless well-founded. The 15-month ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has seen over 10,000 strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon, says Houssney. “So we’re kind of already in a state of war that’s not called war. It’s called a ceasefire.”

In all this, Horizons International partners with 130 evangelical churches in Lebanon to help resource and equip local gospel ministry. Lebanon’s Christians have faithfully shared Christ with many whose lives have been upended. Houssney names the Alawites from Syria, Shia Muslims, and traditional Christians.

“At different times and different crises. God is doing something different in the story of their ethnic group, their religious group. God is showing up and ripening hearts at certain times,” says Houssney.

“So the important thing is that the church also be positioned to show up, coordinate together to [communicate] the gospel through humanitarian aid, through bold preaching, and through loving acceptance of these communities.”

Pray for boldness for the churches of Lebanon, and for faithfulness to preach God’s Word in all circumstances. 

“We also need to pray for the next generation who is being tempted to leave Lebanon, but they are the generation that needs to take over the ministries and the succession planning,” Houssney adds. “As much as we plan for succession, there’s going to be no succession without a next generation.”

Header photo: Beirut, Lebanon (Photo courtesy of Sara Calado/Unsplash)

“We are a discipleship-centered, family-rooted, and missional church, passionate about seeing lives transformed by the power of the gospel,” says Yara, the partnerships team leader at Resurrection Church.

(Photo courtesy of Resurrection Church in Lebanon)

It’s been a year of continued regional conflict and uncertainty for Lebanon. But Yara says the difficulties will never change Resurrection Church’s sense of God’s purpose for them.

“We believe that the Church exists to be present where there is pain, to care for those who are hurting, marginalized, weak, poor, without discrimination and always with the heart of pointing people to Jesus,” she says. 

“Due to the ongoing crises, the walls people had built started to shatter. They’re more open to share their hearts, their pain. They’re asking questions [that] are deep about the gospel, about life in general, searching for peace and hope.” 

That’s why bringing joy to people this time of year, as well as introducing them to Christ, was a top priority for Resurrection Church’s plans. Instead of merely hosting events, they invited people on a journey with three stops along the way. 

“It starts with a Christmas theatrical play for all age groups, where many people encounter the story of Jesus for the very first time,” says Yara.

Christmas village 2025 (Photo courtesy of Resurrection Church in Lebanon)

“From there, we carry new people and families into our Christmas Village, which we all know is a space for joy, community, connecting with these people, making families and children feel welcomed and seen.”

The final step is the church’s Christmas service, where people will be welcomed in and invited to take the next step with God.

“The vision is very simple behind this, but also intentional,” says Yara. “It is to gently carry these people from their first encounter with the Christmas story and the gospel into His church as a final stop.”

Please join in prayer for spiritual breakthroughs in people’s lives this week.

December 2025 Christmas village (Photo courtesy of Resurrection Church in Lebanon)

“Pray that the hearts would stay open in every step of the way, every step of the journey, that God would draw people forward along this journey and transform lives through it,” says Yara.

Lebanon is one of, if not the most, open countries in the Middle East for sharing the hope of Christ, says Yara. Because of that, Resurrection Church often has believers arriving at their doors, having fled from persecution in different Arab countries.

“We truly believe that God has positioned Lebanon for such a time as this — not just as a refuge, but as a place where disciples are formed and we are able to lead people to the light of Christ,” says Yara.

Header photo courtesy of Resurrection Church in Beirut, Lebanon. 

Passively receiving this information can lead to discouragement. “You can only take so much before you feel like, ‘Well, what can I do with that?’” Pierre Houssney with Horizons International says.

“But God has a story that He’s written. It’s not random.”

Displaced families in Beirut, Lebanon.
(Photo courtesy of Horizons International)

The Lord calls us all to not only be hearers, but doers of the Word. Information from today’s headlines provides an opportunity to act. “There’s an opportunity to connect with the Church wherever the headlines are happening,” Houssney says.

For example, the war between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. More about that here.

“Pastors and entire congregations from South Lebanon have been uprooted, and they’re now staying with family members, schools, and churches. It’s a big temptation to get out of the region,” Houssney says.

You can help believers stay put and reach the hurting around them through Horizons International.

“I love having a front-row seat in Beirut, Lebanon, working with a network of 130 evangelical churches,” Houssney says.

“We’re seeing those heroes of the faith active in the middle of a refugee crisis.”

Now that you know, ask the Lord how He wants you to respond. Then connect with Horizons International here. “Prayer always is going to lead to action,” Houssney says.

“Let the Spirit lead you, reach out, get involved, and find your place in the story.”

In the header image, volunteers offer time and resources to prepare meals for displaced families. Header and story photos courtesy of Horizons International.

Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, a ministry of LSESD, is located at the edge of Beirut. ABTS used their facilities to house people who lost their homes in the 2020 port blast, and again today in the wake of mass displacement in Lebanon. (Photo courtesy of ABTS on Facebook)

Take Lebanon. It has endured decades of conflict and economic collapse. The current war no one wanted has displaced an estimated 1.3 million people.

“Crisis, wars, disruptions [are] nothing new to this region. We’re used to difficulties and hardships,” says Loulwa Maalouf with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.

“But at the same time, we are used to seeing God at work, and we are called to be here and be part of His work.”

ABTS is a ministry of Thimar-LSESD. Today it not only provides biblical education to around 240 students, but it also shelters a couple hundred displaced people. 

“With every crisis in Lebanon, we are used to taking a step and saying, ‘Okay, how does God want us to respond now?’” Maalouf says. This was true for the 2006 Lebanon War, the COVID-19 pandemic and the August 4 (2020) Beirut port explosion. 

“This time, God used our facilities so that we can welcome those who needed a shelter from the war. We opened our guest house and academic residence to welcome families,” Maalouf says. “Some of them are church families. Some of them, they’ve never been been to a church.”

Laundry services at ABTS’s campus (Photo courtesy of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary)

The seminary provide utilities, meals, laundry services; it works with other ministries to provide youth services and more to families as well. Daily chapel services at ABTS have been opened to the community. They worship God and hear a message of encouragement. 

“It takes a lot of effort because we are doing all our programs and we’re also doing that but we’re grateful that God is allowing us to serve Him through these guests,” she says. 

ABTS is seeing that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray with them for God to raise up more workers. Maalouf asks that you pray also for an ever-deepening love in the church for their enemies.

“You can always pray for us. Not only for us, for Lebanon, for the region, for our students and our graduates and the churches in the region,” Maalouf says. 

Learn more about ABTS here. 

Header photo of children at ABTS guesthouse campus courtesy of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Fadi Sharaiha with the MENA Leadership Center reminds us that followers of Christ aren’t on an island, removed from these tragedies.

“The church is a reflection of the community. So the church is also going through those things, the church is also suffering, the church is also reflecting, ‘Are [we] doing the right thing? What do [we] need to do?’” he says.

“The training inspired me to new approaches to ministry… I began to implement the material, combining both the passion and skills for a more significant impact in God’s kingdom. Thank you for the abundant, precious resources you left in our hands.” – Key Ministry Leader from Jordan
(Photo, caption courtesy of MLC)

Sometimes they do know how to respond. People in Beirut are receiving families who have fled from southern Lebanon. Many of these displaced people are Shia Muslims, the same branch of Islam as Hezbollah. Sharaiha says churches are among those helping to shelter these families. 

“This is a beautiful, beautiful reflection of God’s love, the unconditional love [of God] to people,” he says.  

But sometimes they don’t know how to respond. As churches wrestle with ever-evolving needs, the weight of leadership only increases. That’s why the MENA Leadership Center is organizing multiple local trainings across the region. In 2025, two more courses will be offered.

“One of them is how to deal with trauma for refugees — this is [a] very important thing that is happening. Also how to establish your ministry with refugees, because now refugees [are] a big thing in the Middle East,” says Sharaiha. 

“We have around 1.2 to 1.5 million displaced people in Gaza. In Lebanon, we have a couple hundred thousand people fleeing [a] certain part of Lebanon. People flee to Syria from Lebanon [too]. This also would put more pressure on the church in Syria, how to help and how to support.”

The needs are tremendous. Please pray for brothers and sisters in Christ navigating the crises in the Middle East. Consider partnering with the MENA Leadership Center in the trainings they offer as well. 

Pray also for those on the MENA Leadership team as they connect with believers in the region. Pray for safety and effective communication.

Header photo of Beirut, Lebanon courtesy of Christian Harb via Unsplash.