
Building Unity in the Beqaa
In this spirit of unity, 20 different churches and ministry institutions from the Beqaa Valley gathered in July to learn, exchange, and evaluate best practices for sustainable development.
In this spirit of unity, 20 different churches and ministry institutions from the Beqaa Valley gathered in July to learn, exchange, and evaluate best practices for sustainable development.
Six months following the Beirut Explosion, ABTS has helped a number of families to get back onto their feet. Despite the hardships, the Lord is still working through this calamity.
For many displaced victims of the August 4th Beirut Blast, the Lord has been using ABTS as a shelter. Injured, traumatized, and having lost everything, these people had no idea where they were being sent, just that they were going to a place that would host them.
With the Beirut explosion leaving approximately 300,000 people homeless, ABTS decided to open its arms and its residences to those in need. Upon hearing the shocking news, ABTS staff and partners jumped into action to repaint, remodel, and fix up their student dorms to house those whose homes were destroyed.
In the current world of social distancing, we are more than ever called to be the salt and light to others around us. Starting April 8th, we at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) will begin to provide online classes for our current residential students so they can complete their training from the safety of their homes.
Having been encouraged by a friend to attend, on Saturday, January 11th Rana set off for the Family to Gather event that was taking place at the ABTS Moore Conference Center that day. Hoping to find support in the midst of the political and economic crisis happening in Lebanon and keep her family strong despite all of the uncertainty and anxiety it produced, she brought her husband, nursery-aged son, and 8-year-old daughter along with her. What happened for her family there, however, was beyond what she could have hoped for.
Wave after wave of violence has threatened to extinguish the light of Christ in Iraq as the country has been vacated of over two thirds of its Christian population since the early 2000s. And yet, at least one pastor and his congregation can be highlighted as having stood firm in the face of the temptation to flee and chosen to shine as bright lights in the impending darkness.
After two weeks of mass demonstrations, road closures and a resigned Prime Minister, the fate of Lebanon hangs in the balance as the country faces the unknown.