Our work in the Middle East

We have a special place in our hearts for the Middle East. We’ve been working to bring the Bible to life there for nearly 70 years – and have no intention of leaving.

Affirming the place of the Bible in today’s world

We work to affirm the place of the Bible in society, challenging ill-informed thinking and demonstrating that the Bible can be a force for positive change in today’s world.

Bible mission in the Middle East

Despite the daily threats of war, violence and persecution, our team of staff and volunteers have remained in Syria and Iraq to offer the Bible alongside practical help to those in need.

This is not new work – it’s what we’ve been doing in the region for decades. As Mike Bassous, who oversees our work from Beirut in Lebanon, puts it: ‘They know we’re not leaving, they know we’re local people and they trust us.’ In the midst of war and suffering, we are discovering an unprecedented demand for Scriptures – from both Christians relying on God more than ever, and Muslims looking for an alternative to the extreme expression of Islam they see around them. Our team are busy distributing Bibles – alongside everyday necessities like food parcels, toiletries, and mattresses – to families who find themselves living in refugee camps. We also run bookshops in the region, including one in the city of Aleppo – just 150 metres from the frontlines of the war in Syria.

Giving children hope

Reaching the refugees

Give the Bible to a migrant worker

The Gulf’s impoverished migrants are turning to Jesus.

The wealthy Gulf countries are full of migrant workers who live in appalling conditions. Right now these workers are seeing God move in their deprived communities. Will you give the Bible to someone seeking Jesus today?

£20 provides four migrant workers with a Bible

£60 trains two pastors to reach out with the gospel

£300 gives Bibles to a whole congregation of migrant workers

Donate today

story

Mathai’s story

When 46-year-old Mathai found out he was next in line to be beheaded by a local ISIS gang, who were on the rampage against Christian men in his Syrian hometown, he knew he had to flee.

He made sure his wife and three children were safe, and then set off on a long and perilous journey across the border to Lebanon, Turkey and by boat to Greece. From there he trekked through Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary before finally arriving in Austria. ‘Sometimes I was afraid’, Mathai recalls. ‘But mostly just so tired, so tired, so exhausted’. It was in Austria that Mathai found help from Christian brothers and sisters, who gave him a safe place to stay and helped him lodge an asylum application. What’s more, our Bible Society gave him what is now his prize possession – a large-print Arabic Bible. ‘This Bible tells me I’m not alone, it reminds me that every human is loved by God and has a value’, Matthai says. ‘Whenever I think of my wife and children I’m very afraid, but when I turn to the Bible I see light.’