ICC Note
As Christians continue to flee from Syria, God is at work through Pastor Simon who has decided to stay. He says that even though Christians are fleeing, more and more Muslims are coming to Christ. He believes that he cannot leave while there is still work to be done. For these new converts, the road ahead is not easy, they often face persecution starting from their own family members. Though many Christians feel that the Middle East is no longer a home for Christians there are still many who want to be part of rebuilding their shattered societies.
6/08/2017 Syria (Gospel Herald) – A Syrian pastor who has shared the gospel in the war-torn country over the past six years despite continued dangers has said he’s witnessed a staggering number of Muslims, disillusioned by the atrocities committed in the name of Islam, come to Christ.
“God is moving and doing great things around us,” Pastor Simon, who ministers in war-torn regions of Syria, shared with persecution watchdog Open Doors USA. “What the Lord did in the past six years, he saved hundreds of thousands of Muslims in different countries. Before the war, we only saw some believers from a Muslim background. God is moving and doing great things around us, many are being saved.”
The pastor revealed that that since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, hundreds of thousands of Christians have fled the country. In the city where he ministers, there were some 900 Christian families in the city when the crisis began. Now, only 310 Christian families stayed, including three evangelical families.
Pastor Simon said: “In the places where I work as a pastor, we don’t have young ministers anymore, the last one left us eight months ago and relocated to another country.”
But while Christians continue to flee the country, more and more Muslims are coming to Christ, the pastor revealed. He shared that in the past years, he has baptized many people from both Druze and Muslim backgrounds. Such conversions come with a cost, however.
…
