In various parts of Syria the church is not just surviving, it is thriving. Support is being used to strengthen new believers through church retreats like those run by Pastor David …
As she rose up out of the water, she shouted: ‘Glory to Jesus!’ her arms raised high. The people around the pool clapped their hands and shouted for joy too. This lady is the first of 16 to be baptised on a sunny Sunday morning in Lebanon.
Pastor David from Syria brought his small church – about 60 members – on a retreat. This church is unusual in that the whole congregation, including Pastor David, are converts from the Druze, a branch of Shia Islam and a minority religion in Syria. Christians from a Muslim or Druze background are especially put under pressure by their family, as it brings great dishonour to them if a family member leaves their religion.
Start of a revival?
‘I see the start of a revival amongst the Druze and the Kurds in Syria,’ said Pastor David, who felt a specific call to serve these people after he became a Christian. ‘Hundreds have been saved during the war: before the war there were only some hidden and secret believers. In my city we now have four churches of mainly new believers.’ Elsewhere in Syria, too, former Druze and former Muslims are turning to Christ in significant numbers.
Pastor David was born a Druze. But God touched his heart after a friend challenged him to read the Gospels. ‘I was totally surprised, this felt like the real God, the God I searched for … God could forgive sin, and sin, even big sin. I hadn’t heard that in my religion… And God wanted to be my Father, my Father who loves me.’
He started attending church and, a year after his conversion, he was baptised. ‘ My conversion changed everything, my goals, my objectives. I wanted to follow Jesus, to serve Jesus. I also wanted all my family and friends to be saved.’
Pastor David is now seeing the fruit of his labours, and is thankful for the support he has had. He can now meet the needs of these new believers, providing them with Bibles, Christian literature and leadership training.
On this retreat, as well as being given the opportunity to be baptised, families received biblical training on topics such as marriage, communication and raising children.
‘We had a problem with forgiving each other. That has changed,’ said one participant, Darine, her face shining with joy. ‘After the first day of training, a miracle happened. My husband came to me and asked me for forgiveness for the first time in 20 years of marriage.’
Part way through one session, the teaching pastor stops and asks church members recording the meeting on their phones not to post it on the Internet. ‘That would endanger your pastor and your church,’ he said. A solemn reminder that becoming a Christian in Syria runs the risk of persecution, especially for church leaders.
Syria is number 11 on the Open Doors 2019 World Watch List and Christians face extreme persecution. In areas controlled by Islamic extremists, Christians are forced to pay protection money, must follow a strict dress code and dietary rules, and cannot express their faith publicly. In other areas of Syria, church leaders are targets for abduction. And yet the church in Syria continues to shine as a light in the darkness.
As the baptisms come to an end, the church sings: ‘I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.’ For them, conversion may mean paying a high price. It could cost them their family, their friends, even their jobs. But it is a powerful song of determination. They are determined to follow Jesus whatever it might cost.
