A series of remarkable conferences, including the Puritan Conference – Dubai 2025, have been held in the United Arab Emirates, for the first time, in January.
The first conference of the series saw a gathering of 106 ministries from 46 nations who collaborated to bring excellent Reformed resources to the world through the Global Resources and Training Initiative.
Speakers included Dr Joel Beeke, president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminar, who encouraged delegates in their mission of publishing Christ-centred, gospel-rich resources.
The Puritan Conference followed, attended by around 1,500 from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and countries. There were sessions for both pastors and lay people. These included Q&A panel discussions; and sessions on topics such as ‘Why Do We Need the Puritans Today?’ by Joel Beeke. Other speakers included Sinclair Ferguson, John Piper (see photo left) and Kevin DeYoung.
It was an encouraging time as we learned of the experiential and practical attitude of the Puritans to live all of life to the glory of God. The Dubai Evangelical Church Centre hosted the conferences.
- (Editors note) The Evangelical Church of Dubai website says it is ‘the physical home of evangelical congregations in Dubai, built on land granted by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum [see photo below] in 1997... The Evangelical Church of Dubai is utilised regularly by more than 20 evangelical congregations. We gather for worship in at least 10 different languages with worshippers from more than 80 nations.
‘We remain in close fellowship with many evangelical churches globally, as well as with the other evangelical compounds in the UAE: The Evangelical Church in Abu Dhabi; The Evangelical Church in Al Ain; [and] the Ras Al Khaimah Evangelical Church.’ Explaining its history, the website says: ‘In the 1970’s and 80’s, evangelical expats in Dubai gathered in homes and schools to study the Bible and worship God because no church building existed for their worship.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum
‘As congregations grew in size and stability, the need for a permanent Evangelical Church building in Dubai became clear. Land for Evangelical Church buildings had already been granted in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. In 1995 the Arabic Evangelical Church of Dubai and the English-speaking United Christian Church of Dubai made a joint request for land to the Ruler’s Court and the people prayed for a favourable response. In 1997, God answered those prayers as land was graciously granted... The ambitious effort encountered many challenges in the following years, but God graciously provided to overcome each obstacle. On 24 October 2003, by God’s grace, the building was dedicated and opened for use.’
