Lebanon

Located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon is the only Arabian/Asian country that doesn’t have a desert region. Beirut, Lebanon’s capital city, has a population of 2.2 million despite being only 7.7 square miles in size. Shia Muslims, Sunni Muslims, Christians, and Druze are the main population groups in a country that has been a refuge for the region's minorities for centuries.

KEY CHALLENGES

Millions fled war in the Middle East with legal refugee status, but even more fled without the opportunity to request refugee status. This left them unable to legally work in the countries they found refuge in. Without any source of income, families set up temporary shelters in large refugee camps, completely dependent on aid. 

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Our Approach

We were never intended to live in poverty, divided against one another, with little hope for peace. In the Kingdom of God, poverty, violence, division, and hopelessness will not exist. We think that the Church is God’s primary transforming agent in the world. The local church is there to make its community more like the Kingdom of God.

Read on to learn how communities are being transformed in Lebanon.

Our partners

Our partnership in the Middle East started in 2001. While the scope of this ministry is broad due to the strategic location in the Middle East, much of our partners’ relationship building has been among the Druze people. This minority group in the Middle East isn’t particularly open to other religious influences or outsiders, but because one of the founding members of the Middle East team is from a Druze background, they have had strong inroads to build unique discipleship opportunities. When war began in the Middle East, our partners opened their doors to respond to the growing refugee crisis as well. As the situation stabilized, our partners began to repatriate families and help them move back to their original neighborhoods to rebuild their lives and communities through small, missional business initiatives. 

Read the story of one family returning home
Senior farmer holding a basket and resting

PROJECTS

Lebanon Relief - A food distribution project will provide Lebanese families with a one-month supply of rice, flour, oil, powdered milk, and lentils to sustain them during a challenging time.

Tablets for Online Learning - An initiative distributing tablets to school-aged children in Beirut, Lebanon will aid 100 students in their remote learning amidst COVID-19, allowing them to continue their education and alleviate some of their parents’ financial burden.

Beirut Relief - After an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon damaged more than 70,000 homes, Mission ONE partners will clean up debris from the blast, help families rebuild their homes, and support local businesses to survive this time of economic hardship compounded by COVID-19. 

GIVE TO PROJECTS LIKE THESE

Global Context

People in the Middle East are no strangers to conflict between religious and cultural groups. Unfortunately, the poor and vulnerable experience the most suffering of anyone during war. Women, in particular, are mistreated while being left to carry the burden of their families.

Does the message of Jesus have anything to say about the way these women have been treated? You can learn more by checking our curriculum: Restoring Honor through Shame.

Tyre, Lebanon. July 16th 2010"nA Lebanese woman drying tobacco leaves, southern Lebanon"n"n