Not a Problem to Solve, But People to Serve: Helping Persecuted Christians in Israel and Gaza

October 7th, 2023 is one of those dates that will always be remembered.

On that terrible morning, Ben Barrett was working for VOM with persecuted Christians in the Middle East and leading the ministry’s work in Israel, including Gaza and the West Bank. His phone began to light up with messages from both Messianic Jewish believers and Arab Christians—even before the terrible attacks were announced in international news. The messages had a consistent request: “Please pray for us!”

Families and individuals like Pauline Ayyad, a previous guest on VOM Radio, asked for prayer as contact with relatives in Gaza was cut off. A messianic Rabbi asked prayers for his daughter who was ordered back to her military base, not knowing when she might return home. Video footage from a pastor in Sderot, the closest settlement to the Gaza Strip, showed him barricaded and lying flat on the floor as trucks full of terrorists shouting “Allahu Akbar!” passed by his home.

Listen as Ben shares about his last trip to the Middle East, where he met with pastors from both Jewish and Muslim backgrounds who are taking the gospel to radical areas despite the risk. He’ll also tell the stories of Jewish-background believers in Orthodox or Ethiopian communities who face Christian persecution through shame, excommunication, and job loss.

Pray for unity amongst believers in the Middle East. Pray for boldness in the spread of the gospel in spite of the risks.

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