Ministry News

The Forgotten Church

Details

Tuesday, 19 May 2009 10:38

QUOTE: "I've been beaten up after preaching. And, as painful as that is physically, you get over it. [But] what's worse is the day-to-day pressure faced by Christians from all backgrounds." —Steve Khoury, a young Arab pastor serving in the West Bank, on the increasingly volatile climate for Christians remaining in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). A recent report from U.K.-based Release International says there are no more than 5,000 believers left in the West Bank and Gaza, and the concern over mounting cultural tension, economic distress and ongoing territory disputes has prompted a mass exodus of sorts among evangelical Christians.

In Jesus' birthplace of Bethlehem, for example, Christians for centuries made up 80 percent of the population; today, they comprise barely a third, and their numbers continue to decline each year. Yet many argue that the force behind what's driving out these believers is less cultural and more economic. "Because of the economic pressures, many Christian families when they get the chance, are leaving for a better life abroad,” said Jack Sara, senior pastor of the Jerusalem Alliance Church in Old City Jerusalem.

The latest data indicates that of the 4.1 million people currently living in the OPT, 83 percent are Muslims and 12 percent are Jews. Christians and other religious groups account for only 5 percent. "We are the forgotten church," said one Palestinian pastor to Release International—to which another pastor added, "No … we are the beaten and forgotten church." [christianpost.com, 5/13/09]