About This Project
Joyce comes from a non-Christian background. When she was a little girl, she wanted to go to school but did not have the opportunity to. She used to guard and graze cattle. “In our society, women are deprived of their rights. Illiteracy and ignorance are the main factors holding women back from achieving what they want in their lives. It is unfair. The cruelty of my parents and neighbours kindled hatred in my heart. I became very aggressive, and had evil thoughts towards people,” said Joyce.
“As I saw a change in my daughter as she grew in Jesus and her love of Jesus melted my heart. His words are so powerful, piercing deep into my heart and changing my negative thoughts and attitude. I was living in darkness and thinking no one loves me. However, I found true love when I met Jesus Christ who loves me unconditionally. I cannot get enough of His teachings, and I wish I had known Him a long time ago,” Joyce said.
“When my mother received the voice message with the Bible study invitation, she spent hours repeating it to me to make sure she understood correctly that there was a bible study meeting.” After each Bible Study, my mother shares with us what she is learning.”
More than 20 non-Christian women attend this Bible study weekly with Joyce. This program aims to share the word of God teach women about Jesus and teach them how to read Arabic.
Heart for Lebanon’s Family Care ministry starts with meeting the physical needs of each family living below the poverty line. After an assessment, our goal is to help each family to sustain life in a hostile environment. In addition, our Children at Risk environment allows us to reach children with solid academic and spiritual education through the H.O.P.E (Helping Overcome Poverty through Education) program. This value-based education along with our Hope on Wheels environment allows us to reach many children right where they live – in the tent settlements, in the banana fields, or in broken unfinished buildings, on a consistent basis. These two access ministries (Level 1) allow us to build trust and create a relationship with the people we serve (Level 2). Both are done unconditionally yet holistically.
What follows soon after is a personal invitation to join a Bible study environment. These small groups meet the specific spiritual needs of the participants. (Level 3) This environment is where we talk about relationships, peacebuilding, reconciliation, dignity, respect, and many more life topics from a biblical perspective. It’s here where the Spiritual Formation begins to take root. Many come to faith in Jesus Christ and most of them desire to join one of the two churches we have planted. (Hope Evangelical Church Zahle or Hope Evangelical Church Gareth). We also hold Worship Gatherings for specific groups like the Kurdish population. (Level 4) It’s in this environment where they worship together that we encourage them to deepen their faith and express their faith by discovering and using their gifts, and talents, and to pray for one another.
Out of this group of discipled believers, we are building a new community of servant leaders through our Missional Leadership Development program. (Level 5) Converts from Islam and Christian backgrounds, who today know Christ as their personal saviour, are leading others to believe in Him and are invited to join a 3-year discipleship journey designed to help them grow in their faith and to follow Jesus with humility and integrity. Heart for Lebanon is committed to helping equip leaders from within the refugee and poorer Lebanese populations who are called and who will lead their respective families and communities into a brighter future wherever God leads them.
Heart for Lebanon’s commitment is to build up new communities of faith; loving, caring, forgiving communities led by Godly leaders. Someday they will return to Syria or some location worldwide with a God-like character and the skills necessary to help rebuild Syria as Biblical servant leaders.
Why give to this ministry?
The mission of Heart for Lebanon is to Make Disciples: At Heart for Lebanon, we believe that our purpose is clearly defined in the Bible “Go and make disciples” (Matt. 28:18-20)
Therefore our Vision is: “Driven by the compassionate heart of Jesus Christ, Heart for Lebanon exists to see lives changed and communities transformed. It is happening!
While 80% of everyone living in Lebanon is living at or under the poverty line, 66% have never heard the name of Jesus – they are unreached. During these unsettling political and economic times in Lebanon, uncertainty is not foreign to the people living there.
These turbulent times have many people asking life-altering questions, and yes, many are coming to faith and are being discipled and reaching others. By bringing physical and educational help, coupled with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to refugees and poverty-stricken children and their families, many are coming to faith and are being discipled.
“Today we have an opportunity to rebuild Lebanon with a generation of values-based leaders. We MUST take advantage of this window of time.” Camille Melki, co-founder
“This is the Esther moment for our generation! What, will the Middle East look like 10 years from today if we ignore this generation? We cannot – the world cannot afford to ignore this generation, these are people Jesus died for. Let’s reach them – now!” – Tom Atema, co-founder
Heart for Lebanon is a non-denominational Christian organization that is creating faith-defining environments that give under-resourced families and children in Lebanon the chance to encounter God and grow spiritually.
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