Prayer Alert: Declining Christian numbers in the Middle East

“Christians are the salt and light. So, imagine a place with no light and imagine a place with no taste.” With these words, Bishop Chimoun Daniel from Iraq vividly describes what the Middle East would look like without Christians.

The number of Christians in the region where the Church was born is alarming…

Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon have seen many Christians leaving in the past 25 years, leading to a sharp decline in Christian communities as a whole.

• Syria: Christians declined from 1.8 million in 2011 to around 579 000 today.
• Iraq: From 1.5 million Christians in 2003 to under 200 000 currently.
• Palestine: Christians dropped from 11% in 1922 to about 1% in the West Bank and Gaza; only 47 600 in 2017, with further decline since.
• Gaza: Only about 600 of 1 000 Christians remain, mostly sheltering in the churches since the October 2023 war.
• Bethlehem: Christian population fell from 86% in 1950 to 10% by 2017.

Many factors have contributed to Christians leaving the region, including persecution, unrest and war, which can lead to political instability, corruption and socio-economic hardship. Understandably, it can also be the fear of an (uncertain) future that makes people leave.

In some areas of Iraq, so many Christians have left. Bishop Daniel says, “Many churches are almost empty; we have villages with only empty houses and land without an owner.”

Pastor Nsier in Syria says that this Christian exodus from the Middle East also impacts the worldwide Church. “The global Church should not feel that it is healthy when the Church in Syria or the Middle East is not healthy. Whenever the Church doesn’t exist anymore in the Middle East, that means the whole picture is distorted.”

Although church attendance is declining in much of the Levant, a strong and inspiring remnant of the Church remains in these countries.

“My hope for the future of the Church is churches full of people, churches where the teaching of Jesus is central, where people love each other; one body,” says an optimistic Adham, who works for the Palestinian Bible Society.

And there is hope… Israel’s Christian population has been increasing slowly in recent years. In the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, their three morning meetings are so full that sometimes you’ll find no place to sit, Adham shared. In Jordan, there are approximately 181 500 Christians of all denominations, with the number remaining relatively stable over the last few decades. These examples remind us that God is still at work, even in the midst of a desperate situation.

Through our local partners, Open Doors can stand shoulder to shoulder with Christians in the region, providing discipleship, trauma counselling, Bible distribution, micro-business support, relief aid and calling people to pray. Our mission is to support the Church to be both a beacon of light and a centre of hope in their communities.

Please pray

• Pray that the remaining Christians in the Levant remain a strong testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Pray for churches in the region to be strengthened and grow in number and faith.
• Pray for church leaders to remain steadfast and not lose heart, knowing “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
• Pray that those who have seen relatives leave the country will find comfort in the Lord and their churches.
• Pray for our family in Gaza, Israel, the West Bank, Lebanon and other regions impacted by the war that began in October 2023.
• Pray for lasting peace and justice in the Holy Land and the surrounding countries.

“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” – James 5:16

Let us never forget the power of prayer and continue to ask God to strengthen and build His Church across the whole region.