Many live in tents or temporary shelters that are easily flooded by the cold deluge. A US project could soon provide housing for thousands of Palestinians, but it would require them to move to Israeli-controlled territory.

Gaza’s two above-ground churches shelter hundreds of Palestinian Christians from the harsh weather. However, believers are not immune to hardship. Essential supplies for daily life are in short supply there.

“We tried to help as much as we could, to strengthen them and support them, but it’s like living in hell,” President of Bethlehem Bible College, Jack Sara, says.

“They don’t know if they will survive the next day, because it’s a fact that even the churches were fire bombed and shelled. We had over 20 people who were killed inside the churches.”

Stepping outside the church walls – even briefly – also brought danger. “A few were killed by snipers,” Sara says.

“Two women, for example, at the Catholic Church; another who was a music teacher and music minister at the Baptist Church, was killed by a sniper bullet and left to die on the street.”

Help from afar

Before and during the latest ceasefire, family members outside Gaza – including some who work at Bethlehem Bible College – have worked to gather support.

Representative AI photo of Palestinian Christian created by ChatGPT.

“We mainly communicated and channeled whatever help we could through the churches that are there,” Sara says. “We have run a school for many months now, a medical clinic, food, clothing, and special gifts for children.”

Nearly half of Gaza’s known Christians left the war-torn enclave during previous ceasefires. “Before the war, there were about 1,000 Christians living in Gaza. Sadly, after two years of war, I think we have about 600 at a maximum,” Sara says.

Those who remain in Gaza need your prayers. Ask the Lord to help Palestinian Christians trust Him with an unknown future. “Pray for settlement for the Christian community. We need to pray that resources will be offered so they can rebuild their lives again,” Sara says.

“I cannot guarantee that those Christians who are there now will stay. It’s a horrible situation. If all of them lost their houses and were offered a way out to live somewhere else, I cannot blame them for that – especially if you have small children and you want them to live in a safe zone,” he continues.

“Nothing guarantees that Israel will not do war again in Gaza.”

Pray for a “just peace that is not just calming the war, but that people will have their dignity and freedom of movement,” Sara requests.

“They [can] live in their houses and cultivate their land without fear that it will be taken from them or confiscated.”

Header and story images are representative AI-generated photos of Palestinian Christians, created by ChatGPT. 

Last month, violence in the West Bank reached its highest level since recording started in 2006. Jack Sara, from Bethlehem Bible College, says believers in the region are at risk.

Near-daily attacks by Israeli settlers are reportedly leading to a record displacement of West Bank Palestinians.

“Palestinian Christians, both in Gaza and in the West Bank, need prayers. The small communities that are remaining now in the West Bank are facing some existential threat to staying inside the country,” Sara says.

“Besides the political instability, besides the danger, the Jewish settlers living in the West Bank sometimes even target Christian villages.”

Attacks recently hit close to home for the college. “Not long ago, one of our students, his car was firebombed by settlers in the village of Taybeh, close to Ramallah,” Sara says.

Palestinian Christians
(Photo generated using AI/Gencraft)

Meanwhile, Palestinian Christians in Gaza are running out of options as winter approaches.

“After the ceasefire, many of them tried to return to what remained of their houses, [but] there is no place for them to return,” Sara says. “So, they refrained from either renting – if there is anything available – or just going back to the churches.”

Gaza City’s Catholic Holy Family Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrius shelter most of the tiny Christian community remaining in Gaza – only several hundred, by most estimates.

“Almost 400 people were able to leave during earlier ceasefire seasons,” Sara says.

Pray for continued peace so that Christians who remain in Gaza can rebuild their lives.

“We’re trusting that the American administration will continue to hold back the war machine of Israel, but that’s not guaranteed at all. It’s all in the air right now,” Sara says.

Header image depicts Jewish settlements on a hill above a Palestinian town circa 2011. (Wikimedia Commons)

Israel faced international pushback earlier this week for its military attack on a Gaza hospital. Known as a “double tap” for its back-to-back strikes, the attack killed more than 20 people, including several journalists.

Protests took place in Israel yesterday as the families of hostages still held by Hamas demanded their release and called for an end to the war. Vowing to eradicate Hamas’s stronghold in Gaza, Israel is moving forward with plans to conquer Gaza City.

A recent photograph taken during a mass at Saint Porphyrius Orthodox Church.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College)

Meanwhile, clergy and nuns from the Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches in Gaza City have made a bold decision: they will stay within their church compounds, refusing to evacuate ahead of the looming offensive. Their mission is clear — to stand alongside and care for those who cannot escape.

Hundreds of Palestinian Christians are still sheltering in churches they fled to at the start of the war in Gaza; it’s too difficult and dangerous to leave. Advocates will soon speak on their behalf, and for Palestinian Christians in general, at an Illinois event organized by Bethlehem Bible College.

Pastor and professor Munther Isaac says these advocates will talk to U.S. believers.

“We want to challenge them, ‘Do you care to listen to Palestinian Christians [about] our plights, our suffering, our perspective?’ This is our beginning point,” Isaac says.

“Listen to Palestinian Christians because you’re talking about our livelihood.”

The college is moving its annual conference from Bethlehem to the U.S. because of the war in Gaza. Typically, the event is called “Christ at the Checkpoint,” but this year’s shift in location and audience has it labeled “Church at the Crossroads.”

Staff at Bethlehem Bible College – located just an hour’s drive from Gaza – have firsthand connections with Christians in the warzone.

“Bethlehem Bible College is a Palestinian Christian higher education theological institute that specializes in training leaders for ministry in the Palestinian context,” Isaac says.

“We believe this is an important role of our calling as an institution in Palestine, in Bethlehem, to advocate for justice and to challenge the approach of many Christians in the West about the land, about Palestinians, about Gaza, about Israel.”

(Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College)

“Church at the Crossroads” will be held September 11-13 at Parkview Community Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Learn more and register here.

“I hope we have a good and honest conversation at that conference because the situation is urgent in Palestine,” Isaac says. “More importantly, we need to have an appropriate, urgent response to the crisis that is unfolding.”

Header image depicts a photo from the Gaza Strip courtesy Jaber Jehad Badwan via Wikimedia Commons. (CC BY-SA 4.0)

“A while ago, we decided that part of our education would be empowering Christian educators for the schools and for the churches,” explains Reverend Dr. Jack Sara, “and we were able to get, thankfully, by the Palestinian Authority, accreditation, which is not easy to get… for offering a certificate in Christian education.”

Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College.

The college’s Palestinian curriculum includes a Christian education that empowers students with biblical knowledge, at a time when people are looking for answers.

“Generations are changing and the young people are asking now more about issues of faith,” says Dr. Sara. 

“So students come and take this and will be able to teach in schools—both public schools and Christian schools in Palestine.” 

Bethlehem Bible College was able to get over 25 teachers to take two courses related to the certificate in Christian education, with some of them indicating they want to do more. 

“Some of them are hoping to do a master’s degree as well with us,” says Dr. Sara, “and this will open up a new horizon for us.” 

Between all of their programs, the college has about 200 students and has seen a recent increase, especially at the Bethlehem campus.

“Some of them are part-time students, but still to see them walking around and studying and coming in and out of classes, this just brings joy to our hearts and tells us how important the work that God is doing through Bethlehem Bible college (is).”

Despite the needs Bethlehem Bible College is able to meet and their growing student body, they still face challenges. Their greatest challenge is the number of students leaving the country. 

According to Dr. Sara, the aspiration of the younger generations is currently “to finish high school and just get out of that country—to go somewhere else, do their studies, and just stay there and never come back to Palestine. It is our hope and vision that (our college) will be able to instill a call as they teach these younger generations of Christians to be considerate that God wants to use them in their own country….”

Several teachers have had to leave the country as well. Many of them are still able to teach with Bethlehem Bible College online from abroad, but Dr. Sara acknowledges it’s not the same.

So how can we as the body of Christ be praying?

“Pray for our wisdom. Pray for our teachers… Pray for the Lord to provide more teachers… to be empowered to come and serve with the faculty of Bethlehem Bible College.” 

In the meantime, Bethlehem Bible College will continue the work God’s called them to. “We will continue to do this process, and just trust that God will continue to provide such faculty—empowered faculty, well-educated faculty, but faculty with love for Jesus and His word, and the people, and the church.”

Header photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College.

“If God is good, why is He letting this happen? If God is good, why are children dying, women dying?”

Reverend Dr. Jack Sara with Bethlehem Bible College explains that not all local churches are engaging young people well on these and other questions.

“If the church is not there to answer, then they’re frustrated (young people), and sometimes they leave the church, sadly,” he says.

Bethlehem Bible College is offering a new education initiative in partnership with a local branch of Young Life. Around 70 youth workers will receive ongoing training to equip them to better engage teens and students across the Holy Land today. 

“It’s not just one course or two, but just a long-term empowerment of staff and volunteers,” says Dr. Sara. “These people are working across the churches, the schools, the some of them work with handicapped kids. Some of them work in villages in the northern part of the West Bank. We want to empower a ministry like Young Life that is reaching sometimes [to places] beyond our reach.”

A photo showing Palestinians in the 1920s. (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College on Facebook)

The college works with students from widely different backgrounds. For example, one of the programs it offers is a diploma in tour guiding, which draws many young people.

“We’re there to provide a clear message, clear representation of what it means to follow Christ, what it means to study the Word of God. In relationship to tourism in our country, it’s all connected to the Scriptures,” Dr. Sara says.

“Every [now] and then, you find someone who is really looking for more — asking more questions, life questions, serious issues, life issues —and we’re there to answer if they need.”

As these Young Life youth workers dive into practical training, please stand with them in prayer. Pray that God enables them to reach many young people for Christ, regardless of their backgrounds.

“Pray that these young people will be empowered, these young leaders will be strengthened in their love again for Jesus and His Kingdom,” says Dr. Sara. 

Learn more about Bethlehem Bible College here. 

Header photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College. 

Christian pilgrims used to flood Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born. Shireen Hilal, Director of Outreach at Bethlehem Bible College, says today, Bethlehem is a ghost town.

“When visiting Bethlehem, of course, people come and see the Nativity church, and then they go to their restaurants. We have many of the best restaurants here in the area. Besides that, souvenir shops and tour guides and all these businesses are connected to tourism,” says Hilal.

“Now imagine when the war started. Unfortunately, people stopped coming. People are afraid. So basically, those people who were actually working in businesses had to completely shut down their businesses.

A Palestinian woman. (Photo courtesy of Hammam Fuad/Unsplash)

“The war has put so many things behind. I think if the country would want to go back to how it actually was, I think we’d need at least 20 years to develop. I know that in Gaza, we even need more years to develop — I think, at least 30 years.”

Rising unemployment in the West Bank is made worse by the fact that Palestinians who used to travel across the border daily for work in Jerusalem are now barred from continued employment in Israel since the start of the war on October 7.

Amid growing tragedy and grief in their communities, Palestinian Christians with Bethlehem Bible College are being the hands and feet of Jesus to their neighbors.

Hilal says, “Through the Shepherd Society, which is the social arm of Bethlehem Bible College, we provided at least 200 jobs for those who are unemployed. I would not say it’s a full-time job, but at least on a monthly basis, we give what’s called pocket money for the family to survive.

“We want to raise a community that would not actually beg for food or beg for income, but rather work for that.”

The college is also supporting humanitarian aid efforts for those who cannot work or are unable to find employment. “There are areas where you want to teach people how to fish,” says Hilal. “But there are areas that you really need to fish for those who are elderly, for the seniors who are sick and who are with limited resources and so on.”

Through Bethlehem Bible College, people can also find the sustaining hope of the Gospel. To continue in their critical work as the light of Christ, Bethlehem Bible College needs the support of Christian brothers and sisters around the world.

Hilal says, “The Church itself, the Body of Christ…need to help the Body of Christ in Palestine.'”

Learn more about Bethlehem Bible College here, and find ways you can offer support and prayer!

Header photo shows a street in Bethlehem emptied during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Bethlehem is, once again, a ghost town with the ongoing war. (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College)

Reverend Dr. Jack Sara, the president of Bethlehem Bible College, says the West Bank may not be experiencing intense warfare, but there are conflicts here and there along with difficulties. 

Bethlehem Bible College (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College)

“Every day, we wake up in prayer that this [war] will be stopping. But honestly, people are tired. They’re losing hope and it feels like it’s going to impact us long-term at different levels. It’s going to be years and years of repercussion even to survive [the] horrendous things that are happening in Gaza,” says Dr. Sara.

“The economy is collapsing, and people are really struggling. So it’s very hard all over the place.”

After the October 7 attack by Hamas, Israel barred some 100,000 Palestinian workers from crossing into Israel for work, for security reasons. More recently, Israel has also threatened to cut off Palestinian banks from their Israeli correspondent banks. This would be to prevent terrorists from accessing funds. But it would also be another blow to the West Bank’s economy, which has already felt the loss of tourism, among other things. 

“We at Bethlehem Bible College suffer because of this. We depend a lot on visitors, tourisms, courses we offer,” says Dr. Sara.

But believers in the West Bank know they are not alone. Bethlehem Bible College held an international conference May 22–25 that saw hundreds of believers gather to discuss biblical justice and peace.  (Learn more about Bethlehem Bible College here.)

City of Bethlehem (Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College)

“Sometimes the person feels that no one’s concerned. No one’s listening, no one’s seeing. But the things is not the story. There are people, churches, ministries and leaders who are very concerned and they’re doing their utmost so that they will be helping in such a context like this,” says Dr. Sara. “This is encouraging, of course, [to] keep hearing from friends, whether by email or messages, that people, churches are praying on behalf of the Palestinians.”

Dr. Sara says he has seen intifadas and conflicts that last a number of months in Palestine, but nothing like the Israel-Hamas war. Please pray with him that God will do a miracle and bring an end to the war in Gaza. 

“At the same time [pray] that the people here in the West Bank will have relief and will be able to survive such a context that is so hard. Pray against injustice, pray for peace,” says Dr. Sara.

“Pray for the Christian community that has been affected badly recently. It’s dwindling. People are leaving the country because it’s such a charged, dangerous atmosphere.”

Header photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College. 

Organized by Bethlehem Bible College and led by Palestinian Christians, the biannual conference “Christ at the Checkpoint” has gathered believers from many contexts since 2010. 

But this year it has looked a bit different. Bethlehem Bible College’s president, Reverend Dr. Jack Sara, says, “When the war broke out, of course, we had no clue if we will be able to do it. Only recently, international flights started flying into Tel Aviv and surrounding airports.” 

The team soon realized that the Israel-Hamas war wasn’t going to end quickly.

People gathered to hear the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference at BBC in recent years. (Photo courtesy of the Bethlehem Bible College on Facebook)

“We said, ‘Let’s do it anyway — and maybe we can invite people that are not just participating in a conference, but come here in solidarity, in encouragement and to listen to our voices in such a time like this where is [most] needed,’” Sara says. 

The staff was surprised by how many people joined. 

“We said, ‘If we have 40 coming, we’ll do it. If we have 50 coming, we will do it.’ The number is quadruple that,” Sara says.

Would you come alongside this conference in prayer this week? Ask God to resolve any remaining travel issues for those attending. Pray for God’s guidance for these brothers and sisters in pursuing justice and loving mercy in all contexts (Micah 6:8). Pray for peace in the Middle East.

“It’s really amazing to see international leaders, pastors, leaders of huge organizations, participating. Some of them are speaking, but many of them are just coming to learn. That’s a humbling attitude, to be honest with you. God surprised us with such a response,” Sara says. 

Learn more about the mission and vision of Bethlehem Bible College here. 

Header photo of Bethlehem Bible College, courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College.

Meanwhile, the war in Gaza has entered its sixth month. Just one hour away, the reports of death and destruction have taken a toll on Bethlehem. Andrew Bush with the Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice says the war weighs heavy on those in the West Bank even as they carry on with daily life.

More roads have recently reopened for travel between Bethlehem and Israel, including the main checkpoint to enter Jerusalem. Thousands of people could not go to their jobs for months and were out of work, leading to economic hardship. Palestinian businesses that depend on tourism have also struggled if not already closed.

Students in the BIPJ summer intensive course drink tea from a local vendor.

The Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice, a program of Bethlehem Bible College, has continued in its mission despite the challenges. In May, the institute will welcome students to visit and learn more about peace and justice in the Holy Land for its third annual summer intensive course.

“The Summer Intensive is a two-week residential program here in Bethlehem,” says Bush, “which allows students to interact with Palestinian peacemakers and Jewish Israeli peacemakers.”

The short program begins May 13 and can be taken for academic credit. Students stay in the guesthouse of Bethlehem Bible College. Each day starts with devotions and continues with lectures, discussions, and field studies.

The summer intensive will look a little different this year because of the region’s current dynamics. Read about the experience of students last summer here. Bush says, “We’ve had to make adjustments in our program, which includes visiting sites around the West Bank.”

Learn more about the course and apply by April 15 at BIPJ.org.

Resources to Grow Understanding and Unity

For those who are unable to travel to Bethlehem, the institute also offers online semester courses for credit and free lectures open to all. Even some churches have taken a five-session course available called “Apocalypse, Empire, and Palestine” by J. Nelson Kraybill.

The varied resources grow students’ understanding of Palestinians and modern Israel. “We feel it’s very important that Christians have a clearer picture of what’s going on here,” says Bush.

“Humanity needs to be rescued here. And people need to see each other as human beings.”

He encourages Christians to explore the institute’s resources and listen to other points of view with an open mind.

“When you dehumanize the other, you dehumanize yourself,” says Bush. “And so for the sake of Israel, for the sake of the Gazan people, for the sake of all Palestinians, we hope people will pray for this war to end.”

Photos used courtesy of the Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice.

In Gaza, several churches were destroyed, and approximately 20 percent of Christians left. Those who remain have been trapped by the conflict, living as refugees. But even the Christian community outside of Gaza has been affected.

Photo courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College.

Reverend Jack Sara, President of Bethlehem Bible College, says the devastating ripple effects have extended to the West Bank.

“It’s hard. People are frustrated,” Rev. Sara says. “Every day you hear people are leaving the country.”

West Bank tourism has dropped drastically. Military checkpoints, road closures, and violence are the new norm. Businesses struggle to remain open, and simply commuting between towns is an ordeal.

Rev. Sara says, “In Bethlehem, it did impact us because like I said, over 60% of the income depends on tourism here in the city.”

Those who can afford it, including local Christians, are choosing to go elsewhere. But Bethlehem Bible College remains as a ministry to the Middle East and support for the local Church.

“We want the Christians to remain here. Just imagine this country without the Christians,” Rev. Sara sasys.

A New Opportunity

Bethlehem Bible College is giving some Christians a new reason to stay. The college has partnered with other institutions in the Middle East and North Africa to offer a doctorate program in theology. It is the first of its kind in the region’s history.

Previously, Christian scholars from the MENA region had to study abroad if they wanted to pursue a PhD. Other doctorate programs also tend to represent a Western worldview. Bethlehem Bible College, the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Lebanon, and the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo have formed the Middle East Graduate Theological Consortium to provide students with another option unique to their region.

“These scholars will study a PhD in their context,” Rev. Sara says.

“They don’t have to leave somewhere to get it. And it will focus on what we call a contextual theology, understanding the Bible in our context.”

The doctorate program will also welcome students to apply from anywhere in the world and study remotely. Learn more about the new program.

Bethlehem Bible College continues to offer several online courses and degrees, such as peace studies and Arabic, for anyone interested in ministry and the Middle East. Find out more here.

Pray for God to bring true peace and sustain His people in Palestine. Ask Him to provide for the ongoing ministry of Bethlehem Bible College and consider supporting a student.

Rev. Sara says, “We depend on donations and people who want to support the work of the Kingdom through Bethlehem Bible College.”

Photos courtesy of Bethlehem Bible College.