Suspects linked to deadly sectarian violence that uprooted over 180,000 people made their first court appearance earlier this week. Clashes in March between government forces and supporters of the ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad led to more than 1,400 deaths.

A gathering of the people and residents of Daraa city in Al-Karama and Al-Hurriya Square after the fall of Bashar Al-Assad (Photo, caption courtesy of Mahmoud Sulaiman via Unsplash)

On December 8, 2024, Syrian opposition forces captured Damascus and forced Assad’s exit, ending over five decades of Assad-family rule and bringing the government’s collapse.

Meanwhile, “the Church in Syria is dying,” a Catholic bishop warns, with Christians leaving the country in search of better living conditions.

“What they’ve had to deal with is extreme,” Mike* with Global Catalytic Ministries says.

“The stat is half a million Christians have been martyred [in] recent years. [Then there was] the brutality earlier in this year of executions of Christians and ISIS-ish people coming in and taking over after Assad flees.”

According to Catholic estimates, around 2.1 million Christians lived in Syria in 2011. That number dropped to 540,000 last year. While the above-ground Church is shrinking, “Muslim-background believers are growing,” Mike says.

“The Spirit of God is moving; He is speaking to people powerfully.”

Pray for doors to stay open as GCM begins new work in Syria. Learn more about GCM’s approach here.

“We recently infiltrated Damascus and we had our first baptism there, in a town [where] all the Christians were martyred, as far as we know,” Mike says. “We [had our] first baptism of a Druze woman, which is extremely hard to do.”

Child holding a Syrian flag. (Photo courtesy of Ahmed akacha/Pexels)

Along with introducing Syrians to the God who died for them, “We also want to help train and coach believers on how to engage ISIS in a way that you’re not exposing your faith,” Mike says.

“There’s a way to operate and make disciples [while mitigating] risk. We are not an extraction ministry; we don’t want to extract you out of it.”

Pray for resources to support Global Catalytic Ministries as it helps underground Christians throughout the Middle East. “He’s asked us to go to every nation, tribe, and tongue, so that’s what we’ll do,” Mike says.

“We’re in over 70 percent of the Middle East. There’s an opportunity and an openness for the movement to start breaking out in Gaza, so it’s a very strategic point in the narrative of the world, but Syria is also very strategic as well.”

*Name withheld for security purposes.

Header image is a representative stock photo depicting children in Idlib, Syria. Photo courtesy of Ahmed Akacha/Pexels.

Hamas rejects the UN resolution, saying the newly-created force aligns with Israeli objectives. The group told Reuters:

“Assigning the international force with tasks and roles inside the Gaza Strip, including disarming the resistance, strips it of its neutrality, and turns it into a party to the conflict in favor of the occupation.”

Underground Christians aren’t waiting for stability to make disciples in Gaza. Although he cannot discuss details here for security reasons, “Disciple makers go in, and they are making disciples there,” Mike* with Global Catalytic Ministries says.

“We’re not just sending in relief workers who are going to leave in a few weeks,” he adds.

“We’re looking for a movement of God, and we really want to make sure that Jesus is proclaimed on this strip of land – on His strip of land.”

Gaza’s Church under pressure

Gaza’s underground Church is hanging on, despite two years of war taking a heavy toll on the above-ground Church. Of Gaza’s 1,000 known believers, fewer than 600 remain.

Representative AI photo of a Palestinian Christian created by ChatGPT.

“Above-ground churches are allowed in these places, but very limited; there’s a big Catholic presence. Our network is all either Israeli-background believers or Muslim-background believers who operate underground,” Mike says.

“They wouldn’t traditionally be going to above-ground churches and revealing their identities in that way, because that could blow their cover. We always try to operate within and share Jesus with Muslims.”

Pray for open and receptive hearts as disciple makers offer the hope of Christ to Muslims in Gaza.

“It’s just very dark, and there’s so much trauma and so much pain. This is traditionally where people cry out to the Lord the most from the depths of their souls,” Mike says.

“And then God does answer – in that place of desperation is when He moves the most.”

*Name withheld for security purposes.

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

Mike* with Global Catalytic Ministries says there’s a massive movement of God happening in Myanmar. But, “it’s hard to share these types of stories because the persecution is so high.”

Myanmar’s civil war has killed over 75,000 people and displaced more than 3 million since 2021, according to UN estimates. Although last week the military junta signed a ceasefire with the Ta’ang National Liberation Army — a key rebel group in the north — the nationwide chaos has no real end in sight.

GCM lost contact with dozens of believers after a devastating 7.7-magnitude quake struck Myanmar in March. Dozens more recently lost their lives at the hands of the military. 

In that loss, Mike still says, “There’s so much more to these people. [It’s] one of the largest movements on earth that no one knows about. Under the nose of such hatred and evil, God is moving and moving in such a powerful way. This is what He does all over the world.”

Recently, disciple-makers gained a new tool for spreading the Good News: a comic book version of GCM’s “Creation to Christ” story series.

“The way that we make disciples is we build relationships with individuals, and then we share stories,” Mike says. “We are discipling them in understanding God’s character without them even knowing it from the beginning.”

He says that in other contexts, such as the Middle East, visual aids are frowned upon. But this comic, created by a former Buddhist-turned-Christian, is more than welcome in Myanmar.

(Stock photo courtesy of Pixabay)

“Even the visual aid of it — because a lot of them don’t read or write — the visual aid of it is making just a profound impact. We have images of them discipling monks and monk children,” Mike says.

Find your place in the story

Please pray for the gospel to reach more people, and for wisdom and protection for Burmese believers in danger.

“[Pray for] blindness to the enemy, [and] infiltration at the highest level with the gospel of Jesus so that the [junta] government falls and the transformation happens at the highest level,” says Mike. 

Finally, please consider helping to recoup the printing costs of the comic book. In response to the March 28 earthquake, GCM invested above and beyond the funds they raised for relief and aid. One of those expenditures was for printing the comic books. 

“We knew that the desperation that they were feeling, these are the ingredients where the gospel just spreads like wildfire,” says Mike. 

Support ministry in Myanmar with GCM with a gift of any amount. 

Header image is a stock photo courtesy of Kosygin Leishangthem via Pexels.

Both Israel and Hamas representatives say they’re committed to the truce, but diplomatic progress remains slow and cautious. Disagreements over hostage bodies, aid access, and control of territory could trigger a relapse.

As aid workers bring critical help to Gaza, they encounter indescribable need.

Displaced Palestinians in Deir el-Balah line up to receive food provided by charitable organizations.
(Wikimedia Commons)

“I’ve read articles [about] Palestinians who are returning to their past houses and seeing the total devastation, saying how burdened and broken they are at the suffering,” Brother Y with Global Catalytic Ministries says.

“There was massive, massive destruction, and it’s so painful for people.”

At least two-thirds of all structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since the war began. Although Hamas claims to represent the Palestinian people, Brother Y says many residents reject that claim.

“Many of them put the suffering both on the Israeli government and Hamas, those that – as they say in their words – ‘call themselves our leaders,’” Brother Y says.

The war has brought suffering to Israel, too. Read more about that here.

“Many (soldiers) who came back committed suicide, and many secondary trauma people who are friends and relatives, also committed suicide,” Brother Y says. “We have a suicide epidemic in Israel.”

Hope and healing through the Gospel

(Photo courtesy of Prayercast)

Pray for believers as they bring help and the hope of Jesus to Gaza war survivors. The ceasefire creates space for humanitarian access, which gives believers an avenue to share the hope of Christ.

“The international involvement will create many opportunities for Christian-led, mission-minded NGOs to go in and bring in their people. The only thing I am optimistic about is the amazing Gospel opportunities that are going to be presented [as a result,]” Brother Y says.

“The only true healing, the only true redemption, the only true forgiveness can come through the Gospel.”

Pray for hearts to change as people formerly against Christ encounter His love. “Even guilty people can have a born-again experience, can get a new life and heart,” Brother Y says.

“Let’s go all the way back to the Nazis; people who [were] serving in the SS and who repented and turned to God – these things really baffle us [but] that’s the power of the Gospel,” he continues.

In Gaza, “there’s going to be lots of pain for the oppressed, oppressors, and everything in between. And that’s a great opportunity to bring the Gospel into this brokenness.”

Header image depicts destruction in the Beach refugee camp, Gaza Strip, circa July 2024. (Wikimedia Commons)

In Israel, yellow ribbons are displayed — on trees, fences, car mirrors, clothing, and public landmarks — as a visible sign of support for the hostages and their families.
(Wikimedia Commons)

Brother Y, who serves with Global Catalytic Ministries, told MNN from Israel: “It’s a very, very complex scene with lots of emotions involved on all sides. Very few, though, are thinking that the war has ended.”

Some hostage families were horrified to see the physical state of their returned loved ones, while others grieved the loss of those they hoped to see alive.

“There’s mixed emotions there, but mainly joy and thankfulness for the American government and everybody who was instrumental in bringing the people back,” Brother Y says.

Most Israelis celebrated with the families of hostages who returned home alive yesterday, but the overall mood was bittersweet.

“I have personal connections – friends of my children, and children of my friends – both were kidnapped and assassinated or tortured and murdered from the Nova festival, etc.,” Brother Y says.

“I didn’t have anyone that came (home) alive, but I can feel their celebration. I can feel their joy.”

Simultaneously, “about 2,000 bona fide terrorists with gallons of blood on their hands were also released as part of the (ceasefire) deal,” he says, “so this is why I wasn’t emphasizing the joy.”

Monday’s exchange renewed international hope for ending the two-year war between Israel and Hamas. Supporters of the terrorist group, however, made “Quraysh treaty” their rally cry – “A time when, in the Quran, a covenant was broken,” Brother Y says.

“It was a temporary covenant to gain access and control, and then followed by a military conquest. They’re chanting this right now, basically saying, ‘We’ve gotten our reprieve. We’re going to come back bigger and stronger.’”

Pray for Gospel opportunities in the interim. “The prayer for believers is that God’s going to position His people – mature believers, praying believers, Gospel-focused, missions-minded believers – and that there’s going to be a wide-open door for the Gospel,” Brother Y says.

In the header image, Israel’s Teddy Stadium displays the words “Thank you President Trump” following a deal for hostage release and ceasefire in Gaza. (Wikimedia Commons)

Why is this so? A man we’ll call Brother Y points to media coverage as one reason. He is an ex-IDF soldier and a Jew who gave his life to Yeshua the Messiah, serving with Global Catalytic Ministries. He says the press has been almost unanimous in the push against Israel in its struggle.  

For example, you will see images of Israeli soldiers with weapons, without understanding what they’re doing. Instead of seeing Hamas fighters or masterminds on the other side, “almost 100% of the time you see the populace, who are suffering,” says Brother Y. 

“So it’s very easy to lose your critical thinking when you see that, and just go for your heart. Praise God, people have a heart, and they go by their God-given emotions. But that can really skew the view of reality and what’s happening.”

At the same time, there have been tens of thousands of casualties in Gaza. The Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry puts the death toll above 67,000. 

“That breaks our heart, especially as people of the faith,” says Brother Y. “And I can tell you that it breaks the hearts of my people Israel who are not yet followers of Messiah. There’s a big heartbreak, lots of discussions, lots of protests. ‘Let’s try to find a better way of doing this.'”

Genocide: who and where? 

In September 2025, a United Nations inquiry announced its conclusion that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. Brother Y says this is a debunked myth.

A home in Kibbutz Nir Oz after the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. In the October 7, 2023 surprise attack on the Gaza border communities, Hamas either killed, injured or abducted about one quarter of the 400 residents of Kibbutz Nir Oz.
(Wikimedia Commons)

“[In] all of Palestinian Authority-controlled cities, there are zero Jews,” he points out. “Inside Israel, there are close to 2 million Arabs living with full rights, unlike any other country in the Middle East. They have full voting, full protest rights. So there’s no apartheid. There’s no genocide. For two years now, a genocide could have taken place in one week if we wanted, with the weaponries that Israel has.”

He speaks bluntly on these things because he interacts with many people who used to stand with Israel. “[They] used to stand — generally, not with everything,” he clarifies. “Neither [do] I stand with everything my government does. But [many would] generally stand with Israel who have now turned their backs, mainly because of media brainwashing.”

Israel’s enemy is Hamas, not Palestinians. The terrorist group’s original 1988 charter, though revised since then, called for the annihilation of Israel.  A study published online by Cambridge University Press analyzed the October 7, 2023, attack. It concluded that yes, Hamas’s actions meet the criteria for genocide under international law. 

The gospel: for one and all

In all the evil and suffering of this two-year conflict, Brother Y says there is one Messiah to look to. 

“The suffering servant of the Lord, who came into our human suffering, and who says, ‘It’s neither who’s right, you guys are right, or your enemies, or the people on the other side. It’s “we’re all wrong.”‘ We’ve all sinned against the mighty God. God reached down and forgave us, His previous enemies, and made us friends and household of God.”

One Israeli Jew heard Brother Y sharing the gospel and asked, “As amazing as this message sounds, you really think hearts can change? People who’ve suffered so much on both sides can suddenly lay down their weapon[s] and say, ‘Yes, I see this bleeding Messiah. I see the suffering servant of the Lord’?”

Brother Y replied, “I’ve seen this again and again, that even when we don’t have answers, then we look at Yeshua, who suffered, and He calls us himself, He calls us to receive His heart, and supernaturally, He allows us to forgive on both sides.”

This was Brother Y’s own story of change. It’s also the story of Corrie ten Boom, whom Brother Y told his friend about.

Please pray

Whatever stance you have on the Israel-Hamas war, please pray for the people caught in the controversies and crossfire.

“Pray for justice and righteousness. Pray for more freedom of information, because that’s really important. Information and education, even as [it] is, can bring dialogue,” says Brother Y. 

“Pray for the workers who are sowing the seeds of the gospel. Pray for the fire, the power of the gospel, to really breathe upon these people who are going out, because I believe eventually, this is the only hope.”

Header photo: Israeli intelligence officers, 2022. (Stock photo courtesy of Levi Meir Clancy via Unsplash)

But there’s more than economic opportunity at play. In a similar way, spiritual doors are opening for Gospel work. “Syria has opened up,” Marc with Global Catalytic Ministries says.

“Because it’s now accessible for the first time in decades, we are starting work in Damascus.”

Working through a network of Syrian Christians, Marc says, “We’re going to be spreading to the north and south, building disciple-making communities, starting to see house churches formed, starting to see baptisms happen.”

Global Catalytic Ministries is known for equipping Muslim-background believers in underground churches across the Middle East. More about that here. These believers, once hesitant, are now eager to bring others to Christ.

“When our people come into contact, they’re already ready; the harvest is truly ready. We have a disciple maker sitting in Syria about to baptize a new believer tonight,” Marc says.

(Graphic courtesy of VOM Canada)

Still, eagerness doesn’t always come with experience. Many Christians from Muslim backgrounds long to share the Gospel but lack practical training.

“We’re seeing this massive hunger for disciples to be made,” Marc says.

“I sat in a room with 25 locals yesterday, pouring into them for about five hours on disciple-making strategies, and they’re like, ‘Tomorrow, more. Friday, more. We need more,’ because they’ve never had this before.”

This hunger offers hope in a region where traditional churches often struggle to grow.

“In this region, not many people are coming to the Lord because the churches are content with the status quo. They’re just moving Christian-background believers from church to church,” Marc says.

As Syria opens to new opportunities, believers see a rare chance to plant seeds of faith that could flourish for generations. Pray for training to take root, for leaders to rise up, and for the Gospel to spread like wildfire across the country.

Header image is a representative stock photo depicting a market in Damascus courtesy of Mahmoud Sulaiman/Unsplash.

A man we’ll call Brother Izik with Global Catalytic Ministries explains the conflict between Israel and Hamas has many background factors that made it volatile. Just one of these factors is the 1917 Balfour Declaration from Britain during World War I. (Read a quick summary of that event here.)

In history and the current realities, Izik says Christians must ground themselves in one fact: “God loves the Jewish people, and God loves Arabs and Palestinians. If we can keep that in our heart, then we will not isolate our hearts to feel like we have to love one and hate the other,” he says.

Hunger is a rising crisis in Gaza — both physical and spiritual. On the physical side, the UN World Food Program says half a million people in Gaza are on the edge of famine.

On the spiritual side, Izik says, “Tragedies ultimately lead to hunger for something deeper. I believe God is exposing Islam to the Palestinian people. There [are] reports coming out that the Palestinian people in Gaza are starting to say, ‘What has Hamas brought us? What has Sharia law, or the Islamic regime brought us?’” 

The conflict has a layer of spiritual warfare to it as well. Izik points to a future of blessing promised in Isaiah 19:23-24.

“The enemy wants to fight Jews and Arabs in this region being a blessing [to] the entire earth,” says Izik. “It doesn’t quite look like a blessing right now, but ultimately, when I watch these conflicts, I have that in mind.”

As you consider Israel and Gaza, align your prayers with God’s gospel purposes for Palestinians and Israelis. 

“Pray first of all that we won’t be swept away by any propaganda on either side. [Pray instead] that we would be swept to prayer for their salvation and for a hopeful view of God’s promises being fulfilled and ultimately [to] reconcile the world to Himself,” says Izik. 

A mosque destroyed in the Jabalia area of the Gaza Strip (Photo courtesy of Jaber Jehad Badwan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Header photo is a stock image courtesy of Chuttersnap via Unsplash.

The UN World Food Programme reports that from May to September 2025, nearly a quarter of Gaza’s 2.1 million people will be in level 5 catastrophic hunger. Now in July, the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry reports that dozens of people have died who showed signs of hunger and malnutrition. Still, famine hasn’t yet been officially declared.

In the controversial narratives, how should believers respond with God’s Kingdom in mind? 

Number one, keep talking.

“God is merciful and compassionate and loves all people. We should be speaking about the challenging things,” says *Brother Y, a former IDF soldier serving with Global Catalytic Ministries. 

To him, Palestinians are oppressed by the unelected leaders of Hamas. He says concerning the war, “Could it have been avoided 100% if Hamas was not there? Yes, 100%. [It] could have been avoided altogether, completely.”

(Photo courtesy Global Catalytic Ministries)

A second Kingdom response is to seek the truth.

“Since there [are] so many casualties and real trauma, obviously emotions are going to be high,” says Brother Y. “It’s very difficult with what you’re being fed in the media to be balanced.”

He believes Israel and the region are in the world’s spotlight for spiritual reasons. “But there are political, geopolitical, [and] financial reasons as well why this get[s] spoken of in global media more than other conflicts with much higher death toll[s] and other issues.”

The furor makes it even more critical to stay grounded in prayer.

“We are crying that Maranatha cry: ‘Let your kingdom come,’” says Brother Y. Many times, that will mean something different than we expect.

“[In prayer] we go above and beyond our own ethnic background and our own geopolitical background, our preferences. We ask God, ‘What are you saying? What are you doing? Where are you going, and could you please take us with you? We want to collaborate and cooperate with you.’”

*Name withheld for security

Header photo courtesy of user Pastor Matt via Unsplash. 

Other international voices have their own messages. As of Wednesday, the UN says diplomacy still is the best path forward. Russia offers to mediate even from its own position of three years of war. Meanwhile, the U.S. on Tuesday called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

Yet in the international cacophony, don’t miss the grand reversal happening spiritually in Iran. Brother V with Global Catalytic Ministries  at RTN Ministries (Reaching the Nations) says, “Fifty years ago, if you talk to Iranian[s], they will never hear your word. They don’t want to hear about Christian[s], [or] Jesus.” 

Today, disillusionment with Islam has led to a far different overtone. 

“Even through this persecution, through this evil government, people are now so open to hear God’s Word and His love,” Brother V says. “Because Iranians [are] desperately looking for that love which is mentioned in the entire Bible: the love that God provided through His Son, Jesus, to us.” 

That love drew Brother V to Christ from his Muslim upbringing. “This [openness], as a Christian, make[s] me excited to share the gospel with them, because they don’t want this idol Islam. This is a great opportunity.” 

If you tend to think of Iran as the enemy, remember that many, many Christians live there. Consider it as part of the Body of Christ, says Brother V. 

“I believe Iran will be a great testimony for [the] world, how the dark country turn to the light through Jesus,” he says. 

“Iran is a sick country right now. But when Jesus heals it, even it will be a testimony for Jews to hear that this is the real Messiah they need to believe in.”

Please pray for the gospel to shine out from the Iranian Church even in today’s conflict. Take action on their behalf as God leads. Learn how Global Catalytic Ministries is working in this space here. 

(Read the perspective of an Israeli brother with Global Catalytic Ministries on the Israel-Iran conflict here.) 

Header photo: Women in Iran wearing the traditional hijab and loose-fitting clothing required by sharia law. (Photo courtesy of mostafa meraji/Unsplash)