That’s why the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary has been offering theological training and leadership formation among the Arab church for more than 60 years. Hundreds of men and women have graduated from ABTS, located in Beirut, Lebanon.

Loulwa Maalouf with ABTS explains the front-row seat they have on God’s work in their students’ lives. 

“We see that the journey began long before they came to ABTS. Many of them came from non-Christian backgrounds. They did not grow up going to church, but they share their stories, and we can notice how God was working in their lives, guiding them even though they didn’t recognize it,” Maalouf says. 

“At some point [in their life story], something happens — something significant, maybe a difficulty, maybe they face a crisis. We know that true hope is only found in Christ. So, many of them find Christ — or He finds them.”

She says each of their students has entered ministry of some kind. They soon realize there’s a lot they don’t know yet. 

“They learn about the seminary, and then they join ABTS to be better equipped for the ministry that they’re already doing,” Maalouf says. “We only accept students who are in ministry.” 

One man named Valentin was a former atheist turned pastor in Syria. An online certificate program with ABTS allowed him to learn remotely without having to leave his congregation. 

“God is really using him, like many others in Syria and around the Arab world,” Maalouf says. “[God is] using ABTS and our partners to come alongside him (Valentin) to help better train and equip him to continue serving God effectively.”

ABTS is more than a seminary program. The staff keep in touch with students like Valentin even after graduation. “We always check our graduates’ stories, check their prayer requests, see how we can help support them as much as we can,” Maalouf explains. 

Catch the vision for raising leaders alongside ABTS here. Pray for God’s abundant blessing on the staff, instructors and men and women currently enrolled in its undergraduate and graduate programs. 

Header image courtesy of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.

Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, a ministry of LSESD, is located at the edge of Beirut. ABTS used their facilities to house people who lost their homes in the 2020 port blast, and again today in the wake of mass displacement in Lebanon. (Photo courtesy of ABTS on Facebook)

Take Lebanon. It has endured decades of conflict and economic collapse. The current war no one wanted has displaced an estimated 1.3 million people.

“Crisis, wars, disruptions [are] nothing new to this region. We’re used to difficulties and hardships,” says Loulwa Maalouf with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary.

“But at the same time, we are used to seeing God at work, and we are called to be here and be part of His work.”

ABTS is a ministry of Thimar-LSESD. Today it not only provides biblical education to around 240 students, but it also shelters a couple hundred displaced people. 

“With every crisis in Lebanon, we are used to taking a step and saying, ‘Okay, how does God want us to respond now?’” Maalouf says. This was true for the 2006 Lebanon War, the COVID-19 pandemic and the August 4 (2020) Beirut port explosion. 

“This time, God used our facilities so that we can welcome those who needed a shelter from the war. We opened our guest house and academic residence to welcome families,” Maalouf says. “Some of them are church families. Some of them, they’ve never been been to a church.”

Laundry services at ABTS’s campus (Photo courtesy of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary)

The seminary provide utilities, meals, laundry services; it works with other ministries to provide youth services and more to families as well. Daily chapel services at ABTS have been opened to the community. They worship God and hear a message of encouragement. 

“It takes a lot of effort because we are doing all our programs and we’re also doing that but we’re grateful that God is allowing us to serve Him through these guests,” she says. 

ABTS is seeing that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Pray with them for God to raise up more workers. Maalouf asks that you pray also for an ever-deepening love in the church for their enemies.

“You can always pray for us. Not only for us, for Lebanon, for the region, for our students and our graduates and the churches in the region,” Maalouf says. 

Learn more about ABTS here. 

Header photo of children at ABTS guesthouse campus courtesy of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Hunter Williamson, communications coordinator with THIMAR-LSESD, says they are getting updates from local Sudanese partners about the collapse of law and order in Khartoum.

“Both sides have been weaponizing aid, restricting (and in some cases even completely denying) entry of aid into areas controlled by rivaling sides,” Williamson says.

“You have a lot of crime. You have, in some cases, the fighters that are part of the forces that control certain areas are undisciplined. So maybe they act abusive towards the civilian population [and] commit crimes, robbery.”

Habil, a Sudanese graduate from ABTS. (Photo courtesy of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary)

Sudanese pastors are trying to encourage frightened believers and reach the lost for Christ, but it’s hard. THIMAR-LSESD’s Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) has Sudanese alumni, and is working to encourage them.

Williamson says ABTS alumni “have been providing everything from financial support to Sudanese church leaders to just emotional and spiritual support — whether that just be picking up the phone and talking with a Sudanese friend that’s affected by everything, praying with them, [or] reading the Word with them.”

Pray for Christ’s peace to come to Sudan. Ask God to lead the lost to repentance and for the Sudanese people to know Jesus Christ. Pray for local Christians to stand firm in their faith.

You can learn more about THIMAR-LSESD’s ministry here.

Ultimately, Williamson says, “While there is all of this destruction, all of this bloodshed, God is using all of this to bring people to Him.”

Header photo of Khartoum, Sudan (Photo courtesy of Ahmed Rabea/Flickr – https://www.flickr.com/photos/99216220@N08/9325962193/)

Haddad will be stepping down from his role as ABTS President in September 2025.

Elie Haddad, President of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. (Photo courtesy of ABTS)

Previously, Haddad and his wife Mireille lived in Canada before coming to Lebanon in 2005. After Haddad departs ABTS, they plan to continue serving with Canadian Baptist Ministries in the MENA region.

Haddad shares what he’s learned from his tenure at the helm of ABTS:

“Probably the most important thing is not to be too attached to what we think we should be doing. Because number one, the situation might change, realities might change, and we’d have to respond accordingly. Number two, God may be wanting to do something a bit different than what we anticipate.”

ABTS is no stranger to change. In fact, it practically comes with the territory in Lebanon.

“We’ve been through so many major changes since I started,” says Haddad. “The war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah, then followed [in 2011] by the war in Syria and the influx of refugees into Lebanon and that humanitarian crisis. Then we had our own economic and financial meltdown in Lebanon in 2019, then COVID, the Beirut explosion, and layers and layers of crises and changes.”

Haddad says, “There is not one season for change. It’s a very highly volatile…region for ministry. To be effective, we need to respond differently to change.”

With God’s help, ABTS has survived the storms of change in Lebanon and the Middle East. More than that, Haddad says, “We’ve thrived — and this is a God thing!

“It seems that every crisis is an opportunity for the Gospel and God is opening up new doors for us.”

A thriving seminary in Lebanon is critical for equipping the Church in the MENA region.

ABTS staff worshipping together. (Photo courtesy of ABTS)

ABTS’s vision is “to see God glorified, people reconciled, and communities restored through the Church in the Arab world.” Despite volatility in the region and various ministry changes and challenges, ABTS continues this vision to raise up Christian leaders.

Pray for a smooth leadership transition at ABTS, and for joy in Haddad’s next chapter.

“The ministry is not based on one person,” says Haddad. “We have a very capable leadership team at ABTS.

“I do pray that God will raise the right person that will continue in the same direction with the same ethos and values, working with the leadership team that’s already in place.”

Learn more about ABTS.

Header photo of Elie Haddad, President of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, at the 2015 graduation. (Photo courtesy of ABTS)

This escalation moves Israel one step closer to opening war on a second front, this time with Hezbollah in the north. It wouldn’t be the first time Israel and Lebanon faced off.

“In 2006, when we had the war between Israel and Hezbollah, it was all a matter of weeks. The airport closed right away; most of the infrastructure in Lebanon was bombed. It was devastating but short,” Elie Haddad with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary says.

“When this conflict started in October, the anticipation of whether it would grow into a full-scale war was a little bit unsettling.”

Located in the hills overlooking Beirut, ABTS is keeping its doors open despite Lebanon’s latest turmoil.

“One of the things that we’re prepared to do [is] open up our guest house and dormitories to house people that have been internally displaced,” Haddad says. “Right now, we have a few families from the south.”

Please pray for the innocent people suffering during these difficult times. Pray that the Lord comforts those who are grieving, that He calms those who are anxious, and that He protects those who are in danger.
(Photo, caption courtesy of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary)

Internet access is a deciding factor for seminary students in the coming days and weeks, but plenty of backup plans are in place.

“Right now, more than half of our students reside in Lebanon. If the internet is disrupted, it could be a big disruption for the ministry. We don’t know what that will look like. We’ll be watching, and as things develop, we will respond accordingly,” Haddad says.

“No matter what happens in Lebanon, we should be able to continue, even if we have to set up shop somewhere else temporarily, like in Turkey, Cyprus, or Jordan.”

Pray this experience will equip students to be peacemakers, no matter where in the MENA region they call home.

“Pray for peace in the region,” Haddad requests. “I do believe that war is of the devil. This is the utmost manifestation of sin and the brokenness in the world.”

Header and story images courtesy of ABTS.

Elie Haddad, the president of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Lebanon, says they are supporting many Sudanese seminary students and graduates at this time.

“Sudanese people are some of the nicest, most gentle people on the face of the earth. It’s heartbreaking to see what’s happening in Sudan right now,” says Haddad.

“We in Lebanon have a lot of experience with crises and wars and stuff like that. It takes a while for things to stabilize and new realities to set in and understand how they’re going to adjust to that…. Now they’re entering into what may end up as a war, maybe a long-term civil war. That’s the fear…. So it’s about safety and making sure that people’s families are safe and people’s church members are safe.”

(Photo courtesy of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary)

These young Sudanese students at ABTS are learning how to advance the Gospel and grow the Sudanese Church. A part of their program also includes peacemaking initiatives.

“Our Sudanese students and graduates, it’s incredible how God has been using these leaders in proclaiming the Gospel and reaching new people groups that no one has thought possible,” Haddad says.

Could this be the generation God has called for such a time as this for Sudan?

Haddad says, “We support our Sudanese students in equipping them and then building relationships with the churches and coming alongside some of the projects…. So we have a very close connection with them. The Church in Sudan is very dear to our heart.

“We are committed to coming alongside them any way we can. We always come alongside them in terms of theological education, the initial formation for the Church. We work with seminaries that are in Khartoum as well. And now we do want to come alongside them in terms of relief efforts as soon as things are figured out and they know what’s going to happen.”

Habil, a Sudanese graduate from ABTS. (Photo courtesy of Arab Baptist Theological Seminary)

For now, many students at ABTS need financial support, including their Sudanese students. You can help sponsor an ABTS student here!

Meanwhile, Haddad encourages, “Let’s keep Sudan in prayer. Let’s keep the Church in Sudan in prayer. The Church in Sudan has done a great job at being open, engaging with the community in very positive ways, [and] preaching the Gospel in meaningful ways. Let’s pray that the Church in Sudan can continue to do this despite the hardship that they’re facing right now.”

Header photo of Habil, a Sudanese graduate, courtesy of ABTS.

Many people turn to Lebanon’s sunny skies. Solar panels have sprouted on rooftops across the country, powering refrigerators, washing machines, fans, and lights.

Loulwa El Maalouf with the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) says, “Lebanon has more than 300 days of summer. We have more than eight hours of sun every day.”

ABTS solar project

ABTS will soon install solar panels on campus for their online classrooms. They work to remotely train church leaders all across the Middle East and North Africa. El Maalouf says, “Because now, all of our programs are either fully online or in a hybrid model. So students wherever they are, in Morocco, Sudan, Egypt, or Iraq, study over distance.”

“To continue to train and equip them, we need to have this basic thing that is internet.”

This isn’t a new situation for Lebanese citizens. The state has not provided stable electricity for the past 40 years. Many homes and businesses have their own generators. But now, with skyrocketing fuel costs, people can no longer rely on generators to provide power.

El Maalouf says, “This is one of the things that people are using to doing in Lebanon. The government fails at providing the necessities, or the obvious things, and people find different solutions.”

Ask God to strengthen church leaders across the MENA region. And pray God will rest upon the ABTS staff in Lebanon as they participate in this work.

Header photo courtesy of andreas160578 from Pixabay. 

Ellie Haddad, President of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary, says, “I remember growing up in the church of Lebanon. I lived through the civil war in Lebanon. The Church was very much not involved in what was happening around it at the time. More recently, maybe in the last 10 years, God has been using these circumstances to really transform the Church and give it a different heart and outlook on what proclaiming the Gospel means.”

A new perspective

This is a crucial perspective, Haddad says, for any Christian body. Churches often can focus on survival or growth, not so much impacting society. Lebanese Christians have become more and more involved with life outside the church walls, repairing, cleaning, and feeding.

Haddad says this is a way of showing the hope of Jesus to a hurting country. “We understand that Christ is coming back. We understand that there is eternal life. We understand that at the end of the day, good will win over evil. But outside the church, they don’t have that concept. And they don’t care to learn about what’s going to happen at the end of time when they are hungry, and they’re starving. They have immediate needs.”

Ask God to provide for Christians in Lebanon and give ever-increasing compassion. And pray the same for churches all around the world. Haddad says, “If we want to look for the state of the church, or the health of the church in Lebanon right now, we don’t go to services on Sunday morning. We go to the streets of Beirut, where the big need is.”

Header photo courtesy of ABTS on Facebook.

That’s different from Christians being patriotic or loving their country, says Caleb Hutcherson, a lecturer in historical theology at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Lebanon.  “Christian nationalism is this fusion between Christianity, Christian beliefs and symbolism, and even practices and politics that, in some way, become focused around and centered on a national identity.”

Examples

Hutcherson gives some examples of what Christian nationalism looks like. “Probably the most recognizable, infamous example is when German Christianity blended a form of Christian doctrine, Christian beliefs, and Christian practices with Nazi ideology.”

This fusion happens in other places with large churches as well, Hutcherson says, like the U.S., England, Spain, and Russia. “But even here in the Middle East, we’ve had similar kinds of blending or fusing of these Christian religious symbols, along with national symbols.” Read more in an article by Hutcherson on the subject here.

Fighting this fusion

Ever since the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as the state religion, Christians have struggled with the relationship between faith in Jesus and political power. So how can Christians around the world prevent this sort of fusion from creeping into the life of the church?

Hutcherson quotes an early Christian writer who faced a very similar situation in his time. “‘A living faith consists in thinking little of oneself and showing tenderness towards others.’ I think that idea really points to this caring for others, and particularly the marginalized, the oppressed, those who are outside of and are crushed by empire power and by that authority.”

ABTS trains leaders for churches across the Middle East. Ask God to bless this ministry.

(Header photo courtesy of SEspider from Pixabay)

Students no longer live on campus but still attend classes virtually. Loulwa El Maalouf says, “We had 35 students join us. This is the largest intake of new students in the history of the seminary. ABTs was founded in 1960. And since then, we’ve been training hundreds of leaders for the Arab world. But this is the first time we have this high number of students. And the diversity is incredible. We’re seeing students from countries that wouldn’t be able to be with us if it weren’t for this hybrid module.”

Benefits of this course

This new model allows church leaders to continue serving their communities while they attend ABTS courses. The school has students ranging from Syria to South Sudan throughout the Arab world. Maalouf says, “It doesn’t matter which background they come from. We have more than 40% of our students now who come from a non-Christian background. They face different challenges within their communities. So it’s good to be praying for them to continue to be salt and light to their communities. Another thing is important to pray about for our current students: to be able to balance well between their ministry and study.”

Pray these students will have a fruitful ministry throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

The header photo comes courtesy of ABTS on Facebook.