OUR WORK
Strengthening The Churches
At Words of Isa, our top priority is producing strong local churches in Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. Wherever we go, we equip local believers to stand firm and carry on the work of the gospel long after we're gone. Doctrinally strong churches empowered by the Holy Spirit and led by local believers are the lasting fruit of our mission. We are committed to preparing them to endure and thrive.
Doctrinally strong churches empowered by the Holy Spirit and led by local believers are the lasting fruit of our mission.
Going to Muslims in Their Context
A Crucial Time In Syria
Syria is in a time of great change and opportunity. If all goes well, in a few years a new nation may emerge from the ruins of 14 years of civil war. This is a critical time for us to establish our ministry partners there in a position to make the most of this opportunity. Whether things go well or poorly politically, we need to have workers who are prepared and faithful to preach the gospel.
Please Pray
Pray for our ministers in Northern Syria and Damascus.
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We Have Eid al-Adha Feasts with Our Muslim Friends
Eid al-Adha is a holiday that's shared between Christians and Muslims. The story is about Abraham when he took his son up to the mountain to sacrifice him. And actually, in the Quran, it just says Abraham took his son, it doesn't say which one. So a lot of Muslims will say it was Ishmael. Of course, we think it was Isaac, but the story is exactly the same. And so we've actually been able to have Eid al Adha feasts with our Muslim friends. And the great thing about doing that is that we're celebrating a holiday together, and we're able to enjoy that time together to remember the story of Abraham, and the sacrifice of his son. But here's the important part. At the end of it, we get to say, what about the lamb? Because even in the Arabic story, there's a ram at the end, right? And so what about the ram? Because Muslims say it was a great sacrifice. Well, a ram is kind of an ordinary animal. So what was so great about the ram at the end of the story? It's a wonderful way to share Jesus. So if you have Muslim friends, invite them for Eid al-Adha, tell the story and talk about the lamb.
The Festival of Ashura
Shia Muslims observe the occasion of Ashura. It is a ten-day commemoration remembering their loss and suffering through the centuries. The memories begin with the Battle of Karbala 1350 years ago and the martyrdom of Hussein, whom they hold as a messianic figure. It is not a time of celebration, but of grief and mourning over what has been lost.
We pray that their grief can be turned to joy, and that they will find hope and healing in Jesus Christ.
Jesus can turn grief into joy
Ordaining Church Leaders
At Words of Isa, we believe the future of the Middle Eastern church depends on local leadership. That’s why one of our highest priorities is finding faithful, capable believers and walking with them as they grow into the pastors, elders, and shepherds God has called them to be.
We’ve seen it time and again: ministries built solely around Western missionaries often struggle to last. When foreign workers have to leave—whether because of war, politics, or persecution—the churches left behind are often unable to stand.
But when the church is led by those who live in the community—who know the language, the culture, the people, and the pain—churches don’t just survive. They thrive.
We invest deeply in these leaders. We train them in Scripture, help them gain ministry experience, and when the time is right, we ordain them to lead their churches as elders and pastors—just as the early church did.
Local leaders are the key to a lasting witness in the hardest places. And thanks to your support, they are rising up.
Home Bible Studies and Prayer Meetings
In many Muslim communities, walking into a church building would be unthinkable. That’s why our ministry often begins in the home.
When someone shows a desire to learn more about Jesus, we invite them into a setting that feels safe, warm, and deeply personal: a home Bible study. There, over shared meals and honest conversations, they experience the hospitality so central to Middle Eastern culture—and the welcome of the gospel.
Led by local believers, these home gatherings are more than just Bible lessons. They’re places of friendship, spiritual curiosity, and community. Guests hear stories of faith, ask honest questions, and meet people who follow Jesus with joy and conviction.
It’s in these homes—around tables, in living rooms, among friends—that many first encounter the love of Christ. And when they come to faith, they’re ready to take the next step: public baptism and life in the body of Christ.
The path to faith often begins around the dinner table
There was a civil war in Syria that lasted for 12 years, and there are millions of refugees who were fleeing the violence and trauma of the war. Their homes were destroyed, their families were shattered, and they were forced to either flee or die. They ended up in southern Turkey, Lebanon, or safe(er) places in Syria rather than their homes. They suffer from PTSD and other trauma-induced conditions. Words of Isa is committed to providing healing in the name of Jesus to these poor, dispossessed people and warming them with the light of the Gospel.
We had one young girl who came to the trauma therapy center, and she had the most traumatic experience in Syria. In the middle of the night, the police came in, threw her father and her uncles on the floor, beat them in front of her, put hoods over their heads, and carried them out in the dark to a police car and took them away while she, as a five-year-old girl, was clinging to her dad, begging, “don't take my daddy away”. She was so traumatized by that that she was afraid of cars, she was afraid of men, afraid of the dark, afraid of anyone in a uniform. Couldn't do something as simple as go to school. She actually came to the trauma therapy center and took therapy from someone we trained. After the therapy session, she came out smiling in the hallway, talking to everyone, went downstairs and without complaining, got in the car with her mom. The taxi driver said, “Hey, what's up with her? She got in the car with no complaints.” Her mother said she took trauma therapy up there. And he said, “I want that. I want to get that same trauma therapy myself.”
Refugee Camp Fire
Southern Lebanon is filled with camps for refugees from the various wars in the region. These people are completely destitute, with nothing but plastic sheeting over a 1x2 frame to call home. This April, after escaping wars in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, the residents of the Spinney Camp lost the little that they had due to an accidental fire. Words of Isa donors stepped up to help them replace their housing and their few personal belonging.
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me’”.
When you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.
