The Arab Christian Voices

Here are some of people we met this week. I think their words describe the daily life of an Arab Christian in Israel better than I ever could.

Mannal Haddad, Chaplain
Baptist School in Nazareth
One of the best schools in the country.
Made up of 80% Christian, 20% Muslim.

“As Christian believers, we are the minority: the minority of a minority religion (Christianity) of the minority of this country (Arab). This is our calling – to tell about Jesus in his homeland. We’ve been here since Pentecost. People think we converted from Islam, but we’ve always been here. So many of the Arab Christians have emigrated. They say, ‘We only have one life and we want to live without these restrictions.’ So they leave.

“It is difficult (when leading chapel) to share the Gospel. We know the Truth and they (Muslims, nominal Chrtistians) don’t. But we have to be so careful in the way we present the information to the students – it’s very difficult. But my heart goes out to those kids. They hear so many difficult things at home… such violence. So they come to me and ask questions about the things they are hearing here.

We are the only school in Israel that is able to teach the Bible. I do not know how much longer we will be able to do this, but we will keep on doing it as long as we can. It’s our calling. There are many things that work against what we’re doing here, so your prayers mean so much to us.”

Amer Nicola
Director, Nazareth Village
Non-profit ministry that provides a real-life first century replica of Nazareth.

“About 70 to 80,000 people have visited Nazareth Village since it opened in 2000. I would say 80 – 85% percent of those are Muslim. When they come here, they hear about Jesus’ way of life in Nazareth and many of the children hear the story for the first time.

“We don’t try to come as a contrast to their beliefs; we have to be very sensitive and wise. For instance, Muslims believe Judas was crucified on the cross, not Jesus. So if we said, ‘Here is the cross that is a replica of the cross Jesus was crucified on,’ they would be upset. Instead we say, ‘Christians believe this is the size of the cross…’ then they cannot argue. It’s factual. It is our job to plant the seed; we let the Holy Spirit do the work.”


Bader Mansour
Business Owner, Secretary of the Baptist Association
Board Member for Nazareth Village, Baptist Hospital

“On the whole, people living here are meeting their basic needs. They don’t show it, but there are many poor families. It’s a very sensitive issue to show you need help. So these aren’t the poorest of the poor, but we need Christians to stay here. We need to encourage them and help them have a good life so they will stay. There is a lot of unemployment. It’ts hard to get a job as an Arab in Israel. But this is our heart – to try and keep Christians here – to be a testimony, the salt and light amid all the fighting and unrest.


Bryson Arthur
President, Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary

“Israel is a throbbing and exciting religious place and so vital to the world. But it is politically and economically very difficult. The West Bank is another state – it’s country – and they are not at peace with Israel. They do not share the same world view. It’s easier to look at us and think of us as one when you talk about the Holy Land, but it’s really two places.

There is a rising evangelical movement here, but pastors are untrained. That’s why we’re here, to provide good theological training, to demonstrate servant leadership, and to seek unity among evangelicals themselves and Messianic Jews. If we don’t train the pastors, the people will starve.

Our work is very missionally minded, but we do understand that you can’t fight culture. You have to understand it and work within it. I do not think the Palestinian people in the West Bank should have fired missiles into Israel, but to send bombs and white powder into villages killing women and children… we think the wall is an atrocity. What does a wall say to people living on both sides? It’s horrendous. You don’t wall people in. We think there’s hope for the people of Israel and Palestine. We think peace will come in Christ.”

We are living in a difficult country. People are wounded. Everyone thinks he is oppressed and the other is the oppressor. People here have lost their hope in each other and in the government. We don’t love each other, and we are afraid. The Gospel is relevant for us in this time and we want our students to carry this message around with. We want to keep the Christians in this country and help them see they have a role here.

Azar Ajad
Dean of Students
Nazareth Evangelical Theological Seminary

“There are 10,000 believers in this country. This number can disappear in the next 20 years to Islam… and the window will be closed. Now is the time. We have a role here. We speak the same language, we eat the same food, we have more in common than not in common. I don’t care if we have 30 students or 10, as long as I can see them working here and know that in the next three, four, five years they will be doing ministry in Israel. This is our challenge, but it is also our hope.”