The Middle East is one of the least evangelized regions of the world. Native ministry leaders, who understand the delicate procedure of covert evangelism in Arab countries, are crucial to reaching these nations.
Arab ministry leaders are unable to hold large meetings, which would be reported by Muslim neighbors. Instead, they must secretly travel from house to house.
In 1999 a Christian Aid-supported ministry began by starting underground churches for Iraqi refugees in Jordan.
In 2001, the ministry began an outreach program for Muslim Iraqi refugees by offering free English classes. During the first year, 100 Muslim families dedicated their lives to Christ. From those 100 families, 13 men and women stepped forward to join the ministry. After three months of Bible training they began evangelizing Baghdad. Through door-to-door evangelism, the group distributed 120,000 Bibles in two years.
The Mission has greatly focused its Bible distribution efforts on the youth, as nearly half of Iraq’s population is under the age of 15. They began giving Bibles to children in schools. Presently, they are working to distribute gospel material to 900,000 young people in 1,500 schools throughout Iraq. These materials can be provided for only $1 per child.
In addition to distributing Bibles, the ministry has had great success in planting small house churches. Muslims, who hear the gospel for the first time, ask permission to bring their families, friends and neighbors to the churches. Staff members are working toward the goal of planting at least one house church in every major city of Iraq.