March 10, 2026
Dear friends and partners,
Once again, Lebanon finds itself in a war it did not choose, and facing widespread displacement. Once again, the roads are filled with families carrying what they can, leaving behind what they love. For many of us, this is not unfamiliar territory. We have walked through such crises before. Yet each time, the weight is real, the toll is deep, and the ache is new.
Around us, the region is shifting. What may emerge from this is a new Middle East order and a new regional security architecture that will define the next decades.
But for us this is not a geopolitical story only, it is a human one: people uprooted, villages emptied, livelihoods crushed, and a nation already exhausted asked to endure again. In a matter of days, hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Behind every number is a name, a child, a mother, a grandfather, a home now silent.
As Christians, we are people who take reality seriously without surrendering to it. We do not minimize the gravity of what is happening, but neither do we yield to fear. Our hope is anchored in the living God: steadfast, sovereign, and near to the brokenhearted. When the future feels uncertain, His mercy does not. The Psalms do not teach us denial, they teach us refuge. They give us permission to tremble and still to trust, to lament honestly and still to pray boldly.
In moments of upheaval, the instinct of the Gospel is not to move away from pain, but toward it. We have often said, half-seriously but with deep conviction, that we must never waste a good crisis. Not because suffering is good, but because the Spirit often opens doors for witness when the world’s false securities collapse. Crisis has a way of clarifying what is real: who our neighbors are, what love costs, and where our true kingdom lies.
This is why, as the displacement has begun, ABTS has opened its doors since the first hours of the conflict. Our guesthouse and campus are receiving families who have nowhere else to go. Our wider sister ministries are mobilizing, preparing meals, and coordinating help. In a time when so much is being taken, the people of God are called to give: space, bread, dignity, prayer, and the simple gift of presence that says, “you are not alone”.
We are convinced that this is not a public relations gesture. It is Christian witness. To receive the displaced is to echo the heart of Jesus who “did not come to be served but to serve”.
Still, we feel the tension: the urgent needs of today and the long work of tomorrow. We must respond to the emergency without abandoning the enduring, faithful task of forming leaders for the church in the Arab world. This is why all of our programs, serving around 250 students across the MENA region, are still fully operational online.
So, we ask you to pray. Pray for Lebanon: for restraint, for real peace and for mercy upon this land. Pray for the displaced: safety and shelter. Pray for our community: calm in spirit, firm in hope, generous in love, wise in decision-making, and ready to serve. And pray that in this kairos moment, the Gospel would not only be spoken, but also seen and embodied.
In Christ,
Wissam Nasrallah
