Daily concerns at the heart
of Middle East Bible work

By Francine Lange, ABS

A man cycling with a tray of bread on his head. Cairo, Egypt. Photo: ABS/Francine Lange (EGY05DJ-34.JPG)

MIDDLE EAST — “The daily concerns of the people … are the concern of the Bible Society. I think the Word of God has a lot to say about what’s happening in each of our lives.” This is what Hrayr Jebejian, Executive Secretary of the Bible Society in the Gulf, told a group of supporters of the American Bible Society (ABS) when they visited Beirut (where the Bible Society in the Gulf is based) during a tour of Bible work in the Middle East. And everywhere they went, the visitors saw for themselves how this work is having an impact on the lives of ordinary people.

In Beirut itself, their tour included visits with Mike Bassous, General Secretary of the Bible Society in Lebanon, to the Books for Life Christian Resource Center (see Latest News #299) and the multimedia educational facility Bible World (see World Report 391/22). Both provide visitors with the opportunity to engage with and learn more about the Bible.

The Palestinian Bible Society’s Operation Palestinian Child team ministers to poor village children like this girl and her brother in Yasuf. West Bank. Photo: ABS/Francine Lange (WBK05DJ-21.JPG)

The ABS group also met Labib Madanat, Executive Secretary of the Palestinian Bible Society. “We don’t wait until things get better,” he told them. “Today is the day of salvation. It’s here now.” His ministry team regularly visits children in schools and villages and, with the permission of the village authorities, presents biblical themes of love and forgiveness in the form of puppet shows, music and clown acts (see World Report 390/21).

Finally, in Egypt, the visitors heard from General Secretary Ramez Atallah about the innovative ways in which the Bible Society is seeking to reach people with the Bible’s message in a very mixed society: although modern consumerism is firmly established in Egypt’s cities, the country as a whole still has a high level of illiteracy. This means that the Society is both offering free home delivery of Scripture materials in the style of a pizza restaurant and producing audio and video Scriptures for those who cannot read (see World Report 392/13 and 386/19).