Syria (MNN) — The UN Special Envoy for Syria recently voiced his frustration over a stalled peace process. Syria’s conflict will pass the 10-year mark in March with no end in sight. There are more than 11 million people in need and 5.5 million Syrian refugees in the Near East region.
Normally, the Program for Theological Education by Extension (PTEE) centers only on theological training. In Syria’s case, “our program is dealing with a holistic ministry,” one PTEE leader* says.
“We try to take care of the people as a whole: health ministry, spiritual ministry, and physical ministry.”
As described here, PTEE partners with local believers to orchestrate training for Syrian church leaders. Theological education is not easy to access in this war-torn nation, leaving Arab believers with few options for leadership development.
Christian Ethics class.
(Photo, caption courtesy of PTEE)
PTEE offers 40 university-level degree courses, as well as a vocational Certificate of Ministry. Students can earn a Certificate of Theology, Diploma of Theology, and B.A. in Theology accredited by the Asia Theological Association (ATA) and the Middle East & North Africa Association for Theological Education (MENATE).
This biblical training is critical, but so is the ministry’s latest emphasis on practical assistance. By meeting a family’s immediate, tangible needs, PTEE frees time and releases pressure so Syrian leaders can focus on their studies.
“We have connections with more than 120 families in Syria,” the leader says, explaining how PTEE helps believers in a variety of ways.
“We help people recover their homes [and] build again what has been destroyed; we help [with] medical situations,” he says.
Connect with PTEE here to learn how you can help Syrian Christians. Most importantly, pray. Only God knows the solution to Syria’s massive humanitarian crisis.
“Pray for families to be coming back together again; for children [who] don’t know where their parents [are],” Sadek requests.
“Pray for the people who are in refugee camps. Winter is a very difficult season.”
Find more ways to pray for Syria here.
*Name withheld for security purposes.
Header image depicts a Syrian refugee camp in 2016. (Photo credit: © European Union 2016 – European Parliament / Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives CreativeCommons licenses creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
