Middle East (MNN) — Lebanon
is shelling militant Islamists who are thought to be hiding in Tripoli's refugee camps. It's the country's worst fighting in 17
years. The target area is Nahr
al-Bared, now shrouded in thick smoke and home to ferocious gunbattles between
soldiers and Fatah al-Islam–a group accused of links to Al-Qaeda and Syrian
intelligence services.
Meanwhile, neighboring Israel
is pounding Gaza. The Israeli Air Force continued its
airstrikes in Gaza
over the last few days, targeting suspected terrorists and members of militant
Islamic Jihadist groups. The violence
is escalating with answering Palestinian rocket attacks.
Both countries claim they're fighting terrorism that refuses
to be contained. There are fears that it
won't take much more provocation for a civil war.
E3 Partners' Tom Doyle says the whole area is a tinderbox
situation. "Traditionally, when Israel plays a
weaker role, a more passive role, things seem to erupt in the region. Most people were saying with Lebanon,
it was just a matter of time."
Doyle says they don't have work directly in the region
because of the instability. The
EvangeCube is being used regularly in the church as an evangelistic tool. Young
people in Muslim countries are becoming frustrated with Islam. Sixty percent of people are under the age of 30 in
these areas. As the church reaches more people, there are hopes that the Gospel
will transform lives.
However, there are still many needs. Doyle explains that "many
of the people, because of the danger, have been in and out of jobs. The
financial resources have been really, really slim. We've had pastors asking if
believers around the world would just pray for them to be able to carry on the
work of the ministry because things are so limited there."
In the past, Doyle has shared that Christians who've lived
there for decades say have "never seen so many Muslims and even Jew
responding to the Gospel like they are right now." Click here if you
can help sponsor EvangeCubes and church partners.
