IGSL ALumni Working for Peace in Beirut, Manipur and Sri Lanka

“In short, the next generation of pastors says they feel unprepared for some of the biggest challenges facing the modern Church. Whether as a major contributor or a serious consequence, this sense of being unprepared is part of the growing epidemic of burnout.” – Barna

Barna: What Pastors Wish They’d Been Prepared For
(2022 compared to 2015)

Before this update goes to places like India, Lebanon, and Sri Lanka, if you look at the research above, one of the immense discipleship needs of our generation relates to navigating conflict and peacemaking. Research (and the eye test) shows the impact of unresolved conflict, polarization, and violence on society…and on churches. The percentage of believers who understand how being reconciled to God informs how we are to proclaim the gospel in our conflicts through confession and forgiveness is lower than what you may think-and that impacts ministry multiplication. But more than that – leaders in the church do not feel equipped to lead and shepherd people in these areas.

In the U.S. and globally, there is a need for peacemaking leaders in the church who can shepherd the church towards true peace in Christ and do hard work of bringing the peace of Christ to the human strife in every corner of the globe. As you get a small snapshot in this update, pray that the Lord of the harvest raises up church and Great Commission leaders who are committed to the work of reconciliation in and through the church. Conflict in the world is plentiful, but the workers are few. We want to see the church be the agent of grace and reconciliation Christ has empowered it to be!

Bassem, who is defending his PhD this month at IGSL, is here conducting peacebuilding across different groups and leaders in a deeply conflicted social and political situation in Beirut, Lebanon. God has been opening doors through his research to build a network and platform to teach and equip leaders for peace amidst war, refugees, and interfaith strife.

Last week we attended a gathering of IGSL students and alumni connected to our Peace Studies program and it was an amazing time of hearing how God has placed some of our students and alumni in unique places for timely and powerful ministry.

One amazing story relates to a current IGSL PhD candidate, who I hope to graduate with next month and is a pastor and a Dean of Faculty at a seminary in Beirut, Lebanon. Bassem has been delayed a few years in completing his Ph.D. because of the revolution and unrest in his country and the influx of Syrian refugees and the interfaith tensions that come with that. His congregation has led the way there for Christian witness through caring for refugees in ways that has led to many coming to faith in Christ. It has been difficult ministry, but God has produced tremendous fruit and open doors.

As Bassem began to tackle his dissertation research and interview leaders in Lebanon in different areas, it created a network for him between leaders from different government agencies, churches, denominations, and NGO entities. He has been granted powerful platforms to do peace-building work and peacemaking training as a Christian pastor and leader in inter-faith contexts and across political lines in ways that are powerful and are only conceivable as the hand of God! Beirut and Lebanon as a whole is a place desperate for lasting peace. Bassem’s faithfulness to care for Syrian refugees and his mere attempts to get his dissertation done led to an unexpected platform that is pointing people from other faiths to Biblical reconciliation and the Prince of Peace. Please pray for him, his church, and the seminary, and their ministry!

It has been humbling to see the ways God is using some of our Peace Studies and IGSL military alumni networks to proclaim the gospel through their unique platforms. Pray for more peacemakers – more Daniels and Nehemiahs – to draw people in need to Christ and open doors for ministry!

Currently, there are some very difficult situations in Asia for Christians. In the last week or two, over 50 churches have been burned in the Manipur region of India (more than what was reported in this CT article), where we have several IGSL alumni pastoring and working in ministry (and one graduating student this year). The persecution is high and we have not heard from all of them yet. There is immense persecution right now and dozens of churches have been targeted and burned and I think over 50 people are reported as having been killed. There is fear the persecution spreads to Nagaland, where we have more alumni and where one of my dissertation committee members is doing peace and reconciliation work.

Sri Lanka is facing different types of struggle, conflict, and despair. One IGSL Ph.D. alumni, Chris, did his Ph.D. on reconciliation in Sri Lanka based on the theology of reconciliation in the book of Hosea. Upon graduation, he became head of a prominent denomination before Sri Lanka sank into its current economic crisis (last report 60% inflation). He mentioned a growing spirit of despair as suicides are skyrocketing, including family suicides. This trend speaks to the hopelessness so many have in that country – a hopelessness that has penetrated the church in many ways as well. It was powerful to hear how God is using Chris to lead initiatives of hope – to help the Sri Lankan church anchor themselves in the hope of Christ as well as to help Sri Lankan agencies and institutions encounter the one true hope of Christ. A door has opened for him to publish a book based on his peacemaking and reconciliation work between God and others in the book of Hosea for Sri Lanka which is one possible tool to help breathe life to believers and non-believers alike.

The world is hurting. We’re grateful to be able to be a part of providing the specialized training, mentoring, and field skills to help called men and women stand in the gap in these hard situations and in these hard places. Please pray for the world, for the global church in the face of persecution and with the opportunities to be agents of peace and reconciliation. In the hard moments, sometimes the power of peace and forgiveness shines all the brighter! God is our hope and is with every believer in these trials – let’s pray and seek His heart and power for bringing God’s peace to a broken world.

Brian and Christine Virtue

IGSL ALumni Working for Peace in Beirut, Manipur and Sri Lanka

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Training Servant Leaders For the Great Commission in Asia