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The church in the Middle East is under huge existential pressures but Alpha and Marriage courses are being used by the Holy Spirit to foster church unity and mission around the world.

It is a pleasure and a privilege to be sharing these evangelistic and transformational tools in the Middle East, to see the church revitalised and effective in its mission.

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Nabil and Sarah’s story

We are networking with local Catholic, Orthodox and evangelical churches and training them to run Alpha and Marriage Courses in Arabic. Three Catholic dioceses in Lebanon have adopted the courses, and others are considering them. We are also running Alpha in schools and prisons, and developing course resources in Arabic. Some courses are run in English or French with expat churches.

Nabil is Lebanese/British and spent 29 years in the UK where he trained as an architect and practised for 15 years, alongside lay ministry in several churches. He retrained in theology at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and was ordained in the diocese of London in 2002.

While serving a three-year curacy in London, he was part of a team that launched Arabic Alpha in the Middle East. He moved to Beirut in 2005 and served as vicar of All Saints Beirut for 10 years while continuing to develop Arabic Alpha.

Nabil took up the full-time role of Alpha Levant Coordinator in September 2015. He describes himself as international, interdisciplinary and interdenominational, with a passion for Jesus and his church.

Sarah is British/Canadian/Swiss and almost trilingual like Nabil. She trained as an interior designer and practised for 20 years in Geneva and London. She was on the leadership team of All Saints Beirut. Today, she manages the hospitality and administrative side of the Shehadi mission (including accounts and fundraising), as well as working out strategy and running courses with Nabil.

Sarah ran a quilting group for 10 years and is now teaching sewing skills to Syrian refugees with a local NGO. It is great to be with an organisation that has been working in the Levant since 1851. Church Mission Society arranged our appointment to All Saints Beirut in 2005; its network and experience are great assets to our Alpha mission in the Levant.

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