Bibles and New Testaments, along with Christian tracts and literature, are essential tools for indigenous missionaries in sharing the Gospel with unreached people. Most of Intercede International’s partner ministries put a strong focus on distributing Bibles and Christian literature.
Manara Outreach Ministries helps to meet the spiritual needs of Middle Eastern people through its two Christian bookstores in Jordan, and by distributing Bibles and Christian books. Previously, Manara ran a Christian bookstore in Beirut, Lebanon, one bookstore is in Iraq, and one in Tripoli, Libya.
Manara strongly encourages Christians to help cover the cost of Bibles in Arabic to be sent to Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
One Bible costs as little as $3.25 for Manara, which needs as many Bibles as possible. A few years ago, a group of Amish Americans paid for 55,000 Arabic Bibles, which were printed in Japan for a small fee and shipped to Manara in Jordan. What a wonderful international connection!
Manara accomplished the goal of delivering one million Bibles and New Testaments to Iraq, Syria and the Arabian Peninsula by the year 2000. It distributes Christian adult and children’s literature to help build up the churches.
Ghattas founded Manara more than 40 years ago. Ghattas came to Christ by reading a Bible he was given and so has a strong inclination towards ensuring the Word of God is available to all.
Since the late 1970s, Manara has grown from a Christian bookshop to an international ministry working primarily in Jordan and Iraq, as well as other Middle Eastern countries such as Syria and Lebanon. Over the years this ministry has expanded immensely. Today it holds displays in secular book fairs and exhibitions throughout the Middle East, using educational books along with Scriptures and Christian literature. One of Manara’s projects is to present 75 Iraqi churches with resource libraries containing Bibles, commentaries and other Christian books.
In the past few years, Manara has done much work with refugees from neighbouring Syria and Iraq. Manara missionaries do their best to meet the physical needs of refugees but also addresses their spiritual needs by offering them Bibles and New Testaments.
For instance, one fall Manara provided 300 school bag packs for 300 Iraqi refugee children. Each bag pack contained notebooks, pencils, and a water bottle. Each child also received a package that contained clothes, a pair of shoes, toys and a New Testament pocket Bible, a children’s Bible and story books.
“It is a great blessing for Manara missionaries to witness the joy and gratitude a simple gift brings to a child,” reported Ghattas. “These children do not deserve to live in such a hard situation with no end in sight. We pray that these packages will give them a sense of hope and love that could only come from our Heavenly Father.”
Camp Gilead Shines
Manara’s Camp Gilead “was and will continue to be a light shining through the darkness of this age and in the hearts of the youth,” reports Ghattas. “With all the bad news that is in the world today, and especially the volatile region of the Middle East – which is filled with war, hatred and killing – God’s Word is being proclaimed and His unconditional love is poured into the hearts of the young and old.”
Commenting on recent summer camps, Ghattas observed, “Before the campers went back home, they received Bibles and young campers received Bible stories to take home and read. One young camper was so affected by the camps that when his mother gave him the option to choose any book to read on their upcoming trip, he chose the Bible and has been reading it frequently.”
The Word of God has the power to transform lives in the Middle East. Pray for Manara’s work of providing Bibles to spiritually needy people in these countries. Pray for God’s provision of many more Bibles for these missionaries and others partnered with Intercede. Pray also for these missionaries to put on the full armour of God when they distribute Bibles – so that God will protect them and bless the results of this important work.
Photo: A refugee child gratefully receives a Children’s Bible from Manara Outreach Ministries.
Intercede News Service
Alan Doerksen is Publications Editor with Intercede International and has been with Intercede for 20 years. Find his latest historical fiction novel on Amazon.
Alan, that is a great summary of the work of Manara OM. It is also an effective way to spread news of the needs in Arabic speaking worlds, to this volume of readers of Light Magazine in Western Canada. Sincerely, Ruth Young