L y o n / B e i r u t (EBPS) – The war between Israel and the radical-Islamic Hezbollah has brought blessings to the small Baptist minority in Lebanon. Nabil Costa (Beirut), Director of the Baptist-allied “Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development (LSESD) noted this at Council sessions of the European Baptist Federation (EBF) in Lyon, France, 26-30 September. As 200.000 Lebanese (mostly Christians) fled to Europe and North America, Lebanese saw themselves confronted with countless charitable tasks. At the outset of the war Costa had received a call stating that Hezbollah intended to sequester the Baptist school as refugee quarters. He then opened the school voluntarily, but by no means eagerly, to the refugees. Refugees loaded in buses and on lorries were already waiting before the school. The Director reported it was initially difficult for him to deal in a friendly fashion with those persons whom he felt were responsible for the war. Yet he soon accepted the spiritual mandate to accept Muslim refugees “in the love of Christ”.

Then, within only a few days, the labour became enjoyable. The care which the roughly 600 families had experienced from Baptists was so overwhelming that they called for their friends and neighbours in other camps to move to the Baptist school. International contacts had encouraged Lebanese Baptists to take on this task: “We knew that we were not alone.” Aid shipments and money donations arrived from throughout the world to support the refugee work.

Though Baptists had prior to the war been a barely-recognised minority, the Muslim majority now suddenly began to socially accept and recognise them. Costa noted that he had tried unsuccessfully for five years to obtain permission to post a sign at his Arab Baptist Theological Seminary on the outskirts of Beirut. The school is now flanked by a huge sign reading “Baptist Evangelical Centre”. A Muslim mayor had taken it upon himself to get the sign posted: “We have open doors where we had never expected them before.” All refugees received Bibles or Christian books, many of which were also read. Many helpful conversations on matters of faith resulted. After the end of hostilities, tears were shed as the refugees departed for their home towns. 

Today, Baptists are involved in reconstruction. Local Baptist churches are seeing to it that power and water access is restored to destroyed villages and cities and that the ill receive medical treatment. Two camps in which 550 war-traumatised children and youth were treated received strong support, also from Muslim parents. According to Costa, Baptists are now appreciated in the highest government ministries.

The Costa-led LSESD operates a school, theological seminary and publishing house. Twenty-seven congregations with roughly 2.000 members belong to the Baptist Union of Lebanon.