“Your coming would bring fresh bread and fresh winds of the Holy Spirit in our work here…There are a lot of needs here, and I would love to have Rez teams pour into and bless our local community.”
– Fr. Mark
(pseudonym for security)
Listen to Fr. Mark’s invitation
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Help Bolster Long-Term Ministry
Since Fr. Mark and Cindy moved to the Middle East five years ago, their ministry to the unreached has expanded. Four other Resurrection members have joined them, seeking to creatively share Christ’s love in a nation where public evangelism is prohibited.
Two years ago, Resurrection’s Good Friday Gift provided funds to help them start a nonprofit organization. This covering has enabled them to carry out ministry and develop long-term co-workers by providing a legal platform to gain residency. The nonprofit is now sustaining eight adults and five children in the country.
Fr. Mark describes their recent work:
“For our first project, we were able to bring in a short-term team of medical professionals from South Africa. The medical team served a small number of refugees and others displaced during the war. They also provided educational sessions on integrated health and women’s health to other long-term Christian expats. In addition, the team served disabled children in a neighboring community by partnering with another local nonprofit.”
This year’s Good Friday Gift will fund short-term teams from Resurrection who will aid our global partners in specific evangelism and community outreach projects, plus boost prayer support for the country. These projects will likely take place over the next 18-24 months, beginning as early as late fall.
Potential Projects Include*
Arts Ministry
Arts Ministry
Focus: Create art alongside local neighbors and beautify the office.
- Lead Arts workshops.
RezArts volunteers will come prepared to offer art workshops in various domains, such as painting, drawing, music, songwriting, poetry (for more advanced English speakers), etc. Afterward, a thematic art exhibit will be open to the public. - Beautify office space.
Volunteers will help transform the non-profit office into a beautiful space. Hospitality is a core value, so creating an attractive and welcoming space helps attain this goal. Possibilities include: painting a wall mural, gardening, interior design, etc. - Boost prayer for the nation.
Participants will commit to non-stop prayer during the trip and recruit intercessory prayer teams. Each hour from departure to return will have at least one person praying for the country.
English Conversation Camp
English Conversation Outreach
Focus: Lead English education groups for neighbors.
- Form conversation groups.
Rez volunteers will hold conversation groups open to the public for neighbors who desire to grow in English conversation skills. The local team will also prayerfully recruit Syrian refugees, many of whom work in foodservice and hospitality and desire to gain English fluency.Rez volunteers will prepare and lead discussion questions, games, and activities for beginner, intermediate, and advanced students. Activities may not be explicitly evangelistic, but they can be thought-provoking. The aim: provide a foundation to continue long-term spiritual conversations with students outside of the classroom.
- Train long-term expats.
Rez volunteers trained and experienced in teaching ESL will offer training to expats on how to teach English better to speakers of other languages. - Boost prayer for the nation.
Participants will commit to non-stop prayer during the trip and recruit intercessory prayer teams. Each hour from departure to return will have at least one person praying for the country.
Refugee Camp Outreach
Refugee Camp Outreach
Focus: Show the love of Jesus by caring for the physical needs of refugees.
- Camp outreach. Refugee camps in the Middle East are usually under-served and under-resourced. A refugee camp outreach will aim to subsidize and assist in caring for these refugees. In partnership with the long-term team, Rez medical professionals and counselors will engage in a multi-day camp outreach in which they will perform medical assessments, distribute critical aid, and teach community health lessons.
- Train other expats in health. The team will provide medical assessments and health education courses to other expats living and working within the region.
- Boost prayer for the nation.
Participants will commit to non-stop prayer during the trip and recruit intercessory prayer teams. Each hour from departure to return will have at least one person praying for the country.
Holy Week Planning
Holy Week Ministry
Focus: Develop Holy Week services to invite neighbors, and lead prayer ministry for expat believers.
- Create Holy Week services.
A Holy Week ministry from Rez volunteers will help create a beautiful and spirit-filled space for neighbors to come and see. The Team will plan and perform aspects of Holy Week, especially Light and Lessons and Easter Vigil. - Lead prayer ministry for expat believers.
The team will also develop and engage in prayer ministry for the wider expat community of believers. This could include times of extended prayer ministry and leading educational sessions on prayer ministry, spiritual disciplines, and/or spiritual warfare. - Boost prayer for the nation.
Participants will commit to non-stop prayer during the trip and recruit intercessory prayer teams. Each hour from departure to return will have at least one person praying for the country.
Join us in prayer for:
Nonprofit projects & logistics
Pray that the next few nonprofit projects that we are preparing and planning go smoothly, bless the community, and lead to fruitful connections for kingdom work. Pray also for smoothly navigating registration and administrative maintenance of our nonprofit.
Lent and Holy Week
Join us in prayerful expectation as we journey through Lent together as a team and engage in Holy Week services. Pray that those who come would experience the presence of the Lord through Spirit-filled worship in Word and Sacrament.
Thank you for giving to the Good Friday Gift
Resurrection's gifts provided groceries, medicine and emergency housing, plus help create long-term sustainability. Here’s how:
Benevolence Fund:
Your gift is helping Mark and Cindy offer more aid for food insecurity, medical emergencies, and housing crises by contributing to a benevolence fund. This support will be operated by Mark and Cindy’s sending organization.
Sustainability & Growth
In addition, your gift is helping contribute to long-term sustainability by providing start-up costs, legal fees, and office rent for a non-profit organization. The covering of a non-profit will enable Mark and Cindy to build their outreach and develop a team of long-term co-workers.
The Good Friday Gift is now closed. Next year's Good Friday Gift will be announced in Spring 2024.
Questions? Email juliadamion@churchrez.org
Meet Farah
Farah* lives in a nearby war-torn city. We have really enjoyed getting to know her over the last couple years. She and her daughter have come to know and follow Christ, and are the only believers in their extended family and neighborhood.
Her family is strongly antagonistic toward the gospel, and Farah struggles in her very oppressed context. She only knows one other believer in her city who lives on the outskirts of town.
We have been able to share scripture and pray for Farah and her family several times. The Lord has worked in these sweet times and continues to help her amid difficult circumstances.
The risk for these new believers is great. Those who make their faith public endure immense persecution.
Please pray for this special woman and her family. Pray especially for her relatives’ hearts to be softened to Christ.
*a pseudonym for security purposes
