Education Report

Churches in Iraq
July 8, 2004
	For the most part, I think Christians in the United
States have been oblivious to the fact there were
people in Iraq who professed the Lord Jesus Christ as
their Savior under the regime of Saddam Hussein. Some
may have heard Tariq Aziz profess that he was a
Christian, but if they did it was probably in
connection to what the press revealed about him that
was negative. But there have been people in Iraq
professing and living for Christ in a world of
incredible hardship. Christ is alive and real in Iraq.
	Recently I read a report from Ravi Zacharias about a
meeting in the Netherlands of the Alliance World
Fellowship. (Christian & Missionary Alliance) One of
the speakers at that meeting was a pastor from Iraq
who told of the “triumph of the Gospel amid the fears
and tragedies that punctuate daily life there.” As in
other accounts of the church in places where
persecution is common this pastor spoke of the
“passionate prayers” that were uttered at every prayer
service. Passionate prayer is something all too often
missing from prayer services in America, where prayer
services are even still held. We need to rediscover
prayer.
	In a private conversation with Dr. Zacharias, that
pastor said “how grateful Iraqi Christians are for the
sacrifice many have paid to come to their land and
free them…” The pastor on his own part was also
grateful that the coming of American soldiers had made
it possible for them to build a church. In Islamic
occupied lands it is most often impossible to even
repair existing churches, let alone build new ones.
The pastor said, “We are filled with gratitude for
those who have paid with their lives for this new day
in our land.” Perhaps God is harvesting Iraq before
the end.
	You will not hear of such accounts from the media who
will not even tell of the wounded soldiers who want to
get back to their units in Iraq. They tell you of a
retention crunch due to bad moral, but I read reports
that said retention has exceeded expectations.  Maybe
our soldiers see purpose many overlook.