Many Middle Eastern countries recognize the existing, historic Christian communities but deny non-Christian citizens the right to espouse the Christian faith – and they actively persecute those who do.

The new government has pledged to preserve religious freedom and minority rights, but Jesus followers are taking a wait-and-see approach.

The roots of human rights actually go back much further than the Enlightenment, to minority Christian traditions including Mennonites and Baptists.

After the fall of the al-Asad regime, we are reminded of cases such as Libya and Iraq, where war did not lead to stable governments.

“The church is still figuring out the best way to help the people living under this new reality”, says a pastor in the Syrian city. Over 700 people have been killed so far in this latest attack.

The New Life Spiritual church meets the practical and spiritual needs of around 15 families, who have become part of its congregation.

“We are not against sanctions but for human rights”, says the World Evangelical Alliance representative at the UN Human Rights Council.

The TWR media team in Syria balances spiritual themes with medical and psychological guidance. They also help in practical ways.

An evangelical pastor in Aleppo analyses the “very critical” situation in Syria. “Pray for us, our sufferings became so great”. The UN says at least 5,800 people died due to the earthquake.

Turkish Protestant churches are mobilising to help in the most affected areas by the earthquake. Food, clothing and hygiene supplies are the first needs they are covering.

Experts warn that there is “a real danger of a secondary disaster”. The EU leaders officially offer more help and the first UN aid convoy reached northern Syria.

Evangelical churches in the already war-torn country are organising themselves for aid in Aleppo and elsewhere. The priority is to open churches and provide food and clothes.

Despite difficult weather conditions, Christian ministries and individuals have traveled to the earthquake area. The Turkish Evangelical Alliance and other groups are channeling donations.

More than 5,000 buildings collapse after two huge tremors (7.8 and 7.5) in the south-east of Turkey. At least 4,800 people in both countries. In Iskenderun, a pastor, his wife, and a young girl, are among the victims of the evangelical church.

The discovery, made by an international team of US and Iraqi archaeologists, includes eight marble slabs with Assyrian figures carved on them.

Evangelical churches acknowledge the serious refugee crisis but “continue to selflessly and tirelessly respond to the overwhelming needs around them”.

Our relationships with those who impose sanctions and those who suffer sanctions must be shaped not by our respective authorities but by the will and calling of our Savior.

Asma launderette has become a place of friendship and integration, where Turkish Christians help refugees by employing women and tutoring their children.

Sanctions on Syria serve to freeze the situation until the conditions for a political solution are available and attainable. But how long should we wait for this? Ten more years? In the meantime, the Syrian population – including Christians – are paying too heavy a price.

Evangelical leaders from the Middle East and North Africa analyse the impact of the uprisings that began in 2010, and the current situation.

Over 55,000 children have been killed in the Syrian war. A report estimates that the cost of the war is already over US$ 1.2 trillion.

“The palace was built during the reign of King Hezekiah [...] The level of workmanship is the best seen to date, and the degree of preservation is rare”, archaeologists say.

Children of the refugee camps in Lebanon who do not have access to schooling, are the main focus of the Christian NGO Together For the Family.

The High Court of Koblenz tries two former officials of the Syrian government, accused of crimes against humanity. “The torture system has been used to crush civil society”.

Digital persecution is on the rise, the WWL 2020 shows. Asia Bibi’s release was one of the the good news.