Protestant News

Jordanian Senator Michael Nazzal Visits Evangelical Council After They Were Excluded From Earlier Parliament Meeting

Jordanian Senator Michael Nazzal, who chairs the Tourism Committee in Jordan's upper house, visited the country's Evangelical Council on 11 May 2026 in what is being read as a corrective gesture. Evangelicals had been excluded from an earlier parliamentary meeting with Catholic and...

Crusaders Call Team

19 May 2026 — 2 min read

57 Churches and Decades of Service in Jordan as Maj. Gen. Imad Ma'ayah Asks Jordan to Recognise Evangelicals Alongside Catholic and Orthodox Churches

Jordanian Senator Michael Nazzal, who chairs the Tourism Committee in Jordan's upper house, visited the country's Evangelical Council on 11 May 2026 in what is being read as a corrective gesture. Evangelicals had been excluded from an earlier parliamentary meeting with Catholic and Orthodox church leaders regarding Jordan's 2030 millennium celebrations marking the anniversary of Jesus's baptism.

The Evangelical Council, founded in 2007 and currently led by retired Maj. Gen. Imad Ma'ayah, represents 57 churches across Jordan from Baptist, Evangelical Free, Assemblies of God, Nazarene, and Christian and Missionary Alliance denominations.

Why Jordanian Evangelicals Were Left Out and Why That Matters for Middle East Christianity

In gesture to evangelicals, Jordanian senator visits council left out of earlier meeting - Christian Daily International

"We hope that decision makers in Jordan will understand the value and importance of being open to all Christians and work with us as a bridge," Ma'ayah said. The Evangelical Council provides

educational, medical, humanitarian assistance, and prison ministry services across Jordan, often in partnership with state agencies that depend on church capacity.

The meeting took place at the Evangelical Free Church headquarters in the Khalda neighbourhood of Amman. Senator Nazzal's visit signals the kind of recognition Jordanian evangelicals have sought for nearly two decades. The exclusion from the original meeting reflects a wider Middle Eastern pattern where Catholic and Orthodox churches are recognised as historical communities while evangelical Protestants struggle for legal parity.

The Crusader's Opinion

Jordan is one of the more religiously tolerant countries in the Middle East, yet even there evangelical Protestants must fight for basic recognition. The 57 churches Maj. Gen. Ma'ayah represents are doing real Gospel work, prison ministry, medical aid, education, in one of the toughest mission fields on earth. Western evangelicals should pray for Jordanian believers, financially support their work, and demand that Western diplomats raise their religious freedom concerns. Senator Nazzal's gesture is a hopeful step. It must be followed by structural recognition.

Take Action

Donate: Middle East mission organisations like Frontiers and SAT 7
Pray: For Maj. Gen. Imad Ma'ayah and Jordan's 57 evangelical churches
Contact: Your senator urging support for Middle Eastern Protestant religious freedom
Read: The Christian Daily report on the Jordan Evangelical Council
Share: The Jordan story and pray for Middle East Christian unity

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