Middle East

Lebanese Seminary Shelters 170 Refugees as 800,000 Flee Israeli Strikes: ABTS President Begs Global Church to Pray

ABTS president Wissam Nasrallah calls global Christians to pray as seminary shelters 170 displaced amid Lebanon conflict that has killed 687.

Michael Ringer

Michael Ringer

— 3 min read
Arab Baptist Theological Seminary holds community chapel worship for internally displaced refugees from the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon

Arab Baptist Seminary President Urges Worldwide Prayer as Lebanon Crisis Displaces 800,000

The president of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary (ABTS) near Beirut has issued an urgent call to the global church, asking Christians everywhere to pray for Lebanon and the wider Middle East as renewed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah devastates the country.

In a letter dated March 10, Wissam Nasrallah described the weight of the crisis facing the Lebanese people, writing that the situation demands "restraint, real peace and mercy upon this land." He urged believers worldwide to intercede for displaced families and Christian ministries responding on the ground.

Since March 2, when Israel launched an offensive against Hezbollah positions following rocket attacks, Lebanon's public health ministry reports at least 687 people killed and 1,774 injured. Approximately 800,000 residents have been displaced from southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut's southern suburbs.

What good is salt if it stays in the salt container? It will become sticky and full of humidity. Salt needs to be outside the salt container.

Nasrallah, who has led ABTS since October 2025, emphasized that the seminary's response reflects the heart of the Gospel. The campus, founded in the late 1950s by Southern Baptist missionaries in the hills overlooking Beirut, is currently sheltering approximately 170 internally displaced persons, including members of The Baptist Church in Deir Mimas near the Lebanon Israel border.

ABTS continues educating its 250 enrolled students through online courses while simultaneously providing shelter, food, and basic necessities to refugees. Community chapel services offer Gospel encouragement to both Christians and non believers seeking refuge on the campus.

Lebanon's population of 4 million includes roughly 1.2 million Christians (30 percent) and about 40,000 evangelicals. Partner ministries are coordinating meal assistance and emergency relief through the seminary.

ABTS Lebanon Opens Doors to Displaced Families Amid Israeli Strikes and Hezbollah Conflict

Meals for displaced people being prepared in the kitchen of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary near Beirut, Lebanon

The United Nations has warned of a widening crisis, with Israeli blanket evacuation orders covering hundreds of villages across southern Lebanon and the entirety of Beirut's southern suburbs. Hundreds of shelters are now overcrowded, with inadequate sanitation and insufficient essential supplies.

A double tap Israeli strike on the Ramlet al Baida beachfront on March 12 killed at least 12 displaced civilians who had been sleeping in tents, believing the seafront area was safe. The escalation has prompted Pope Leo XIV to call for continued prayers for peace in Iran and throughout the Middle East.

The Crusader's Opinion

While the world's cameras focus on geopolitics and missile trajectories, a small seminary on a hillside outside Beirut quietly opened its doors and became the hands and feet of Christ. That is the Church at work. Lebanese Christians make up 30 percent of that country's population, and their evangelical brothers and sisters number just 40,000 in a land torn apart by powers far larger than themselves. They did not flee. They stayed, cooked meals, opened chapels, and pointed people to the Cross. This is what Christian witness looks like when it costs something. The global church should not merely admire this from a distance. Pray, give, and demand that Western leaders push for a ceasefire that protects the innocent.

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