The Cedar Legacy Endowment, when fully funded, will provide the necessary resources to operate the Middle East Center for Justice and Missions, an outreach ministry of Heart for Lebanon.
The objectives of the Middle East Center for Justice and Missions are:
- Look at peace, justice, and reconciliation from a Biblical perspective.
- Learn how to engage matters resulting from injustice through a biblical missional approach.
- Learn how to engage the unjust world with a Biblical message of peace and reconciliation.
- Counter injustice by raising Missional Leaders after God’s own heart.
- Help the Western Church understand the complex issues of justice in the Middle East and all the humanitarian crises that result from the lack of justice. This understanding can not only be seen from a political, socio-economic lens, but rather, it needs to be looked at from a Biblical, spiritual, and missional lens as well.
- Help the Middle Eastern Church understand the biblical foundations of humanitarian work; not only to feed, heal, and shelter people, but to also present them with an all-encompassing Christ-like compassionate mission that engages poverty/injustice at the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual levels.
- Encourage the Western and Middle Eastern Churches to be proactive in raising awareness and work on matters pertaining to God’s mandate to love our neighbor, preach the Gospel, and care for the poor while at the same time addressing the issues of injustice.
- Encourage the body of Christ to work together, collaborate and share best practices to effectively address the issues of injustice in a Gospel centered way.
Three ministry components that this Center will provide:
- Missional Leadership training
- Equip missional leaders after God’s own heart
- Explore missional opportunities with students called to serve in Lebanon and/or the Middle East region
- Train locals and refugees who have been discipled by Heart for Lebanon to help them build their own ministry of justice and mission among their circles of influence
- Institute for Outreach and Discipleship
- Internship program with educational and hands-on experience
- Overview of Middle Eastern cultures, politics and religious complexities
- Seminars on Justice, reconciliation and missions in Western churches
- Hosting roundtables of practitioners and educators from complimentary organizations to learn, innovate and establish best practices; functioning as both a think tank and a laboratory for new ministry approaches and models focusing on justice and missions.
- Missional Service Teams from Western churches
- Connecting Western churches to Hope Evangelical Churches in Lebanon
- Service Teams working alongside Heart for Lebanon ministry teams
- Vision Teams seeking to learn more about ministry opportunities in Lebanon
- Hosting teams with specialized skills to enhance ministry offerings at Heart for Lebanon
- Staff capacity building
This Center will serve:
- Lebanese and Middle Eastern young adults
- Partner churches
- Selected Heart for Lebanon beneficiaries
- Students from colleges and universities in the West
- Young adults from US and Europe with a desire to be advocates of justice, reconciliation, and missions in the world.
Thank you so much for helping us “Make Disciples” by praying and investing in our Cedar Legacy Endowment Fund.
Tom Atema, Co-Founder
+ 1 (828) 712-7968
tom.atema@heartforlebanon.org
