Sixty-nine people from across the Middle East and North Africa gathered this month for a week of training and spiritual renewal under the theme “Bridge-Builders.”
The gathering was designed to empower young adults across the region to live out that calling where they study, work, and build relationships—serving as bridges to people and communities who may otherwise have little opportunity to encounter the gospel.
For the rest of the year, these young adults live and study among people who may never hear the gospel except through a friend. Their ministry unfolds as they manage daily stressors, navigate difficult conversations, and care for those around them.
Training centered on contextualization — understanding how to live out faith authentically within each new cultural setting, learning to relate and communicate without losing what is essential to who they are. A second focus was emotional awareness: recognizing and working through one's own emotions and learning to notice what a friend might be carrying beneath the surface.
Several described negotiating exam schedules around the Sabbath and explaining their faith to skeptical professors. One watched a curious roommate become a close friend simply by sticking around.
Friendships like these are rarely the end of the story. In each area, these young adults are part of a larger team of believers, which allows them to connect people they meet in everyday life with others who can continue the conversation and, in time, with a wider community of faith.