Five Mission Agencies Church Planting Among the Unreached of the Middle East

Feeling called to serve among the unreached in the Middle East? You will want to consider the following five mission agencies church planting among the unreached of the Middle East.

Unreached of the Middle East – who are they?

According to the Joshua Project, “An unreached or least-reached people is a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group without outside assistance.”

The Middle East is understood to include 18 countries: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria), Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

A number of these countries are Muslim-majority nations, meaning that more than 50% of the people are Muslims.

Creative Access Countries – Many of the countries in the Middle East are considered to be “creative access countries” which means that you cannot enter them on a traditional missionary visa. Some people call these countries “closed countries,” however we believe that NO country is closed to the Gospel of Jesus. They may be closed to our methods or our nationalities but they can never keep the Good News of Jesus out. For those looking to move to the Middle East, you may need to consider using another way to access the country like business as mission, NGO work, education or even retirement.

Five Mission Agencies to Consider

There are many different mission agencies that work among the unreached of the Middle East. We have compiled a list of five well-known agencies that we partner with at The Mission App. This list is not in any particular order but each of these agencies does excellent work. Using the Agency Finder Tool you can find many more missions focused on the Middle East.

Send International

“The unreached live in difficult places to reach, both physically and spiritually. To touch them we must trust Jesus to guide and sustain, be creative to find open doors, and be considerate of other ways of living.”

SEND are looking for team members to do Muslim ministries, church planting, and creative arts for mid-term and long-term commitments.

SEND Middle East hope to “communicate a culturally relevant biblical message in the heart language of Muslim people in the Middle East.”

“WorldVenture is a Global Missions agency that is engaging the world for Gospel Impact. It is our vision to see people of all nations transformed by Jesus Christ through partnership with His church.”

WorldVenture are looking for people who are willing to learn Arabic and become immersed in Middle Eastern culture.
They have various placements in Jordan and Lebanon.

Find out more about WorldVenture

“With love and respect, Frontiers is inviting all Muslim peoples to follow Jesus. We seek to fulfil the Great Commission by recruiting, training, and sending church planting teams to make disciples in the least-reached places of the Muslim world.”

According to Frontiers, “Spiritual transformations within this region carry the potential to ripple into Muslim communities across the globe… Once seen as an impenetrable Islamic stronghold, the Middle East is now home to several growing movements of faith in Christ.”

Frontiers have opportunities in many different fields to do business as mission.

Find out more about Frontiers

World Team

“World Team USA is part of a global, non-denominational mission agency that equips and sends church planting teams to serve unreached people groups.”

According to their website, they believe “Church planting is a marathon, not a sprint. We invest in prayerful research and team training before beginning each new field ministry.”

They have plenty of opportunities in the Middle East, including Business as Mission, Sports Ministry, University Ministry and more.

Find out more about World Team

One Challenge

“We serve, equip, and connect the body of Christ to transform lives, communities, and nations.”

If you are looking for a placement, “One Challenge is involved in Missions Mobilization, Church Planting & Growth, Education, Holistic Ministry, Leadership Development, Member Care, Partnering & Bridge Building, Research, Sports Ministries, as well as Business for Transformation.”

Visit their website to read Dreams in the Medina–a coming of age story of Syrian women, A New Evangelism in the Arab World, and other articles about working in the Middle East.

Find out more about One Challenge

SIM

SIM is an international mission organisation with more than 4,000 workers serving in more than 70 countries.

Their vision for the Middle East: “Obeying God’s call and trusting Him, we encourage Christians in the Middle East to continue ministering to their neighbours with the love and truth of Christ, we support local ministry and discipleship initiatives, model vibrant Christian faith and mobilise the worldwide church to pray for the region.”

Specific ministry placements are usually made after developing relationships, language learning, and making connections with local church and ministries.

Find out more about SIM

Christar

“We seek to glorify God by establishing reproducing fellowships of believers among the least-reached: those who have little or no access to a church that presents the gospel in their language or worships in a way that’s relevant in their culture.”

They have mid- and long-term service opportunities in the Middle East.

Learn how two young men taught the bible in a Muslim community in their article, Supporting the Spread of the Gospel a Half a World Away.

Learn more about Christar

Is God calling you to the unreached of the Middle East?

If this is your heart, please take the next step and complete our mission application. We can then connect you with these mission agencies who work among the unreached in the Middle East.

Don’t wait! “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few”