Alaa startled awake, his mind replaying his vivid dream of a man on a cross. With burning conviction, he decided: I must follow Jesus.
Alaa had been born into a clan in a Syrian village with no evangelical presence. As a young man, he met an influential attorney. The man’s power and prestige inspired Alaa to attend law school. During his studies, the Islamic State (IS) capitalized upon Syria’s ongoing civil war to seize control of his region.
IS militants arrested Alaa. In prison, he endured not only abuse at the hands of his captors but repeated bombings by rival factions. IS officials demanded that Alaa stop studying law, which they viewed as heretical under Islamic Sharia law. They tortured him until he acquiesced. Once released, injured and traumatized, he fled to neighboring Lebanon with his brothers.
In Lebanon, Alaa was visited by Jehovah’s Witnesses. They told him for the first time about the Bible and that Jesus was more than the prophet that Islam claimed him to be. Their words angered Alaa, adding to his rage toward fellow Muslims who had treated him cruelly. He desired to know for himself what was true. As he researched the Bible, another man, pointing to certain texts in the Qur’an, challenged him to consider the biblical Jesus. Alaa’s anger and confusion grew. He begged God to show him the truth.
Soon after, Alaa dreamed he was being chased between two crowds of people. Before him rose Jesus on the cross. Alaa ran toward him, shouting, “Help me!” As Jesus embraced him, the crowd shouted a word Alaa had never heard: “Hallelujah!”
Alaa awoke convinced that the gospel he had read in the Bible was true, and he began following Jesus. When he told his family, they beat him and screamed at him until he escaped barefoot out the door.
For the next year and a half, Alaa lived on the street. Providentially, he met ABWE Live Global partner Aquila. Aquila invited Alaa to the Desert Training Center in 2017, a three-month mobile course he founded to train national believers. Aquila, alongside Live Global missionaries and pastors from the US, teaches modules on theology and ministry, after which students complete internships. More than 60 graduates now serve throughout the Middle East and Africa.
“Aquila trained and mentored Alaa and saw he is incredibly bold for the gospel,” said Junia, a Live Global director.
Alaa, now a Live Global partner, reaches other Syrians affected by the 13-year war that displaced 12 million. In 2021, he opened a refugee family center in Lebanon to provide children’s educational classes, women’s sewing and literacy courses, and men’s groups.
“Connections lead to trust, which leads to sharing the gospel,” explained Junia.
At a second center in Syria, Alaa shares Christ’s hope with those ravaged by war and disciples believers often isolated or persecuted for their faith.
“Sometimes I believe that our ministry is the only source of hope and joy for them amidst all the uncertainties and troubles,” he shared, noting, “God’s mission will not stop.”
Editor’s Note: Names have been changed for security.
