March

Aug 28, 2020 by LMAsia

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is located in Western Asia at the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Saudi Arabia to the south and west and Oman to the east. UAE consists of 7 emirates/states with a total population of 9.8 million, of which 11.48% are locals and 88.52% expatriates from around 200 countries. Standard Arabic is the official language used; however, as a result of the high immigration rate, other foreign languages such as English, Hindi, Farsi, Urdu, and Malayalam are often spoken in the country. The Christian population is 0.88 million, roughly 9% of the total population. Open preaching of faith other than Islam is prohibited. But Christian denominations and free groups are allowed to gather for worship in government-designated areas.

In spite of the limitations in the environment, the saints rejoice in the Lord, growing in life and function, and faithfully practicing the God-ordained way. The first church was raised up in Abu Dhabi in 1995. Since then through the work of the Spirit and the migration of the saints, the Lord raised up churches in Sharjah, Al Ain, Dubai, Ajman, Ruwais and Fujairah successively. Currently there are 393 saints in the churches in UAE, with 279 meeting regularly during the week. As the number of families in the churches increases, the number of children has proportionally increased as well. The brothers have felt the need to start the work among the children and young people in a more solid way and with the coordination of all the churches. There has been a positive response from the saints to join the service in coordination.

The combined Lord’s Table meeting of the churches is held quarterly while the International Blending Conference (IBC) is held every three years. In 2019 the IBC was held in Dubai from Nov. 29-30. A total of 305 saints from the churches in UAE, the neighboring GCC countries (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain), and other countries such as the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Lebanon, Hong Kong, and USA attended.

The subject of the conference was “The One New Man Fulfilling God’s Purpose in Creating Man”. The messages showed us that the eternal purpose of God is to have a corporate man to express Him and represent Him; this was God’s purpose in creating man. On the cross Christ created the one new man while terminating the old man and all the negative things in the universe. The goal of the Lord’s recovery is to bring forth the one new man. For the practical existence of the one new man, we need to take Christ as our person and our old person must be put away. We also need to have genuine prayers which respond to Christ’s heavenly ministry. Moreover, there is a desperate need for us to be the stewards of the grace of God to dispense God into man, so that we may practice the church life in the consciousness of the new man.

During the time of sharing, the saints enthusiastically responded to the burden of the messages. A time was also given for each locality of UAE and the countries of GCC to give a presentation on how the churches are progressing in carrying out the God-ordained way. The saints then prayed for each locality and country. Many saints testified after the conference that their view concerning the Lord’s move on earth was broadened. Everyone was strengthened and encouraged.

Prayer burdens:
1. Pray for the raising up of the churches in the remaining 2 Emirates (Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah), which do have any churches.

2. Pray for the proper aggressiveness of the churches in practicing the new way.

3. Pray for the forming of more districts in the churches to intensify the shepherding and perfecting work.

4. Pray for a proper direction in the work among the children and young people.