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What is MECO?

MECO stands for Middle East Christian Outreach.  It was

formed in 1976 as a merger of three missionary societies - Arabic Literature

Mission, Lebanon Evangelical Mission and Middle East General Mission. All

had been serving in the Arab Middle East for many years. When we merged,

Stanway was already supporting The Lebanon Evangelical Mission which began

in 1860.

What is your vision?

We want to see God glorified through a healthy and growing Church in the

Arab Middle East. In most areas of our service, Middle Eastern believers are

better placed to reach out than we are. We have the privilege of working

alongside them and encouraging them in their witness and ministry. Where

there isn¹t a Church we seek to live and witness, with the goal of seeing a

national Church establish.

What do MECO members do?

They set out to encourage and enable Middle Eastern churches in effective

local and cross-cultural mission through prayer, friendship, training,

development, fostering, church planting, support and service. In practice

this means working alongside and under national Believers in a mixture of

teaching in Bible colleges and schools, helping in literature production and

distribution, enabling the production of nationally produced Christian

videos, rehabilitation and development ministries, being members of local

churches, friendship evangelism and by whatever means possible.

It seems to me that you need people who will settle in the MIddle East and

yet it is a dangerous place, isn¹t it?

Yes, we do need people who will spend their first two years¹ service in the

Middle East learning Arabic (or another language) and the culture, so that

they can share their faith. When we merged in 1976 only one of the 21

missionaries in Lebanon was a short termer. Now most people are offering for

short term service and not for ³life². This means they are not able to give

time to absorb the language and culture.  The Middle East is an area of

tension and we have to be sure people who join us are really called by God

and have that inner conviction to fall back on when the going gets tough. We

would ask prayer that more people will apply for long term service.

Can you give me some examples of what God is doing through MECO members in

the Middle East today?

In Northern Iraq we have members serving the Kurds through literacy,

rehabilitation and helping in micro business schemes. They are also enabling

the Arab Church in another Middle East country to send missionaries to work

with us there.  It is difficult to get permission to enter the area and it

can be dangerous, but the real excitement is that a national Church has been

planted and it is witnessing and growing. The Bible is being translated into

the local language and this means people see it is for them and not

something foreign to their culture.  In Egypt we have members helping in a

project run by the national Church to teach people to witness and train them

in skills such as hairdressing. Then they are sent into villages where there

is no witnessing church. Throughout the Arab Middle East we have teachers in

Bible colleges and schools, medics serving and training others in hospitals,

primary health care and rehabilitation projects. Other are involved in

helping refugees, encouraging the production and distribution of Christian

literature and videos and serving in administration and pastoral care.

How can we get involved?

Eric, we are so thankful and grateful for your prayers and gifts, which

enable us to serve.  We dare not allow people to go out unless we are

assured there are dedicated prayer partners standing with them.  Praying is

not a glamorous service but it is vital. We cannot always share specific

news of how God is working as we must not bring unwelcome attention on

national believers.  We can link those who will commit themselves to pray

with individual missionaries and send them our magazine and confidential

prayer letter; perhaps anyone interested could give their names to you.

There are some leaflets at church to help them find out more and John

Carrick, our UK Director, is looking forward to sharing fellowship with you

on Sunday 19th January.

We firmly believe the only answer to the problem of the Middle East  is

Jesus Christ and we need your continued help.

More information is available from the web site http://www.aboutmeco.org