From Jordan to America to the World

“In California, which contains the highest Arab population in America, we are planting in the Arab-concentrated city of El Cajon where the Arabic population represents the majority of the total population of 102,000. Brother Mkram and his wife Claude are following the example of Jesus by going out to the community and meeting Arabic people from all walks of life. They’re meeting their needs through a community center they started on Main Street to teach ESL and computer skills. Their efforts in living the Great Commission by making disciples have resulted  in Jesus Light of the World Arabic Church.”

Ashraf Sara, Arabic Church Planting Coordinator 

The following is Brother Mkram Shahatit’s story: 

I was born in Jordan in 1964 and raised in a Catholic family. I had heard the gospel through my youngest brother at a church in Amman, Jordan, but didn’t know Christ until I came to the States in 1987. I was living and working at a supermarket in an African-American area of Chicago when a kind Christian lady who shopped there every two weeks began telling me that Jesus loved me and had a plan for my life. For months, I listened to her and didn’t believe I could be saved, but finally I accepted the Lord as Savior then baptized.  

Then, I took discipleship classes and Bible training for three years. The Lord touched my heart and called me to serve him, so I volunteered at the Arabic church in Chicago. In 1994, I met and married a Lebanese Christian lady who was a member of Alliance Church in Beirut, Lebanon. The Lord has blessed us with three children: Timothy, Ruth, and Nathan.

Call to Ministry

In 1995, my family and I moved to San Diego and lived in El Cajon, California, where I served as an assistant pastor for three different churches in seventeen years. Then I felt an insistent call from the Lord to start a new church in El Cajon: Meridian Arabic Church. In 2014, I was ordained and licensed. In 2019, our congregation was relocated to Bostonian First Baptist Church under the name Jesus Light of the World Church in El Cajon.

Reaching Refugees

Family Welcome Center is a great opportunity to reach out to refugees and share the gospel with them. It is a place where a great team of volunteers from different churches connect with refugees to serve them. As of May 2016, this ministry started offering free classes including ESL (English as a Second Language), computer and life skills. The center also provides translation of documents, paper work, and other practical services. All those we serve will be followed up by home visits.

We have outreach events every year at Christmas and Thanksgiving, plus a Fall Festival in October. There are also back-to-school, VBS, and Kids Club ministries for children.

Ministry in El Cajon

Besides serving the Lord as senior pastor at Jesus Light of the World Church, in 2016 the Lord called me to start a new ministry for refugees, especially Muslims, in El Cajon and the surrounding areas. I feel that  God is shaking the nations and causing people to leave their homelands to live in new countries. In the past six years, the Lord has brought thousands of families as refugees from Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan, and Afghanistan to El Cajon and the surrounding areas.

You and your church can partner with us at 619-339-9235 or email Mkram5@hotmail.com