By Mkram Shahatit, Arabic Church Planter in California

Editor’s Note: Ashraf Sara, Arabic Church Planting Coordinator, serves Arabic-speaking people by helping pastors plant churches in America. He says this of the ministry in California: “In California, which contains the highest Arab population in America, Mkram and Claude Shahatit are planting a church in the Arab-concentrated city of El Cajon where the Arabic population represents the majority of the city’s total. The Shahatits are following Jesus’ example by going out to the community and meeting Arabic people. The community center they started is for teaching ESL and computer skills to improve the livelihood of the people there. Their efforts to live out the Great Commission by making disciples have resulted in planting Jesus Light of the World Arabic Church.”

The following is Brother Mkram Shahatit’s story and ministry update: 

I was born in Jordan in 1964 and raised in a Catholic family. I had heard the gospel 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.  

Call to Ministry

After three years of discipleship classes and Bible training, the Lord touched my heart and called me to serve, so I volunteered at an Arabic church in Chicago. In 1994, I met and married a  Christian lady in Beirut, Lebanon, and we have three children.

In 1995, we moved to San Diego and lived in El Cajon, California, where I served as assistant pastor for three churches in 17 years. Then God called us to plant a church in El Cajon: Meridian Arabic Church, and five years later our congregation was relocated and renamed Jesus Light of the World Church in El Cajon.

Reaching Refugees

One of the ways we serve the Arabic community is through the Family Welcome Center, which reaches out to refugees and shares the gospel. A team of volunteers from various churches connects with refugees to serve them. Since 2016, this ministry has offered free classes on ESL (English as a Second Language), computer and life skills, document translation, filling out paperwork, and other practical services. Volunteers conduct follow-up visits and remain in touch with those they have served.

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, but God recently called me to start a new ministry for refugees, especially Muslims, in El Cajon and the surrounding areas. God is shaking the nations, and people are leaving their homelands, causing an influx of thousands of refugee families from Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan, and Afghanistan. 

Newcomers to our church are invited to all events, which recently included summer outreach activities. We sponsored two Bible teaching events, including a four-day junior high event for ages 13 to 17 that included lunch, sharing the gospel, Bible teaching, games, and sports. There were 34 youth in attendance, and some decided to follow Christ. Also a VBS for ages five to twelve was attended by 50 children. We are excited for the open door we have in El Cajon to reach out to refugees and newcomers.

In addition, Jesus Light of the World Arabic Church has seen growth in its discipleship classes, kids and youth ministry, and ladies’ Bible study classes. Church members are involved in community outreach to newcomers and Muslims, but we just want to be used for God’s glory. We feel blessed to join and work with BMA Global and our BMA family.Please join us in prayer for our ministries to honor and glorify God and change the lives of Californians. Also, pray for the protection of children and youth and the word of God to be effective in children’s hearts. California public schools are fighting same sex marriage, and teaching children to change their gender. Please pray for our state and the future of our children.