Because of one man’s vision to take the gospel to the nation’s Arabic population, more than 100 Arabic men, women, and children attended the Southeast Arabic Conference Sept. 2-5 at White Oak Conference Center.
At the conference, five participants made professions of faith.
More than 100 Arabic men, women, and children attended the Southeast Arabic Conference Sept. 2-5 at White Oak Conference Center.Zohair “Steve” Hanna, 58, was born and raised in Egypt, where he was part of the traditional Christian community representing less than 10 percent of the predominantly Muslim population. But, he said, words like Christian and Muslim can be more cultural than religious.
“I was not a Muslim, but we still practiced Muslim cultural traditions [in] how we treated women, for example,” he said. “I was a traditional Christian in name only.”
In 1982, after a long personal struggle to understand and surrender to the gospel, Hanna made his own commitment to Jesus.
“I knew that I had been lying all my life, thinking I was a Christian, but not having the Lord in my life,” he said. “I even went to jail as a college student for standing against Christian persecution. But when I accepted Jesus, realizing that I needed Jesus, I fully understood.”
As a new believer, Hanna said he turned away from everything Arabic, but “the Lord put a burden on my heart to reach my own people with the gospel.” It was a burden shared by his wife, Sahar, “Sue.” The burden led him to the United States, where he has ministered to the Arabic community and helped people to love Muslims but repudiate Islam.
In 1994, he worked in Atlanta helping prepare Christian organizations for street evangelism during the 1996 Summer Olympics. In 1995, he formed The Living Faith Ministry, which includes outreach to the Arabic community in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. His ministry has led him to publish faith magazines in Arabic and English. Ordained to the gospel ministry in 2000, Hanna formed The Open Doors Ministry as an outreach to the Arabic community in Georgia.
In 2011, he started Bible studies for Arabs in Greenville, Atlanta, and North Carolina. He is pastor of Arabic Baptist Church of South Carolina, which has weekly services at Brushy Creek Baptist Church, Taylors, and First Baptist Church of Mauldin. As his ministry expanded, he began to have the idea of an annual conference over Labor Day weekend.
“Many Arabs won’t come to the church services, so we began having social events in our home. They came to those,” he said. “So, we began thinking about the idea for a conference and retreat where we could simply say, ‘Come, get away and make new friends.’ We advertised that people would hear the gospel message.”
“The Lord began telling me that he wanted it larger than just the Greenville area,” Hanna said. “God wanted this to expand to other states, too. I got on the telephone and started calling Arabic churches in other states, and pastors said, ‘Yes, that’s a great idea – and we will come.’ “
At the Labor Day event, about 100 attended from five churches in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia. The conference included worship but also lots of free time for building relationships. Not everyone attending the event was a believer.
Pastor Wissam Khalaf, a native of Lebanon, was the conference speaker and, Hanna said, “delivered the word of God with conviction bringing the good news for everyone to hear.” Special music was presented by pastor Raymond Massad and pastor Hany Asaad.
Plans are for the conference to become an annual event.
Marcos Elizondo, director of the multiethnic group of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, said, “Steve has a heart for his people, and he came to the United States to reach them.”
“Some of those attending the conference were not Christians, but they came because of the culture,” he said. “At the conference, they were able to experience worship, small group discussions, and fellowship with one another.”
Elizondo said the state’s Arabic community is growing, and Hanna said it will continue to grow as the state and nation become even more multiethnic.
“The Arabic churches are in place and more will be planted,” Hanna said. “Through churches and conferences, people can be nurtured in the gospel and evangelism can take place.” – SCBC