Prayer Focus—Syria

Every month, Adventist Review and the Office of Adventist Mission highlight one of the world’s most unreached countries and invite readers to pray for its people. After featuring Iran and Afghanistan, we now turn to Syria, the third most unreached nation in the world.—Editors.

Seventh-day Adventist work in Syria began in 1893 when a small group in Aleppo accepted the Adventist message during a visit by Zadour G. Baharian, an Adventist pioneer working in nearby Türkiye (then called the Ottoman Empire).[*] During the following decades missionaries, literature evangelists, and Syrian believers quietly carried the gospel from village to village. Churches, schools, and Voice of Prophecy ministries were established, and by the 1960s the church had several organized congregations and a ministry center in Damascus.

The work, however, repeatedly faced severe restrictions. In 1951 the Syrian government revoked the church’s official recognition, closed churches and schools, confiscated literature, and imprisoned some members because of misunderstandings surrounding Adventist beliefs and pacifism. Even so, believers continued witnessing through personal relationships, health outreach, literature ministry, and faithful Sabbath observance.

By the 1970s increasing government opposition brought organized Adventist work to a halt. Churches and institutions were closed, members faced continued harassment and imprisonment, and the Damascus Center was eventually closed. There are no publicly operating Seventh-day Adventist churches in Syria today, and any believers who remain are thought to worship privately.

Yet the witness has not disappeared. Although the church continues to face major restrictions inside Syria, many Syrian refugees have encountered Adventist churches and centers of influence around the world. As a result more Syrians have come into contact with the Adventist message through the global diaspora than ever before. Church members continue praying for the day when Adventists may once again minister freely within Syria.

Please pray for the people of Syria, for those who quietly follow Christ despite difficult circumstances, and for opportunities to share the everlasting gospel throughout the country.

Explore the Map

We invite you to explore an interactive map of Syria, provided by the Joshua Project, and join believers around the world in praying for its unreached people groups. Each gray dot represents a community that has yet to hear the gospel. Click on a dot to learn about that people group and pray for them. As your prayer is offered, the dot will light up. Together, let’s fill the map with prayers for the people of Syria.

[*] For additional information on Adventist mission work in Syria, see Gabriel Katrib and Melanie Riches Wixwat, “Syria,” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=9E01.