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If the conflict has provided any benefit, it has offered Christians a fresh chance to bring about lasting change. Baptist coordinator Costa said overseas Christians provided $130,000 to aid local relief efforts for Lebanon's displaced, while evangelicals in neighboring Jordan nearly matched that amount.

Nabil Shehadeh, who manages the Jordanian Evangelical Committee for Relief and Development, said the aid, which was raised by the Assemblies of God and other evangelical churches, was disbursed among six evangelical churches in Lebanon. "This aid was not meant only for Christians. It helped those displaced from the south, mainly Shiites. We want to minister to all these people," Shehadeh said.

Schneller School director Kassis pledged that Lebanese Christians would carry on their witness despite the difficulties.

"The psalmist writes: 'If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?' [Psalm 11:3]. My response to him is: The righteous do not lose hope," Kassis said. "The righteous will rebuild the foundations again. The righteous will work hard to let the displaced feel at home even away from home. The righteous will continue to build a destroyed nation and to uplift the broken souls. We will build the foundations of Lebanon again.

"By God's grace we will have, in the near future, a sweet, sweet home for every Lebanese!"

Journalist Dale Gavlak is based in Amman, Jordan.

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Christianity Today's full coverage of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict includes several articles by Christians in the region.

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October 2006, Vol. 50, No. 10