The hills of Ajloun came alive this summer with the sound of the internationally renown Christian singer Lydia Shadid.

Instead of their regular conference program, music was the main focus of the annual Amman Baptist Church’s summer conference this year. Shadid a Syrian-Lebanese singer who now lives in the American state of Texas, mesmerized the 100 strong congregants with a mix of old and new gospel songs. Accompanied by Jordan’s leading pianist, Salam Omeish, Shadid’s strong voice featured popular songs (most written by Egyptian writers) as well as songs written and composed by local Jordanian and other Middle Eastern hymn writers.

Daoud Kuttab, Special for Come and See

Pope Benedict XVI has sought better ties between Christians and Muslims. But in Fuhays, Jordan, devotion to the land comes first.

"In 1950, Christians made up about 30% of the Jordanian population. That's dropped to less than 4% in this overwhelmingly Islamic nation where Jesus was baptized and Moses was buried."

By Jeffrey Fleishman, LA Times, May 10, 2009

In a strategic gathering of Middle Eastern, European and American Christian leaders, westerners were given an inside view of the Middle Eastern Church’s struggle in a war-torn land.

Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding’s (EMEU) Sounds of Hope II conference was held in Amman, Jordan on Oct. 15-18. It was a time for over 70 select individuals from various ministries to hear from 11 speakers with experience in the Middle East Church.

According to Dr. Ray Bakke, EMEU chair, the conference was held out of a concern that ignorance in the West was negatively influencing the worldwide Church. “We had people who are evangelical who thought that every Arab was a terrorist or a fat oil sheik,” he said.

Press Release by Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding, October 23, 2008

The government of Jordan has designated a plot of land for the Baptist World Alliance (BWA).


The offer was first made during a visit by BWA president David Coffey with Jordan’s King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein last September. The land is closely approximate to the region known as Bethany beyond Jordan, where it is believed that John the Baptist baptized Jesus Christ.

Baptist World Alleience Web site, June 4, 2008

Archaeologists in Jordan have unearthed what they claim is the world's first church, dating back almost 2,000 years, The Jordan Times reported on Tuesday.

"We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD," the head of Jordan's Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan, said.

Jordan has continued deporting foreign evangelical pastors, as the government last week admitted to expelling foreigners for “illegal” missionary activities.


Acting Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh told the Jordanian parliament on Wednesday (February 20) that authorities had expelled missionaries operating “under the cover of doing charitable work,” suggesting that evangelistic activity is illegal in Jordan.

A Church Council member said that an official from Jordan’s Foreign Ministry had approached the council, Jordan’s highest Christian body, requesting that it respond to accusations of increased pressure on foreign Christians printed in the January 29 Compass article.

Compass Direct News, Feb 26, 2008

The following is the statement issued by the “Council of Church Leaders in Jordan” regarding an article published on 29/1/2008 by the American News Agency, “Compass Direct News,” about Christians in Jordan. The press release was published in the Jordanian Embassy on the USA web site – and was later removed, but it is still widely distributed in the Jordanian press.

In this press release, Evangelical Churches are labeled as “groups” and not churches, for these groups “came under the guise of charitable organizations, and have started to call themselves as churches -which they are not – and to ask for the same rights that the Constitution stipulates for formal churches. They also have proselytized among Jordanians, in a manner that has given rise to religious animosity, disrespecting the freedom of conscience, and thus disturbing the relations between Christian and Muslim Jordanian citizens. In short, they have become a threat to public security”.

Special For Come and See, Feb 15, 2008

Jordan has increased pressure on foreign Christians living in the kingdom, expelling many long-time residents over the past 13 months in what local churches see as an attack on their legitimacy.

Authorities deported or refused residence permits to at least 27 expatriate Christian families and individuals in 2007, a number of them working with local churches or studying at a Christian seminary, Compass has confirmed.

In all but one case, officials refused to provide written explanations for the decisions. But many of those expelled told Compass that they had been questioned by intelligence officers regarding evangelism of Muslims.

by Peter Lamprecht, Compass Direct, Jan 29, 2008

Biblical history flows through the nation of Jordan, from the cave where Lot is said to have lived after his wife turned into a pillar of salt to the archaeological park where many believe John the Baptist baptized Jesus.

Abraham passed this way as he traveled from Mesopotamia to Canaan, and Moses climbed Mount Nebo to look out upon the Promised Land. In Jordan's northwest corner at Umm Qais, called Gadara in the New Testament, Jesus performed the miracle of the Gadarene swine. Near Amman is the legendary Cave of the Seven Sleepers, where legend holds that several persecuted Christian boys found shelter and slept there for 309 years.

By Cecile S. Holmes, July 7, 2006 - Religion News Service

Jordan's King Abdullah II, whose interfaith efforts over the past year impressed Catholics, Jews and Muslims alike, will have a supporting role at this year's National Prayer Breakfast, according to a key aide.

Although he would not be the first Muslim to speak at the annual event at the Washington Hilton, he will have a bigger role than his predecessors, said Joseph Lumbard, special adviser to the king for interfaith affairs.

By Julia Duin, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, January 9, 2006