Stories From The (Mission) Field
Scroll down to read our Partner Updates, Trips Blog, and our Outreach Stories
The 2025–2026 academic year at San Pablo Presbyterian Theological Seminary was marked by change, enhanced global partnerships, and sending more servants into the field. The seminary, based in Mérida, Yucatán, continues to train theology students from 20 Mexican states, as well as Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Chile, and Colombia. Many students are fluent in Mayan, reflecting the seminary’s deep connection to indigenous communities in southern México and Central America.
Some of the most meaningful conversations begin with an honest question.
That was true this summer when Near East School of Theology (NEST) welcomed AfterDark, the college and young adult ministry of nearby Resurrection Church, to its campus for an “Ask a PhD Anything” event.
The program brought dozens of young people between the ages of 18 and 22, ranging from “seekers” and young believers to more mature Christian youths of the church, to the NEST campus in the heart of Beirut, Lebanon.
The invitation was simple: ask any question. Nothing was off limits.
It’s already been a busy summer for the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL).
In addition to the ongoing support for its 40 congregations, NESSL, alongside the Committee on Religious and Spiritual Affairs, hosted two camps for youth and children, with several more to come this summer.
Each camp brings together young people from across the Synod, Syrian and Lebanese alike. Located in the mountains at the Synod’s historical retreat center in Dhour Shweir, Lebanon (about 25 minutes from the Synod’s offices in Beirut), the camp offers a chance to get away from the realities of daily life.
While in Türkiye, Doug Stewart, trip leader and an Associate Director for Mission at The Outreach Foundation, took a few moments with Caroline Krause, Missions Director at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, TX to discuss her experience at the conferences with our Persian Diaspora partners. She tells us her favorite part of leading one of the conference workshops for the group.
The Outreach Foundation is traveling in Türkiye this week! It's a region steeped in Biblical history. Our travelers have been busy on this trip making connections with believers on the other side of the world. Team members spent several days at a gathering with several of our Persian Diaspora partners and learning about their experiences being faithful even in the face of persecution.
UN experts* today condemned the confiscation of the compound of St Peter’s Evangelical Church in Tehran and the eviction of the 27 members of the country’s recognised Armenian and Assyrian Christian minorities who lived within it.
“Twenty families, most of whom are low income, long-standing residents of the compound, were reportedly given just two weeks to leave their homes. The church’s leaders were threatened with arrest if they failed to comply. The final resident left on 12 July, prompting fears that the complex may be demolished,” the experts said.
After conversations with a few of our Iranian mission partners during the recent ceasefire, we are humbled to share a few key messages from our brothers and sisters in Christ. The examples shared here are a small sampling of the ways the light of the Lord is shining in the dark and challenging circumstances that arise during times of global conflict.
Nowruz is a much-anticipated holiday, marking the New Year on the Iranian calendar. It is celebrated annually in the spring, coinciding with a time of rebirth. This past weekend, March 20-22, Iranians inside an anxious and war-torn country expressed the common greetings, "Nowruz Mubarak!" (Happy Nowruz) and "Nowruzetoon Pirooz" (May your New Year be victorious), with an array of mixed emotions.
North Carolina pastor Nick Nielson reflects on how the two week journey through Türkiye with The Outreach Foundation impacted him, and how he will bring what he learned back to his congregation.