There is one legendary, beloved city in the Holy Land that, for years, has been home to a faithful community of forgotten Christians. Today, more than ever, they are people who need our help.

Even though they are outnumbered two to one by Muslim residents, even though their story is largely unknown around the world, this small group of believers in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth represents one of the most urgent and strategic opportunities to not only keep the Gospel message alive but advance the Lord’s work throughout Nazareth, Israel and the entire Middle East.

The school is home to forgotten Arab Christians, believers whose families have lived in Palestine for centuries and who have remained in Nazareth and remained faithful to God through centuries of war, upheaval and ongoing persecution.

First, the good news: Nazareth Baptist School is the only evangelical K-12 school in Israel. Academically, it is one of top-rated schools in the entire country. Of its 1,000 students, 70 % are Christian, 30% Muslim. All students receive Bible teaching and attend chapel.

Every fall, Nazareth Baptist School has a waiting list of 100 children. One young, pregnant woman even registered her child before he was born, because she wanted the best possible school for her son.

Nazareth Baptist School is one of the strongest academic schools in Israel. By the time they graduate, all students are fluent in three languages – Arabic, Hebrew and English – and many go to earn advanced degrees at the country’s top universities.

Since its founding by Southern Baptist missionaries in 1949, hundreds of alumni have become influential teachers, doctors, attorneys, business leaders and parents in Nazareth and throughout Galilee. The school’s born-again graduates serve in key leadership positions in Campus Crusade, Child Evangelism Fellowship and the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel.

Thanks to its great reputation and ongoing impact, the school’s potential — and its needs — have never been greater.

The school has simply outgrown its small, aging campus on a busy corner in downtown Nazareth.

• Classrooms meant to hold 25 often have 35-40 learners.
• The auditorium has room for only 250 folding chairs. The entire student body has never met for worship in one place at one time on the campus, because there simply isn’t room.
• The teachers don’t have adequate space to prepare lessons.
• The only play areas for children are three cement courtyards.
• The school must rent space across the street for its primary students who must cross a busy four lane street every day.
  

Along with overcrowded, aging facilities, the school lives with a financial reality. In 1991, the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention recognized the school had become self-sufficient and ceased funding the school. This meant the school’s leadership had to be even more prudent and efficient with tuition fees and limited reimbursement from the Israeli government that cover the school’s year-to-year operational costs.

The school simply does not have the money for what’s needed to ensure its survival and train the next 50 years of Christian leaders, and that’s a new campus home.

Botrus Mansour, the school’s general director and a graduate of the school, says, “Our aging physical plant means we risk losing our appeal to local families who will look elsewhere to educate their children, and such declining enrollment would mean jeopardizing our educational and spiritual offerings.”

If Nazareth Baptist School is able to do so much with so little, imagine the extended impact they can have with the kind of modern school facilities our own children have known.If Nazareth Baptist School is to survive, it needs the vision, prayers and generosity of concerned Christians believers everywhere who can partner with the school and build a new campus needed to educate, train and raise up the next generation of Christ’s followers who can be God’s continuing hope and presence in the Middle East.

Pastors, churches and families throughout the U.S. have caught the vision. Building a new campus home for Nazareth Baptist School will cost $17 million. In just two months, Friends of Nazareth, the 501-c-3 non-profit organization for the campaign, has already received commitments of $150,000 toward an option to purchase the land.

School leaders have identified a prime piece of property in the northern part of Nazareth. The important work needed to purchase the land is underway. It is but a first step of a journey to recognize and support a community of forgotten Christians whose school means everything to them.

What is the cost of saying “No” to the young students, families and teachers who are doing everything possible to be God’s loving, reconciling presence in Jesus’ hometown and beyond?

When you consider all that Nazareth has given us, shouldn’t we give something back to Nazareth?

Seven things you can do – as an individual, church, or group – to tell others and help build a new campus home for Nazareth Baptist School: