Al-Suwayda is being wiped out. This is not a metaphor. Civilians are being slaughtered in the streets, homes are being deliberately burned to the ground, bodies lie on the roads and inside houses, and families are displaced and sleeping in the open.
In the last 7 days, at least 800 people have been killed in Suwayda. The violent clashes have escalated into what many locals now describe as a campaign of sectarian cleansing against the Druze community. This violence, carried out by Sunni tribal militias, reportedly with support or complicity from the transitional Syrian government, has resulted in dozens of civilian deaths, widespread fear, and the displacement of hundreds of families.
And heartbreakingly, the Church has not been spared from the violence. The fears voiced by Christian communities in surrounding regions—warnings that the brutality in Suweyda might soon reach their own doorsteps—became a devastating reality this past week when Pastor Khaled Mezher, a beloved brother and shepherd of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Church in Suweyda, was martyred for his faith along with his wife, his parents, and more than twenty members of his extended family. They were mercilessly killed.
Once a Druze, Pastor Khaled surrendered his life to Christ and served his community with unwavering devotion, proclaiming the Gospel amid deep opposition and persecution. He and his family stood as beacons of light in a landscape growing darker with each passing day. Now, they rest in the presence of the Lord—the One they followed with faith, courage, and grace.
The church in Suweyda is now scattered; many believers are unaccounted for. The surviving members are enduring unimaginable suffering—cut off from food, water, electricity, internet, and hope for safety, despite the so-called “ceasefire” declared by a new regime.
We urgently plead with you, our family in Christ, to lift your voices in prayer. May the Lord, who is near to the broken-hearted, rise up as our refuge and strength. Let us stand together as one Body, crying out for His mercy and deliverance over Suweyda and all our brothers and sisters in Syria.
THE CHOICE BETWEEN VICTIMHOOD OR VICTORY
Our dia-LOGOS correspondent in Lebanon provided the following perspective:
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:21
In a world that often turns away from suffering, where leaders remain silent and many choose comfort over confrontation, Christians are called to walk a different path, a narrow road marked by faith, compassion, and courage. While the world watches from a distance, sometimes ignoring the cries of the broken, we cannot be silent. We do not close our eyes to pain or fold our hands in fear. Instead, we lift our hands in prayer and stretch them out in love.
“Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” – 1 John 3:18
The world may see division, fear, and despair as reasons to turn inward, to build walls, to protect only their own. But as followers of Christ, we see in these very things a call to action – a sacred invitation to bring light where there is darkness and love where there is hate.
Where the world hesitates, we serve.
Where others grow numb, we remain tender-hearted.
Where many choose silence, we pray not in whispers, but with boldness.
Where others see only danger, we see opportunity to show mercy.
We act not because it is easy but because it is holy. Our faith demands more than belief; it calls us to live out the Gospel in our bodies, in our words, in our presence.
“What you did for the least of these; you did for me.” – Matthew 25:40
It asks us to be the hands and feet of Jesus, especially in places torn by violence and fear. It calls us to walk with the wounded, to stand with the forgotten, and to bring comfort where there is grief. At our church, this calling is not just an idea it is a daily reality. Our community is small, but it holds the beauty of diversity: Sunni, Shia, Alawite, Christian, Druze, all gathered not around politics or tribes, but around the cross.
“For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier.” – Ephesians 2:14 In a world that divides, we come together not as enemies, not even as strangers, but as brothers and sisters. We believe Christ’s love breaks every barrier. We have seen it do so. Yes, we are afraid too. Like the disciples huddled behind locked doors, we feel the weight of uncertainty, the fear of violence, the threats that surround us in Lebanon, in Syria, in the very places where we serve.
“On the evening of that first day… Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” – John 20:19
And so, we go on not because we are fearless, but because He is with us.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” – Psalm 23:4
We pray daily for peace, healing, and protection for every person regardless of religion, ethnicity, or background. We do not ask who they are before we serve; we simply serve because Jesus did. We know we cannot fix every wound or end every war. But we also know this: in every act of love, in every prayer lifted, in every meal shared and door opened the Kingdom of God breaks in.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:5
Though the world seems silent, we will not be. We will not turn away. We are here to love, to heal, and to bring hope. Because in Christ, we are one family. And His light shining through the cracks of this broken world can never be extinguished.
The Power of Prayer In a world fractured by conflict and shadowed by fear, prayer remains the unwavering source of strength and hope. We do not pray because we have all the answers or the strength alone, but because prayer connects us to the One who holds all things the source of peace that surpasses understanding.
© pray for peace to still the storms in Suwayda and Syria.
© We pray for protection over Lebanon’s fragile borders.
© We pray for comfort to reach grieving families, safety for the displaced, and voice for the forgotten.
© We pray for courage and wisdom for those who serve in the darkest places, and for light to break through every shadow.
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” — Psalm 27:1