North Africa and the Middle East
Countries in this Region
North Africa and the Middle East is part of the 10/40 Window is a section of the world located between latitudes 10 degrees and 40 degrees north of the equator. Along with Central and Southeast Asia, it holds two-thirds of the world’s population. The window also contains the world’s most unreached people groups, and most of the world’s governments who oppose Christianity. The 10/40 Window bears the world’s greatest physical and spiritual needs.
North Africa
Stop for a minute and pray for North Africa. This region is composed of Mauritania, Western Sahara, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt. These countries comprise an area of over 7 million square kilometers (the USA is just over 9 million km 2). North Africa has a vast history as it contains the remnants of ancient civilizations from the earliest nomadic peoples to Egypt, as well as the later Roman era.
The greatest portion of each North African country is part of the Sahara dessert and not usable for agriculture purposes. Even though most of each country is inhabitable, North Africa has a population of over 146 million people. The economy thrives on agriculture, oil, and tourism. The climate is pleasant and tempered by the Mediterranean Sea.
Most North Africans are light-skinned, Arab Berbers. The majority are very friendly and extremely hospitable. In this region, 42% are 14 years old or younger, the average income is $3,490, and roughly 97% are Muslim and 2.4% are Christian. (Conversely, in the USA, 22% are 14 years old or younger, the average annual income is $31,000, and 85% claim to be Christian and 1.5% to be Muslim.) Less than 1000 churches exist in these seven countries. One nation has less than 30 known indigenous believers!
If a new believer in North Africa were to ask an American believer a question about his faith, it might be this: “If what you read in your Bible is true, then why has no one ever come to tell us this ‘Good News’?” Most North Africans will never see a Bible in their language or hear the songs that declare the wonderful truths of Scripture. Pray for the people of North Africa. Ask God to break through the centuries of blockade put up by false religions and penetrate hearts with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Middle East
Think of all the Middle Eastern countries. Most people have difficulty naming more than five, but there are thirteen. The Middle East is a dynamic land where modern history is being written, and a land that was the focus of the origins of the Christian faith.
The Middle East is a diverse area of peoples and geography, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to Pakistan in the east. The region ranges from the Indian Ocean in the south to the cold north and western mountainous regions. The Middle East encompasses the Fertile Crescent, the ancient land of Abraham.
Economic and political differences separate and differentiate these countries and peoples. Some of these countries have become exceedingly rich as the previous generation discovered oil. Others depend on their ability to trade, as they did for centuries before when numerous trade routes crossed this strategic area. Many others are struggling with poverty. Governments range from sultanates to republics and from religious-based governments to more secular, tolerant governments.
Linguistically, the Middle East countries have rich divisions. The majority speaks Arabic, but dialectical differences make the Arabic spoken in the Gulf States of the Southeast almost non-understandable to the more northern Levant countries. Also found in this diversity of indigenous languages are Hebrew, Turkish, Persian, and Farsi. Some countries have majorities who also speak French and English.
This land of origins, history, and conflict needs prayer. In the thirteen countries of the Middle East, the spiritual eyes of 100 million people are blinded to the Lord Jesus Christ. Only minute remnants of the church are in this dark land, as only a small percentage of the world’s missionaries are in the entire 10/40 window. Pray that those whom God has called would be willing to plant the seed of the gospel in this land lost in darkness.