Paul Calvert spoke with Natalie, a Christian from Lebanon, about the religious make-up of the nation; the refugee crisis and what Christians believe God is doing there.

Paul: What is the feeling towards refugees? Is Lebanon happy to welcome refugees, or is there some animosity?

Natalie: Lebanon is the county that has the most refugees. If you look at the population, it's 4.5 million Lebanese population and you add to that all the other communities; the 500,000 Palestinians and then the almost 2,000,000, so you have a lot of strain on an already existing 'strained community'. We already had existing problems; the Government that is now weak because it doesn't have a president; so you have a lot of problems. You add to that the refugees and you feel that the people are tired of it and it is straining, but you also see that the communities are welcoming the refugees in many parts of the country. Although in some areas you might have incidents, in other areas there's a lot of welcoming, because the Syrians have been in the country before and they work in the country and you have families that have family ties, between Syria and Lebanon. It's a bit of everything at the same time.

Photo: Russell Watkins/DFID

Paul: Is it a healthy Church in Lebanon?

Natalie: Yes of course it is. The Church in Lebanon has grown. I think the Pentecostal Church started around 20 years ago. It was one church in the beginning and then out of that now we are 10 or 11 churches of believers filled with the Holy Spirit, so it's a revival. If you look at things in the political realm, then you feel the pressure and the tension, but when you look at what God is doing in the meantime, in 20 years you have had 10 churches in the different parts of the country and so God is doing a work there even in the midst of all of this pressure.

Paul: What needs does the Church have in Lebanon?

Natalie: Ones like any normal church. Prayer needs, to sustain this pressure and to keep on believing for the promises of God on this country. The Church needs other countries to understand and other believers in other different countries in Europe and the US to know the reality on the ground, to understand and to see that there's a Church in Lebanon that is working and believing and to be supportive of that.

Paul: Is there good Arabic-Christian music out there?

Natalie: Most of it comes from Egypt. You have a lot of worship songs coming in from Egypt, but we also have our own worship songs and worship teams in Lebanon.

Paul: What's your prayer for Lebanon?

Natalie: My prayer is peace. You can also look at what's happening as potentially the biggest harvest, with all these refugees. My prayer is peace, stability, security and taking the opportunity for a harvest.