Dear Media,

As Easter comes to an end, we pray that God will grant you a deeper revelation of the immeasurably great love that compelled the Father to send His only Son into the world.

We interrupt our usual newsletter content to bring you a special update about the Middle East and North Africa.

To protect our brothers and sisters we are not often able to publicise these stories freely, but it is also important to give God glory for what He is doing in the Middle East and North Africa.

Therefore I’m very excited to share with you this update from Mike Betts. It is a longer read than normal, but it will be worth your time as you discover how God is changing lives and increasing His global Church in the Middle East and the wider Muslim world.

NOTE: Please be wise and discerning about who you share the following update with, as the dangers are very real for our brothers and sisters. We particularly ask that you don’t put any of the update, in part or in full, on social media networks or anywhere else that is publicly accessible.

Blessings,
Tuuli (on behalf of Relational Mission)

Middle East Special Update

The MENA Region: Rebuilding and Planting for the Kingdom

by Mike Betts

Over the years, I’ve learned—often while battling against waves of impatience—that when God speaks, it frequently takes time for His words to unfold. Sometimes it is years, even decades, before the picture becomes clear and a path can begin to be plotted. That has been my experience with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and indeed, the wider Muslim world.

Back in late 2013, during the Presence of God Tour in the UK, Julian Adams shared a lengthy prophetic word with me. It was one of those moments that makes you think, “Have you got the right person?” It felt weighty and far bigger than anything I had imagined for myself. Among other things, Julian prophesied that I would be involved in rebuilding communities devastated by war, natural disasters or other crises. At the time, something in my heart stirred specifically for the Middle East. I couldn’t explain why, but I sensed that part of this word would find expression there. Even though I lacked a clear understanding of how to approach the work, I held tight to Julian’s prophecy. Now, more than a decade later, we are seeing those words come alive in truly extraordinary ways.

I hope to write more extensively about this over time, but I wanted to provide this brief glimpse now. It’s vital to keep the wider family of churches in Relational Mission informed and prayerfully engaged, and that can’t happen if only a few are privy to what’s going on. Naturally, wisdom and discretion are essential. It’s not an overstatement to say that the MENA region remains one of the most complex and challenging environments for anyone seeking to proclaim the gospel. We must, therefore, take security and safety seriously—not only for those serving on the ground but also for the communities they long to bless. This cautious approach is largely why I have taken my time to consider what and how I can communicate; as the old proverb reminds us, “fools rush in.” With that being said, let’s move with discernment and faith, and may the whole of Relational Mission celebrate together all that the Lord is bringing about.

A Twin-Track Vision

As we’ve prayed and engaged with friends across the MENA region, a clear twin-track vision has emerged. 

On one track, God is calling us to rebuild communities in the aftermath of devastation. That means more than bricks and mortar. We want to help restore lives and people’s hope in places where war and trauma have left deep scars. Sometimes, it looks very practical, like a bakery we helped establish in a conflict zone, where people had been queuing for bread for days on end. With the support of local friends, that bakery is still operating today, even amid ongoing conflict.

On the second track, God is calling us to plant and strengthen apostolic families of churches across the nations of the Middle East. This involves raising and training indigenous leaders and partnering with those God has already placed on the ground. It’s about establishing gospel witness that is Spirit-filled and sustainable under pressure.

These two tracks—rebuilding and planting—belong together. You can’t truly plant churches without meeting the very real needs of communities affected by hardship. The gospel encompasses everything! Christ Himself fed the hungry and preached the kingdom; therefore, our mission must always involve both practical mercy and the proclamation of truth.

Apostolic Partnerships

One of the most encouraging developments in this new season has been the deepening of apostolic partnership across the MENA region. From the earliest days of the Church, the gospel has always advanced along relational lines; Paul’s letters, in particular, make that abundantly clear. Where trust, friendship, calling and shared vision are nurtured, the gospel travels swiftly and never fails to find good soil.

In that same spirit, we’re profoundly grateful for our developing friendship with Ananias House, led by John Samara. Their teams already serve across the region, strengthening persecuted believers and resourcing local leaders. Together, we’re exploring how their work can align with our church-planting DNA, ensuring that new communities are rooted not only in courage and compassion but also in biblical foundations and family-shaped mission.

We now have a growing number of people from within RM serving the region; however, on this occasion, I’d like to specifically highlight H & L, who are serving as apostolic delegates on the ground. Having grown up as refugees here in the UK, they encountered Jesus in their teenage years and soon sensed a call to return to their native land to reach their people. In 2017, following years of preparation and prayer, they did indeed return to Kurdistan. Step by step, God opened doors and began gathering local believers around them. Small, faith-filled beginnings soon blossomed into a new venture that has come to be known as the Garden House. This ministry functions as both a refuge and a launchpad. Leaders come there to rest, to pray and to step back from the front lines for a season, or even a moment, of refreshment. It is a place where prophetic encouragement meets practical equipping, and where strategies for gospel expansion are birthed in the felt presence of God.

The Garden House is a beautiful picture of what we long to see multiplied across the MENA region: centres of rest and renewal where weary leaders encounter the Holy Spirit and recover the joy of their calling. In places often marked by scarcity and persecution, these fortresses of grace become wells of life—an embodiment of Ezekiel’s promise that the desolate will become “like the garden of Eden,” with ruined places rebuilt and replanted by the Lord (Ezekiel 36:35–36). 

Cambridge MENA Day

Earlier this year, we hosted our first-ever MENA Day in Cambridge. This was an extraordinary moment that brought together around seventy people from across the Relational Mission family who share a heart for this part of the world. It would be remiss of me not to mention P & K, who played a key role in leading the day. It is becoming increasingly clear that they possess a genuine gift in building bridges between the West and the Middle East. 

A significant part of the gathering involved praying for every nation represented, declaring God’s promises and blessings over each one. It was a vivid snapshot of our global family, coming together as one household for the sake of God’s mission. H & L also returned to the UK to speak and encourage attendees with their amazing stories of God’s abundant grace and provision. Events like this will continue to be a vital way to connect and equip those who want to serve or pray more intentionally for the Middle East and beyond.

We really do sense the Lord forming an apostolic family that stretches across borders. The fruit of that family will not be measured simply in the number of churches planted but in the strength of the friendships formed. It’s out of that unity that new and successful churches will be established, and our prayer must be that this emerging family will embody the same grace that marked the early Church. If they do, then we can be confident that unshakeable faith, unstoppable hope and unwavering love will transform many lives.

Prophetic Backdrop

I can’t talk about all this without circling back to Julian Adams’ prophetic word to us. In particular, God spoke of:  

• Outlines for communities and cities—a call not just to disciple churches but nations.

• Influence in unexpected places—connections even at governmental levels.

• Angels of resource, replication and protection—supernatural help for the work ahead.

• Multiplication of the miraculous—signs and wonders authenticating the gospel.

It’s clear just from the scope of the prophecy that this was not to be a small or short-term assignment. God is and has been calling us to a long-term, generational work that will reshape communities and raise a movement of young leaders, prophets and pioneers.

I increasingly believe that these “outlines for communities and cities” are blueprints for societal transformation. God intends to redeem individuals and reform the spiritual and moral architecture of whole regions. The mention of “influence in unexpected places” has begun to take shape. Relationships are forming with people of peace who are quietly welcoming the wisdom of the kingdom. Then there is that mysterious but comforting phrase: “angels of resource, replication and protection”. It captures something of the work's supernatural dimension. Again and again, we’ve witnessed provision that cannot be explained and protection that defies probability. And as for the “multiplication of the miraculous”, healings, dreams, prophetic encounters and conversions are taking place in contexts where hopelessness once dominated.

As I reflect on what we are now seeing in the MENA region, I can’t help but feel we are stepping into the very season Julian described. These are defining moments.

Our Response

We are still in the early days. A season of careful beginnings, if you like. This year, we hosted the first in-person conference in the Middle East, bringing together leaders from around ten nations, each one carrying their own story of perseverance and faith. For some, it was their first time meeting brothers and sisters from neighbouring countries; for others, it provided much-needed confirmation that they are not labouring alone. Conversations that began during that brief time together have since continued across borders, and we are already seeing collaborative mission initiatives emerge as a result. 

Looking ahead, we plan to hold another in-person MENA conference in 2026. Preparations are already underway to shape a team that will serve and strengthen the growing network of churches, leaders and partners across the region. We anticipate it will be another landmark moment to celebrate progress, pray together, make space for prophetic direction and deepen our connections.

At the same time, new doors are beginning to open beyond the MENA region, reaching into the wider Muslim world—into places like Pakistan, and even further east. Invitations are being extended, and friendships are beginning to grow, all pointing to the same conclusion: the Lord’s purpose stretches across a broad horizon of nations. This purpose, marked by the hope of salvation, cannot be thwarted! The gospel is and will continue to gain fresh ground.

So where does that leave us as a family of churches?

First, it calls us to faith. God has spoken, and He is fulfilling His promise. The prophetic words of 2013 are no longer distant or equivocal; they are taking shape in communities being restored and partnerships formed. Second, it calls us to prayer. This is not a work sustained solely by strategy. To rebuild lives and plant churches in challenging environments demands a continual dependence on God’s presence and power. Let’s pray for His protection, His provision and for a rising generation of leaders and labourers equipped for the harvest. Third, it calls us to participation. Some will go. Others will give and pray. Still others will stand alongside those already serving on the front lines. Whatever our particular role, all of us are invited to carry this vision together, as one family sharing in a global mission.

My prayer is that in years to come we will look back and say, “That was the season when God began to plant His kingdom across MENA in a fresh way. That was the moment when the prophetic took on flesh.” In the days ahead, we’ll share more detailed accounts of what God is doing, but as I close, let me encourage you one last time to keep your eyes lifted above the giants we face. Let’s believe God for nations. And let’s give ourselves wholeheartedly to His mission in the MENA region and beyond. 

Pray for the Middle East Online Gathering

One more thing. If your heart has been stirred by what God is doing in the Middle East, we’d love you to join us in prayer. Three times a year, we host online MENA prayer gatherings, where believers from across the world unite in intercession. 

We’ve found that these online gatherings do more than mobilise prayer; they release a powerful spirit of unity. As people from many nations pray in one accord, many barriers dissolve, and the family of God is strengthened. We are witnessing the fulfilment of Jesus’ prayer that His people would be one, even as He and the Father are one.

To join, or if you have any questions, please contact our team at me@relationalmission.com 

Come and be part of what God is doing - more details below.

Global Prayer Initiative: Middle East and North Africa

Saturday 13 June 2026 & Saturday 3rd October, ONLINE

Gathering those with a heart for the people groups in these nations to stand before God in prayer for them.

For more details and to sign up click here

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