Christianity in Kuwait المسيحية بالكويت
Kuwait Before Islam :
Before the spread of Islam in the seventh century, Eastern Arabia and the Gulf region was truly at the crossroads of religious belief. The population consisted of nomadic tribes that were Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian or pagan, influenced by the variety of religious beliefs found in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Persia. The prominence of these faiths, however, dwindled when the majority of the Arab tribes embraced Islam by force. By the late seventeenth century, the Bani Khalid tribe had gained control over Eastern Arabia, and in building the first city that lies in present day Kuwait,
began to establish the permanence that Islam has maintained in the area until today.
religious freedom :
Islam is the state religion; although the Constitution provides for freedom of religion, the Government places some limits on this right. The Constitution also provides that the State protect the freedom to practice religion in accordance with established customs, “provided that it does not conflict with public policy or morals.” The Constitution states that Shari’a (Islamic law) is “a main source of legislation.”
Christians and other religious minorities enjoy an unusual amount of religious freedom. Kuwait truly exemplifies the words of its constitution, which states that “freedom of belief is absolute,” and that “the State protects the freedom of practicing religion in accordance with established customs, provided that it does not conflict with public policy or morals.” The Christian community’s history in Kuwait began in the early 1900’s with a number of humanitarian projects conducted by missionaries from the Reformed Church of America. Most notable among them was the establishment of a hospital (“the American Hospital” is still fondly remembered by older Kuwaitis).
In 1931, the first church in Kuwait was built on a parcel of land granted to the hospital, where the National Evangelical Church stands today.Also many Bookshops were selling the bible and many Kuwaiti Families were buying it.but Suddenly ,without known resoans, the Government stops selling the bible in 1951 at the street corners and the book stores .
the oil boom had attracted many foreigners to Kuwait, thereby expanding the Christian community, and two more churches were constructed, one of them Roman Catholic. Today, the state authorities officially recognize three principal churches: the National Evangelical Church of Kuwait (Protestant), the Roman Catholic Church, and the Roman Orthodox Church. Smaller churches generally ally themselves with one of these larger “umbrella” churches.
Kuwaiti Christians Families:
There are some 350 Kuwaiti Christians by birth today, most of whom belong to 12 large families ,A landmark occurrence for Kuwait’s Evangelical community was the ordination of a Kuwaiti citizen as priest and pastor of National Evangelical Church on January 8, 1999. Emmanuel Benjamin Gharib, born in Kuwait in 1950 and educated in Egypt, is the first Gulf Arab to become head of any Protestant church. “We all feel proud of being Kuwaitis,” he declared. “We were among those who stayed here during the Iraqi occupation.” Gharib told the Kuwaiti press that he planned to initiate Muslim-Christian dialogues in order “to show love for our home which has nearly 200 Christian citizens.” The Evangelical Church embraces more than 40 Evangelical denominations and is frequented by a diverse community of about 16,000 worshippers throughout the week.
Churches in Kuwait:
Most of the Christian faithful come from the expatriate population in the State of Kuwait. The number of Christians presently in Kuwait after 55 years since its modest beginnings is roughly 400,000.:
-The Catholic Vicariate is largely made up of Asians from India, the Philipines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Arab Christians from Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Syria which make up roughly 75,000 members (Maronite Christians also worship at the Catholic cathedral in Kuwait city).
-The Anglican (Episcopalian) Church, has around 115 members (several thousand other Christians use the Anglican Church for worship services).
-The National Evangelical Church (Protestant), with 3 main congregations (Arabic, English, and Malayalee) has around 16,000 members (several other Christian denominations also worship at the National Evangelical Church Compound).
-The Greek Orthodox Church (referred to locally as the “Roman Orthodox” Church), has 3,500 members
-The Armenian Orthodox Church, has 4,000 members.
-The Coptic Orthodox Church, has 60,000 members.
-The Greek Catholic (Eastern Rite) Church membership totals are unavailable
There are other Christian denominations in the country, with tens of thousands of members. These denominations include Seventh-Day Adventists, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), Marthoma, and the Indian Orthodox Syrian Church
Prayer Points:
1- Christian Book Stores
Pray that the Holy Spirit to reveal the reasons for closing those book
stores in Kuwait at 1951.Pray that the Lord will open the door again
and allow opening a new book stores, that sells the Bible in Kuwait
Major Malls not only inside the Churches.
2- Kuwaiti Nationality:
in 1981 the Islamic Party managed to make a law that gives the
Kuwaiti Nationality only for Muslims. pray that this law will be
Cancelled and Christian believers can get the Kuwaiti Nationality.
3- Immigrations Laws /Sponsors
By law , you could not stay in Kuwait without a Kuwaiti sponsor,
who controls you in the country and able to cancel your residency
at any time he wants. We believe that this is a slavery spirit which
controls the expatriates. Pray for breaking this spirit and changing
the immigrations laws .4- Religious freedom
Pray for new laws that gives people the freedom to choose their religion
5- Christian Families in Kuwait
Pray for Salvation to those Kuwaitis, not only to be believers but
also Ambassadors for the Lord and Claims Kuwait for Jesus.
6- Pastor Emmanuel Gharib
Pray for Pastor Emmanuel to be a channel of blessings to the other
Kuwaitis Christian and non-Christians .Pray for Grace & Favour for
him to ask for new laws that support Christians & Religion freedom
in Kuwait.
7- Christians expatriates Believers
Due to the minority of Christians in Islamic country like Kuwait,
and the Sponsoring issue , the Christian could not witness their Faith
Freely. Pray for new mentality for Christian believers that enable
them to witness in their works and among their Muslim friends. Break
the spirit of FEAR over their hearts
8- New churches buildings.
Pray for the Government to give Lands to build new Churches.
9- Pastors of the churches
Pray for Unity among the pastors of Churches in Kuwait,
to have one heart to pray for the Peace to this nation
what do you mean Islam?? blessings
Dear Azmeera , will you please share with us what should we pray for ? blessings
PLEASE PRAY
pls visit&pray
My brothers in the name of jesus I am very thankful to God is working in kawait I pray for all the Kawaiti christian that God give them wisdom and power of Holy spirit.
Eve;waris sohail.
Dear Partner for Christ .. what God is doing in Kuwait is more than any man could think ….. God is using all the tools to make that Nation as per his heart. Churchs , visions , dreams , one to one , and sattallite.
Please pray that the Kuwaiti church will stand firm and reach the other Kuwaities .. It is God who could make it.
also pray for the Kuwaiti Pastor Emmanual , as God is opening chunnels for him to be a real witness for the Lord.
We bless you
Greetings in the name of our lord and saviour jesus christ.how are you?
iam pastor g.samuel goud from india,andra pradesh state and nalgonda district working among the trible people,prison ministry,and hiv aids efficted childerns 25 members ministry.
ihave given up my years of young life to his(god)service and refliecting his light to many tribes. iam an independent pastor working with no support from anybody because ilive by faith.ihave agreat desire to help many people to show the love of our god in feeding the orphans, widows,oldaged people and to d0 all the social work.but iam not able to reach it.for every christmas we supply cloths,rice and some home needs.specially for this year 2009 december i mean for this christmas god is forcing me to help 1000 people which is not possible with me but god can do this.iwas encouraged by this scripture jemes 1:27 it says that real worship is to help the pople in need.our church is literally weeping for god to do his will through us.my vision is toreach 10,000 members in my church ministry.
this is the goal and aim of our ministry, so we need your co-operation and prays to work in his great vine yard.we expect all positive from you.me and our church is been praying for you in all our prays.
Yours in his service,
pastor G.samuel goud,
I, too, am an American living and working in Kuwait. I was interested in attending St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Kuwait City, but no one in that church had the least interest in helping me get there. I suppose those 115 members are sufficient for them. Some churches are very open, while others appear to be “closed.” St. Paul’s is one of the latter. At my church back in the States, I helped others without transportation get to church all the time. I would often drive 30 miles “out of my way.” I’m very disappointed that the leadership of this church had no interest in helping me to get to St. Paul’s even one time so I could learn the directions to it. I was told to get a taxi. And tell the taxi driver what? Thanks, St. Paul! Glad you have all the members you want or need! I have crossed this church off my list!
Excuse me sir, but are there many Arabs muslims hwo have converted to Christianity in Kuwait ? I am now working on another project to find out how many Muslim Arabs that have converted to christianity, I can only guss about the other Arab states because I have no idia how to get all Arab states christianity information, wonder if your good self can help me in this problem. Thanking you sicearlly for your help.
dear brother james rosse
Brother James ,i am a christian in Kuwait, i do not kno how can i help you? you can visit the below link and you will find the directions for the Church and in case of you need any further help , i will be glad to assist.
http://www.tlckuwait.com/new/contact.html
also if you are living in any place far from Kuwait City ( South , North ) the church have another sub-churches .. you can reach the place from the below link:
http://www.tlckuwait.com/new/Index.html#
Youssef.
hi , im a new kuwaiti believer in our lord jesus christ , not realy new , i have studied christianity in the early year of 2007 I WISH to visit the national church and joind classes to grow more and more with jesus christ , appreciate any kind of advice .. God bless you all
we can help you .. please visit the links at the web and you will find many good teaching in Arabic , and we will pray for you as you are not the only one , but God is opening the eyes and hearts of many . we will pray for you Brother .Be blessed
how can we reach you?
add me plz on msn ravenous7@hotmail.com
i am praying for you and want to help you.youssef
Thank you for this informative and helpful posting.
I am interested in learning about the Anglican (Episcopalian) Church fellowship. I am a U.S. contractor working at a U.S. Army base Sunday through Thursday. So, I am seeking fellowship opportunities which accommodate to that.
Regards,
Glenn A. Peterson
Dear Brother , Please send us your contacts and we will assist you.Blessings
Dear Glenn .. how can i help you??
I love watching how God brings people together and changes lives forever
I’d really love to get in touch with some Christian Kuwaitis/Khaleejis and talk to them more about their lives.
Salaam Elmassieh7 Maa3aakom!
- Maya
mayouches@gmail.com
Hello Maya , or as you call yourself mayouches .. Thank you for visiting the web site and we agree that God is really changing lives specaily at the region of the arabian Gulf.
Many Khalijis knowing Jesus .. through media , friends , internet , traveling , dreams & visions … etc.
We as prayforKuwait.com , pray for the peace of Kuwait & all who lives in Kuwait , and the peace of mind will open the eyes and hearts to search for the truth .
We really appreciate your visit to our website and we would like to know more about you & we also welcome you to write articles if you wish.be part of prayforkuwait.com
Did you have a chance to have a holy bible? or geard about Jesus?
We pray that God bless you and keep you safe.
many blessings to you and your family
A SHELTER FOR THE REJECTED
BETHEL CHRISTAN ORPHANAGE is the fruit age in the coming years.a sister helps to take careof the vision GOD gave to EVG:V.P.Fernandus. of the children and one teacher gives tution.years back he saw some children fighting for waste food with dogs and pigs from a railway station.that touched his heart and started to think about lakhs of orphanage children in our nation who strave to overcome poverty and different diseases.instead of getting love and care most of time they are hated by the community.god gave him vision to give them love and care of jesus christ and to prepare them for eternity.god blessed with 2 girls and 8 boys and now god blessed with 9 girls and 16 boys total:25 children were there from different backgrounds. most of them were going to different homes with their plates to get their food.children are aged between 5 and 13.and none of them had gone to the school earlier.now the childrens were admitted into second and third and sixth standerds in the nearest government high school.now bethel christan orphanage facing lack of facility. all of the children are staying in one of the two rooms of EVG: V.P.Fernandus home.they don’t have cot and proper place to sleep but the children are happy with the love and parently concern of Evg: V.P.Fernandus and his family.and we are planning to build a hostel building for them please also pray for them if you are willing to sponsor we would be happy to give all the details of children.your valuable prayers and support is needed for the children.
“Religion that GOD our Father accept as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distrees and to keep one self from being polluted by the world”(james 1:27)
Thanking you
with love and prayers
EVG; V.P.fERNANDUS
BETHEL BRETHREN ASSEMBLY
MALICHARALA(P.O) A.P.S.P.QUATERS
VIZIANAGARAM(DIST)
ANDHRA PRADESH.INDIA
PIN:535005
I am woendering , how many Churches are there in Kuwit, I am living in Denmark and I have a project at my school on christaian socity in the Arab / Islamic world.
I really would appreciate that as I have to deliver my work within a week from today.
Thanking you in advance
Churches in Kuwait:
Most of the Christian faithful come from the expatriate population in the State of Kuwait. The number of Christians presently in Kuwait after 55 years since its modest beginnings is roughly 400,000.:
-The Catholic Vicariate is largely made up of Asians from India, the Philipines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Arab Christians from Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and Syria which make up roughly 75,000 members (Maronite Christians also worship at the Catholic cathedral in Kuwait city).
-The Anglican (Episcopalian) Church, has around 115 members (several thousand other Christians use the Anglican Church for worship services).
-The National Evangelical Church (Protestant), with 3 main congregations (Arabic, English, and Malayalee) has around 16,000 members (several other Christian denominations also worship at the National Evangelical Church Compound).
-The Greek Orthodox Church (referred to locally as the “Roman Orthodox” Church), has 3,500 members
-The Armenian Orthodox Church, has 4,000 members.
-The Coptic Orthodox Church, has 60,000 members.
-The Greek Catholic (Eastern Rite) Church membership totals are unavailable
There are other Christian denominations in the country, with tens of thousands of members. These denominations include Seventh-Day Adventists, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), Marthoma, and the Indian Orthodox Syrian Church
God Bless You Bro,
Are you gathering with Bro.Godwin & Bro.Caleb’s church?
Rony Joseph
rony.ronykuwait@gmail.com
Local Christian Assembly
Kuwait
Praise the Lord.I am from MUMBAI.
I, too believe in 7 Seal /7 Thunder Message (The Revelation Of Lord Jesus Christ) of Malachi 4 – Prophet William Marrion Branham. Our Pastor is Bro.Joseph Coleman from New York City -Local Christian Assembly.
We believe in 7 Seal /7 Thunder Message (The Revelation Of Lord Jesus Christ) of Malachi 4 – Prophet William, Marrion Branham. Please contact us for fellowship or message information. Our Pastor is Bro.Joseph Coleman from New York City -Local Christian Assembly.
Bro.Rony Joseph
Kuwait
Peace be upon those who follow guidance,
I have been showing this website to my friends in the USA who were curious about the christian community in Kuwait. And i must say have been very offended and disappointed by the statement “the majority of the Arab tribes embraced Islam by force.” This is historically untrue and is not part of Islam for it is clearly stated in the Quran “There is no compulsion in Religion”. So I would highly recommend that whoever is responsible for this to edit the website.
Hi Rashed,
Whether you like it or not this is the policy in Kuwait. So you have to follow what is commanded.
Regards.
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