The discontent blew westward from Tunisia, setting light to other nations as it went — Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, and Syria, even as far as Iran.

What has been the impact on evangelism?

There are both short-term and long-term pictures.

In many places, the short-term result of unrest has been a disruption of the normally-tight policing that prevents Christians from sharing their faith.

Many leaders trained by Haggai Institute have been taking advantage of this opportunity and have been out on the streets witnessing.

The long-term picture is more complex. The persecution of Christian minorities across the Middle East has been going on for generations, and changes of government won’t reverse that. Egyptian alumnus Dr. Samuel Maher reports that the unrest has resulted in several deaths in the Christian enclave at Mokattam.

But the Middle East is a place of contrasts and contradictions. Even as the persecution peaks, news images from Cairo’s Tahrir Square show young Christians and young Muslims standing side by side at the forefront of the protest. Christians have protected their Muslim friends from police assaults. Muslims have been heard shouting, “Amen! Amen!”

What is happening?

The young appear to be driven more by their shared hardships than by their religious differences. They are secular, educated, and out of work.

A 35-year-old engineer or doctor earns a pittance waiting tables, and wonders if he will ever be able to get a real job, get married, have children, and buy his own apartment. He watches the Middle East’s aging national rulers prepare to hand over their countries to their children. And meanwhile, he networks with his peers in the Internet cafés and finds he’s not alone.

In a very real sense, the wave of protest in the Middle East is a social media revolution.

But for many young Muslims, it is also a crisis of faith. Their hearts are open because they are confused about Islam. They do not understand why a Muslim government should be corrupt and repressive. They are desperate for answers, solutions, and inner peace.

This was brought home to me forcefully when a young person who had come to Christ from a Muslim background asked me, “Why were you so selfish? Why didn’t you tell me earlier about Jesus Christ?” That is the transformation the Middle East needs – personal and one-on-one. The friendship of Muslims cannot be bought through trade agreements. Tragically, many actions taken in the “war on terror” have only served to confirm Muslims in their distrust of Christian government and values.

Spreading this personal transformation – particularly among the young – remains the top priority for Christian leaders in the Middle East. Significantly, the average age of the leaders Haggai Institute trains in the region is now 32.

In a situation where the young are rapidly shaping themselves into a political force, Haggai Institute’s influence has many facets.