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Middle East Reformed Fellowship (MERF) is an evangelical Christian missions organization which serves in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia on behalf of the Reformed and Presbyterian family of churches and believers worldwide. The vision of three young people in Beirut, Lebanon in the early 1970s is now bearing fruit for the Kingdom of Christ among the twenty-two nations of the Arab League and other Muslim areas in Africa and Asia. MERF strengthens national churches with ministries of evangelism, church extension, biblical training, and diaconal aid—to "declare the whole counsel of God" in accord with the historic Reformed confessions. Click on an article below to learn more.

Mission Statement

The Middle East Reformed Fellowship (MERF) is a gospel-centered, evangelistic Fellowship of indigenous workers and their supporters. It is a non-profit and non-political charitable organization, serving in the Muslim world on behalf of churches and believers worldwide.

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Seven Key Facts

1. MERF UPHOLDS THE BIBLE AND THE REFORMED CONFESSIONS.

The evangelical Churches in the Middle East were largely established by Reformed missionaries. In recent days, however, they have been influenced by unbiblical trends, superficiality, and dead spirituality. Reformed Christians in the Middle East have lacked active fellowship and cooperation with like-minded Christians elsewhere. They need encouragement from Reformed churches and believers worldwide. MERF aims to declare the whole counsel of God through all its activities.

2. MERF FOCUSES ON BUILDING UP LOCAL CHURCHES.

The indigenous church is the best body to reach out to the local population. Members know the language and culture and are accepted as part of the community. They are not regarded as foreigners, nor do they have to return home to another country on furlough. As a Christian minority, however, they need to be strengthened in faith and built up in confidence to reach out. They also need to be equipped to disciple new believers.

3. MERF USES RADIO AND INTERNET AS A KEY EVANGELISTIC TOOL.

MERF uses radio and internet in Arabic and 12 other languages to reach out to millions in Muslim lands. A variety of programs are used discussing issues of importance and sharing Christ's teachings. Viewers and listeners are invited to respond. The challenge of the Gospel is presented as each contact is developed over time through private SMS or online interactions.

4. MERF PROVIDES AID IN TIME OF NEED.

Aid is provided through National MERF Committees working through the local church. MERF aims to "do good to all, particularly to those who are of the household of faith." The strategy is to equip people to be self-sufficient rather than to meet immediate needs only.

5. MERF IS WORKING IN MANY COUNTRIES.

MERF is active in evangelism, church extension, biblical training and diaconal aid in Arabic-speaking countries and East Africa and Asia. MERF aims to strengthen the church and reach out to the local community.

6. MERF BELIEVES IN BIBLICAL TRAINING.

The Gospel's main purpose is to reconcile sinful man to the sovereign God, but the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ has implications for all areas of life. It is "the power of God to everyone who believes." The Gospel is not relativised by human culture, but rather transcends it and redeems it. MERF uses the key strategy of equipping the Church through biblical training. The Bible is central to the growth of the Christian.

7. THE WORK OF MERF IS BEARING FRUIT.

Because of the involvement of MERF and the Reformed family of Churches worldwide, the Church throughout the Middle East is being encouraged and strengthened. Non-Christians are responding to the challenge of the Gospel of Christ. They are being discipled by national Christians. Those in need are being helped spiritually and materially.

Standards of Doctrine

The evangelical churches in the Middle East were largely established by Reformed and Presbyterian missionaries who declared the sovereign work of the triune God as Creator, Redeemer, Counselor, and Ruler of all the world and history for His glory. The Bible and the historic Reformed confessions form the theological basis for MERF, as it labors to  "declare the whole counsel of God."

The Bible is our Primary Standard.

The Bible and it alone is the Word of God written. It is our final standard for all that we believe and do. It is inspired of God and therefore the absolute authority as truth, inerrant and infallible in all matters, including history and science. The whole counsel of God in Scripture is our standard in every area of life and thought.

The Reformed Confessions are our Subordinate Standards.

When asked, "What does the Bible teach?" or "How do you interpret it?" we respond by referring to the historic creeds and confessions of the historic Reformed and Presbyterian churches which summarize the message of Scripture. These confessions include the Three Forms of Unity (Canons of Dort, Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism) and the Westminster Standards (Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism, Shorter Catechism). We also embrace the Apostle's Creed and other orthodox creeds of the early church such as the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds. We affirm and teach that system of doctrine which is set forth in these doctrinal standards which were born of the Protestant Reformation and which define what it means to be "reformed."

Statement of Faith

MERF Statement of Faith:

MERF is for those who are committed to proclaim the historic Christian faith as expressed in the early Christian creeds and the confessions of the Calvinistic Reformation, which are herein summarized:

  1. The Holy Bible (consisting of the 66 Scripture books of the Old and New Testaments) is the fully inspired, canonical Word of God. These Scriptures are complete and without error, constituting the Church's only authoritative instruction in all matters of faith and life.
  2. The Holy Bible clearly teaches that there is only one God, the True and Living God, who alone is the Sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe and the Savior and Judge of mankind, and who "works all things according to the counsel of His will." This one God has revealed Himself as three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; they are the same in substance, and equal in power and glory. This Triune God alone is worthy of man's worship; He demands that service to Him be done only according to His will as revealed in the Holy Bible.
  3. The Holy Bible clearly teaches that from before the beginning of creation, man was the focus and central objective of all of God's creative activity.
    1. All things were created before Man but for him, as God’s special creature, the only image of the Creator Himself in His creation.
    2. The Almighty Triune God created all things by the mere Word of His power, within six morning-and-evening days, according to His holy will and the perfection of His counsel. He neither used nor needed any long process, regardless of what the analyses of finite and fallen man may conclude.
    3. God created Man, male and female, in His own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. The first man and the first woman were created as fully mature humans, and were given divine authority to rule over all things and creatures which God had created on earth.
    4. The Lord created the man first as the federal head of the human race. Having shaped Adam’s body from the dust of the ground, God breathed into it an immortal soul. Adam was put in the Garden of Eden and authorized to eat from all of its trees but not of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
    5. From Adam’s very substance, God created Eve to be his helpmeet.
    6. The Holy Bible unambiguously asserts that God’s will for human marriage is the monogamous unity of one man and one woman, a male and a female. This is the only biblical foundation for establishing human families.
  4. Adam, by choosing to disobey God, brought the curse of death upon the whole human race. In this fall into death, Man lost fellowship with God and became corrupt in every aspect of his nature and being. Therefore, Adam and all his offspring are, consequently, under divine wrath and condemnation as law and covenant breakers, and are liable to death and hell forever. Having become totally antagonistic to God and devoid of all spiritual good, man has no ability whatsoever to participate in atoning for his sin.
  5. The Holy Bible teaches that Almighty God, from before the creation of the world, designed a redemptive plan, absolutely consistent with His own holy wrath against and declaration of penalty for man’s sin. This plan for the redemption of mankind required God’s own intervention to propitiate that wrath and satisfy that penalty. The Scriptures of the Old Testament gradually reveal this divine plan. It involved the calling of Abraham, through whom an earthly nation was established as a depository of God’s revealed intention to set up a universal kingdom and a blessed new humanity from among all families of the earth. The Scriptures of the Old Testament proceeded to reveal that the King of this universal kingdom would be a descendant of David. The Scriptures of the New Testament affirm, with infallible proofs, that Christ fulfilled that plan.
  6. Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, is the eternal Son of God, who for us and for our salvation became fully man, being conceived by the Holy Spirit, in the womb of the virgin Mary, and born of her, from the promised line of Abraham and David, with a human soul not impacted by Adam’s sin. Christ, by His perfect obedience and atoning death, provided full atonement to God for the sins of His elect people. He was raised bodily from the dead and ascended to heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God, and from where He reigns over His universal Church and Kingdom. At the last day, a day known only to God, Christ will return in glory to judge the living, who will be changed, and the dead, who will be resurrected bodily. The righteous will enter into the eternal enjoyment of His eternal glory and mercy, and the wicked will consciously suffer eternal destruction from the presence of God.
  7. The Holy Bible asserts that Christ’s perfect life and saving work form the complete and exclusive ground of the believer’s justification, which is received solely through faith in Christ. In His enthronement, Christ, being fully divine and fully human, qualifies as theone and only Mediator between God and man.
  8. The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Trinity, breathed out the Scriptures through the prophets and apostles. God the Holy Spirit further authenticated their writings and ministry by means of supernatural gifts, which have long since ceased. He takes the things of Christ and sovereignly applies them to His people: calling, regenerating, sanctifying, and glorifying them for Christ’s eternal Kingdom. The sanctifying work of God’s Spirit is a progressive process of destroying sin and developing holiness in the believer; it reaches completion only at glorification.
  9. The Church is the instrument ordained by God to bring the message of the Gospel to our lost and condemned human race. The mission of the Church is, therefore, the faithful preaching of the Gospel and the discipling of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded in all of the Holy Bible. These commandments are summarized as, “to love God with all the heart, all the mind, all the soul, and all the strength; to love believers as Christ has loved us; and, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.”
  10. While the Gospel has redemptive implications for all areas of life, its main purpose is to reconcile sinful man to the Sovereign, Holy God; it is “the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.” This Gospel is not relativized by human culture, but rather transcends and redeems it.
  11. Christians are enabled, by faith in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, to obey the whole moral Law of God and consequently are responsible to work for the hallowing of God’s name, the establishment of God’s Kingdom, and the doing of God’s will in all areas of life.

Organization of MERF

Middle East Reformed Fellowship has been registered in the Republic of Cyprus since 1984 as a religious, non-profit, and non-political charitable organization. The Fellowship serves in the Middle East, North Africa, Ethiopia, Northern Kenya, Tanzania, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

MERF is a cooperative effort of evangelical and Reformed churches and believers worldwide; most are volunteers. A committee of management and board of trustees of energetic, faithful leaders brings together gifts and expertise from around the globe. An annual International Council links partners with field and support representatives in fellowship, planning, and prayer.

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