In a notable decision, the executive committee of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Middle East Region has voted to move its headquarters from Cyprus to Lebanon, as soon as practical in 2006. The move will reverse a step taken 22 years earlier, shifting the regional office from what was then a war-torn nation to the Mediterranean island.

The decision came on the concluding day of their mid-year meetings, which was held on the campus of the newly renovated, church-owned Middle East University in Beirut. (See ANN, June 7, 2005)

The committee spent most of the day on Sept. 18 discussing issues surrounding the move. Financial implications and cost factors of relocation, political stability in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination in February and the subsequent Syrian withdrawal, and being able to carry out the mission of the church freely, were some of the topics considered by the church leaders.

“We have seen and know how God will lead in His work here in the Middle East. I can’t help but believe this is His work and He is in control,” says Pastor Michael Porter, president of the Adventist Church in the region.

The administrative headquarters of the church in the Middle East supervises church and humanitarian activities within the 14 countries of the region, representing some 14,500 members. It was evacuated from Lebanon to Cyprus in 1984 during the long-running Lebanese civil war, which severely disrupted church activities and made travel to reach members outside the country nearly impossible.

In the relatively peaceful years that have followed, there has been growing sentiment that the time is now right for the headquarters to return to Lebanon where the church still owns significant property on Sabtieh Hill in Beirut.

“Enormous amounts of work will be involved in repairing and renovating the war-damaged or neglected housing as well as suitable office space in Beirut, not to mention the work here in Cyprus; packing up and moving an entire office and the families involved,” says Pastor Porter. “However, the administrative staff is ready to respond to the opportunities which have been presented. I invite your prayers on behalf of us all as we move forward in His service.”