History of the International Community Church
The International Community Church first started in 1823, when American missionaries arrived to Beirut and started worshiping with other expatriates who lived in the city. Before long, this nucleus of Protestants started growing and eventually gave birth to the Arabic-speaking National Evangelical Church of Beirut. Since then the two churches shared the same building and cooperated closely. (See also the History of the National Evangelical Union.)
The Anglo-American Community Church, as it used to be called, experienced its heyday in the 1950s and 60s, when it could support and govern itself. American university staff and students, employees of international businesses, and many other expatriates were members.
With the sad decline of Lebanon during the civil war (1975-90), the International Community Church shriveled. During the turbulent 1980s, it was finally disbanded. Its documents and finances were left in the care of Mr. and Mrs. Raja and Grace Hajjar.
After the National Evangelical Church of Beirut had been rebuilt, Rev. Habib Badr and the Hajjars attempted to restart the Community Church. By God's grace, the International Community Church has been reaching people from all walks of life with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The International Community Church also meets the growing needs of the migrant and refugee community through the ministry of the Philemon Project. One thing we've noticed in our work in Beirut is that our God is a deliverer of the poor and has a deep concern for the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and those who sometimes we are tempted to put at the bottom of our list. We are honored to be the hands and feet of Christ to whomever God brings our way. At the present time we call it by its old name: English Service.
