In mid-January, I visited Beirut Baptist School to speak with members of the team about the academic year, how students were recovering after the previous year’s war, and how the school was responding to the growing psychological, emotional, and spiritual needs within the community. 

One recurring theme emerged repeatedly in those conversations: gratitude. 

After years of disruption, students had finally begun an academic year with a sense of stability. Despite the continuing struggles facing Lebanon, many staff members shared how important it was for students to regain a sense of normality and routine after the trauma of the previous year. Slowly, students were beginning to heal. 

Little did we know that little more than a month later, war would erupt once again. When it did, BBS quickly shifted into relief work for both the school community and the surrounding neighborhoods while simultaneously supporting students, staff, and faculty as they navigated the impact of the war on their lives. Many families were displaced. Others faced the loss of jobs, homes, cars, and, tragically, loved ones. 

Then came the bombings on April 8, a wave of airstrikes on Beirut and across Lebanon that marked the largest and bloodiest attack since the war began. According to Lebanon’s Ministry of Health, the strikes killed at least 357 people and wounded 1,223 others. 

Interrupted Healing 

The April 8 bombings took place in the middle of an already tense and exhausting season for Beirut Baptist School, which still carried the wounds of the last war in 2024. Thankfully, the strikes occurred during the Easter holiday. Staff and faculty were finally getting a brief moment of rest after weeks of nonstop pressure. The business office remained open, though students were home, except for the children of employees being cared for in the Early Start Nursery section, along with a small number of students from our special needs SMART Program. 

As the school day came to an end, five cars carrying members of the business office left the school grounds. Within minutes, eight strikes hit the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the school. 

Panic spread quickly. One staff member was driving home with his children after picking them up from the Early Start section when a strike landed only a street away. His children were terrified as he attempted to navigate blocked roads and heavy traffic while comforting them. Other staff members abandoned their cars momentarily and ran for cover before realizing that even the surrounding buildings no longer felt safe. Some attempted to drive toward other parts of Beirut to escape the strikes, only to find additional bombings unfolding around them. 

“It’s a moment that doesn’t leave your mind,” one staff member later shared. “My kids are afraid of going back to school. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.” 

We remain deeply thankful that students were not on campus that day. Even so, many members of the BBS community were affected, including parents, students, faculty, and staff. We can only imagine the tragedy and chaos that might have unfolded had school been in session. 

Faith Made Visible 

The Christian mission at the core of BBS has always compelled us to respond to the needs of our community in a Christlike manner. This ethos has shaped BBS since its inception. The relationships built through years of community engagement were evident even during the Lebanese Civil War, when members of the surrounding community helped protect the school. In 2006, BBS opened its doors as a refuge for displaced families during the war. At its core, BBS seeks to reflect Christ in all that it does. 

Since 2019, responding to the needs around us has not been a strategic choice so much as a natural response. The love of Christ demands to be reflected practically and without distinction. “Freely you have received; freely give,” Christ tells His disciples as He sends them out (Matthew 10:5–8). In this spirit, we are called to serve generously and sacrificially. 

This instinct to serve was reflected immediately when the war began. 

BBS leadership immediately launched a relief initiative by reaching out to members of the school community to identify those impacted by the conflict and determine how support could best be provided. The school also coordinated with people in the surrounding area to support individuals staying in nearby refugee shelters. 

Throughout the 2024 war and the broader crises that have gripped Lebanon since 2019, BBS has sought to stand beside its community in practical ways whenever possible through medical support, clothing assistance, emotional and psychological care, and even helping families with urgent home repairs after damage caused by airstrikes. 

This response allowed BBS not only to provide aid, but also to build bridges, stand beside hurting families, and reflect the love of Christ with an open hand despite bleeding hearts. 

At BBS, this commitment to holistic care is inseparable from the school’s understanding of education itself. 

More than a School 

Historically, Christian communities have viewed education as essential to both human dignity and societal flourishing. Throughout history, churches established schools and universities because education was never seen merely as preparation for employment, but as a means of cultivating wisdom, moral responsibility, compassion, and faith. 

In many parts of the world, including the Arab World, Christian educational institutions played a foundational role in expanding access to learning and literacy. This investment stemmed from the belief that every human being is created in the image of God and therefore possesses inherent dignity, value, and potential that should be nurtured. 

This understanding continues to shape the mission of Beirut Baptist School today. At BBS, education is viewed holistically. It is not limited to academic achievement, but seeks to develop students cognitively, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and ethically. 

We believe education has the power to transform communities. An educated society is often more capable of empathy, dialogue, inclusion, and care for vulnerable individuals, including those with special needs. Through education, communities grow not only in knowledge, but also in understanding, responsibility, and compassion. 

At BBS, our approach to teaching is informed by the example of Christ Himself. Throughout His ministry, Christ responded holistically to those around Him, meeting not only spiritual needs, but also emotional, physical, and practical ones. For this reason, BBS seeks to be more than an educational institution. It seeks to advocate for the wellbeing, dignity, and flourishing of the whole child. 

By caring for the entire individual, we hope to help raise a generation of conscientious and compassionate citizens capable of positively impacting their communities. 

At the same time, we remain realistic about the immense challenges Lebanon’s crises have created for education. The repeated disruptions the country has experienced since 2019 have deeply affected both our students and the broader educational landscape in Lebanon. 

Years of online learning and prolonged instability, while necessary responses to difficult circumstances, have significantly impacted the learning, development, and emotional health of several generations of students. Economic collapse has forced many schools to reduce or entirely shut down programs supporting students with special needs, while poverty, chronic stress, displacement, and war-related trauma continue to weigh heavily on students and their families alike. 

For many young people in Lebanon today, education no longer represents only personal growth or opportunity. It has become one of the few remaining pathways toward stability, dignity, and hope in a country that has repeatedly failed them. 

Hope in Wounded Places 

Today, we stand in tension. 

If anything, the situation in Lebanon often feels more fragile today, not less. As a country caught at the crossroads of regional and global interests, much of our future feels beyond our control. For many, exhaustion, uncertainty, and discouragement have become constant companions. 

And yet, for Christians, perhaps this is precisely the kind of moment we are called to inhabit. 

The early Church grew not in comfort, but in the midst of persecution, instability, and hardship. Christ Himself lived and ministered under occupation. Throughout history, Christian communities have continued serving, teaching, healing, and loving even in seasons that appeared hopeless. 

This is the posture BBS seeks to embody today. 

We continue to teach. We continue to support. We continue to stand beside our community. And we continue believing that even in wounded places, God remains at work. 

Even in uncertainty, BBS remains committed to being a place of education, refuge, compassion, and hope for the community it serves. Therefore, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9). 

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