Dubai Ministry Report

Dubai, the economic and financial centre of the Middle East, is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. Located on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf, it is the capital of the Emirate of Dubai—one of the seven emirates. According to the 2018 census conducted by the Dubai Statistics Centre, the total population of the Emirate of Dubai is 3,192,000.

Religious Belief

With Islam being the official religion of the country, 72% of the population is Muslim. Around 12% of the population is Protestant and Roman Catholic, and the country has at least 33 churches. Buddhist believers only account for about 0.3% of the total population of the Middle East. As of 2008, Dubai has only one known Jewish synagogue. 

Believer Status

Currently, we have around 10 members in Dubai, all of whom are foreigners—a youth from Malaysia, 4 foreign students, and the rest are believers from Nigeria.  The number of believers is always changing; therefore, only a few voices can be heard singing hymns, praying, and praising the greatness of God in this vast desert land. 

Devotion towards Worship 

Bro. Andy, a Nigerian businessman who permanently resides in Dubai, hopes that the church can be established in Dubai. However, due to the current situation and the limitations in human resources, his hopes to establish God’s tabernacle in this land have yet to be fulfilled. Even so, his zeal in serving God and evangelizing remain undiminished as he diligently advocates for worship services. 

He is very particular about house rules. Anyone who lives in his home—be it guests, friends, business partners, or his own workers—must attend the Bible study, prayer, and worship every morning from 5:00-6:30 a.m. and every night from 8:00-9:30 p.m. The hymn singing and Bible sharing will take about thirty minutes, followed by a one-hour prayer. 

Apart from that, two sermon sessions are held every Friday evening and Saturday Sabbath for two hours each in Andy’s office, which is located in the city center. With his firm belief, he spares no effort in proclaiming the word of God. 

Language of Communication 

English is the only language of communication. Workers who are sent there need to be able to communicate adequately in English without the help of a translator and have to be good at expressing themselves to cope with the demands of various aspects of divine work. In order to sow the seeds of the gospel to the Chinese community in Dubai, workers have to be fluent in Mandarin as well. 

The need for bilingual or multilingual skills remains. Being equipped with the knowledge of one additional language enables the servant of God to spread the gospel of heaven anytime, anywhere, even to all corners of the earth.