The outbreak of conflict has necessitated exercises by the hospital to ensure safety. Sirens within the hospital were activated, and intensive on-site operations were carried out, as well as field work by hospital staff and external emergency authorities.

These were part of two emergency drills which the Nazareth Hospital carried out last week. During one drill, a mass casualty incident was simulated. These exercises, carried out in cooperation with Home Front Command, the police, and the local municipality, are vital to ensuring readiness for several emergency scenarios.

We are training not just for possibilities, but tragedies occurring around the Nazareth area. In the first couple of weeks of the war, the hospital treated 18 people from a neighbouring town, injured as a result of a missile attack.

They provide the necessary training and performance evaluation to enhance our rapid response capabilities wherever possible. We are ensuring the highest level of preparation we can achieve, and the delivery of optimal care during emergencies.

The Ministry of Health and the Northern District Directorate and was welcomed by our CEO Waseem Dibbini, and the hospital director, Professor Fahed Hakim, along with the hospital management and staff.

During the visit, the Director General toured the hospital’s protected facilities and closely observed the rapid and professional relocation of inpatient departments, operating rooms, intensive care units, and other essential services to ensure full operation within the protected areas.

Director General of the Ministry of Health, Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, said during the visit: “Nazareth EMMS Hospital serves as a central medical anchor in the north, especially for Arab society. I was impressed by the hospital’s remarkable preparedness, high professionalism, and its ability to continue providing advanced medical services even under security-related constraints. This reflects the exceptional work of the management and the dedicated teams to operate around the clock.”

Preparation begins before the first response. To continue the work of the Dialysis Department without interruption and ensure the safety of our patients and staff, we have relocated all of its services to the fortified dialysis unit in the Doshi Center building.

This allows the department’s 21 dialysis machines to operate 24/7, serving patients from our hospital as well as others in the Nazareth area. It is currently the only protected dialysis unit in Nazareth.

When alerts and sirens are sounded, patients remain in place to continue their treatment under safe, fortified, and uninterrupted medical supervision.

To pull this off, more than 25 staff members work together with remarkable energy, coordination, and momentum. Each day, they put the well-being of their patients first and foremost under the immense pressure of this conflict. We thank them for their dedication.

We are facing a situation which is in many ways unprecedented, and the safety of our patients and staff is, as always, our top priority. Our hospital is determined to carry out its duty to the people of Nazareth to the best of its ability. We give thanks to God for giving us the strength to carry it out.

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”

Matthew 25:35-36

In the midst of war, we are doing everything within our ability to continue our critical services and support our community. Above all, we trust that God is good and still has a plan.

It is that last part which we want to reassure you of today: our conviction that God has not given up on the Middle East. It is on this solid foundation that we build for the future.

Today, the Year of the Lord’s Favour is still proclaimed from Nazareth in spite of the present conflict. We believe that God still has much work to do through the ministry of the Nazareth Village. We believe that in proclaiming new life in Christ, we will see reconciliation, hope and salvation. To enable us to tell more people about the life and teaching of Jesus, we have begun construction on our new Discovery Center.

This facility will elevate our retelling of the story of Jesus in his hometown through modern, fresh, and creative ways. People from around the world know of Nazareth’s history. We pray that we can help visitors to encounter the Living Word.

More than a million people have visited the Nazareth Village since its opening. Equipped with the new Discovery Center, millions more will hear the good news of Jesus, and deepen their understanding of the Bible as they walk in His footsteps in His hometown.

One of the main foundations of the Discovery Center is those of you who support us. Like our visitors, you help us to achieve this ambition from around the world. Our generous donors have gotten us off the ground and for that, we are incredibly grateful.

Now, we are very excited to share with you that the retaining wall for the foundations has been completed, and the area has been excavated, in preparation for the next phase – the shell. You can read about our plans here.

Please continue to walk with us in Jesus’ footsteps as we seek to proclaim the Year of the Lord’s Favour to a broken, divided and hurting Middle East. If you would like to further give to the Discovery Center, please click here and make a gift to its continuing development.

“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

2 Corinthians 9:11

The Holy Land continues to stand at the crossroads of history, faith, and geopolitics. Recent ceasefire agreements and renewed dialogue between communities have brought cautious optimism for stability and peace in a region long marked by tension. While challenges remain, these developments have reopened opportunities for pilgrimage and service, offering visitors a chance to engage deeply with both the spiritual and social fabric of Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus.

Far from buying into the narrative of ‘what good can come from Nazareth?’, the invitation is clear. As Philip responds to Nathaniel in John 1 v 46, “Come and see.” After all, it was from Nazareth that the Kingdom was announced in Luke 4, it was from Nazareth that the Gospel went out to ‘all Israel’ (the Galilee, Judea and Samaria) and then to the nations. Often referred to as the City of the Annunciation today, it was early Christian pilgrims who preferred to call Nazareth the City of Miracles.

So like, Philip encouraging Nathaniel, the message endures. Come and see the places where Jesus walked, prayed, and taught. As home to the largest Christian population in the Holy Lands, come and spend time with Arab-Israeli believers who are seeking to bear witness to the love and reconciliatory power of the Gospel in Jesus home town.

Come and see Nazareth, a city where efforts are underway to address historical challenges through community-facing healthcare, education, and outreach led by the Nazareth Trust. Contrary to a tired narrative first expressed by the disciple Nathaniel, there is much good which can be found in Nazareth today.

The Nazareth Trust has not stood still during the recent years of conflict and pandemic. They have opened new teaching facilities at it’s School of Nursing, improved ER and installed world class imaging equipment at the EMMS Nazareth hospital. The Nazareth Village has started to build an ambitious discovery Centre, shared the good news of Jesus with thousands of local residents and has become an important ministry partner with many churches around the world. New community initiatives aimed at youth leadership and education are under way. There are several reasons to come and see!

Whilst, the Nazareth Village offers an immersive experience of first-century life, bringing the Gospels to life in vivid detail, there is an invitation to move beyond historical encounter and participate in the ongoing story of hope and transformation in Nazareth. Through volunteering opportunities in the SERVE programme, visitors can participate in short term mission through healthcare, education, and outreach initiatives.

Visiting Nazareth is more than a pilgrimage experience, it is a chance to walk in Jesus footsteps—not only as you wander through ancient streets and holy sites in prayer, but as you actively contribute to a city which is coming alive again.

In the year ahead, Nazareth beckons you to experience faith in action. Come and see. Come and serve. Come and be part of a living testimony of peace, compassion, and restoration in the City of Miracles.

The third edition of our quarterly review is out now.

As we approach the end of 2025, we look back at some of our great achievements throughout the second half of the year.

Our Academic School of Nursing celebrated 100 years of service to the people of Nazareth. For a century, local Nazarenes have been equipped with the skills to provide vital medical services. Throughout, God has provided for us, and He continues to sustain our students.

EMMS Nazareth Hospital was rated second across the country in the patient satisfaction survey, a remarkable achievement which shows the fruits of the work of our doctors, nurses, and all staff.

Ground has been broken as work begins on the new Nazareth Village Discovery Centre, a massive expansion to our current facilities as we look to mark 25 years of the Nazareth Village.

You can read these stories and more inside.

This coming May, we’ll travel along a new pilgrimage route to the East Neuk of Fife, a place steeped in the Christian history of Scotland.

From 11-15 May 2026, our pilgrims will journey from Edinburgh to St Andrews, visiting historical religious sites and churches along the way.

To find out more about our exciting adventure, please email events@nazarethtrust.org

About the route

The pilgrimage route will take us to old parish churches, the site of a medieval priory, peaceful seaside towns, and the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral.

We’ll travel mainly on foot, with some sections supported by public transport to make the journey accessible and enjoyable for all participants.

Day 1: Edinburgh to Kinghorn

Day 2: Kinghorn to Dysart

Day 3: Dysart to Leven

Day 4: Elie to Anstruther

Day 5: Anstruther to St Andrews

Supporting scholarships for Nazarene nurses

Pilgrims will raise funds for the scholarships of the Nazareth Academic School of Nursing.

Our school trains local nurses to provide vital and sustainable medical services.

The new Academic School of Nursing building is equipped with the latest technology to enable our students to gain the best nursing skills and hands-on experience possible.

Added to that, our values of love, compassion and respect will ensure our success in providing the best nurses in the country.

Through our programmes, which this pilgrimage will support, Nazarenes are given quality education to support underserved communities.

Support Nazareth by taking part in the Fife Pilgrimage of Hope.

Today, on the 10th of October, a tentative ceasefire came into force which hopefully lays the foundations for an end to the war in Gaza and hostages released. There is a long way to go before this ceasefire matures into permanent security, and an even longer way to go to find a lasting political solution and reconciliation across the people of the Holy Land. As we acknowledge the key role that Arab-Israeli Christians play as bridge builders, we pray that they would be strengthened to continue and serve as ambassadors of the Prince of Peace.

The war has not been a period where the Nazareth Trust has stood still. On the contrary, by faith and God’s grace, the Village has emerged with a fresh impetus to make Jesus known. Is there a time in living memory when spiritual rebirth through Christ was less urgent than it is now across the Holy Land? The hospital is opening its MRI scanning facility, its new fortified ER and the Maana mental health clinic, the only mental health facility with services in Arabic, is growing in its importance and reach. The School of Nursing is opening its new facilities to an ever greater number of students and expanding its range of qualifications. Volunteers are returning, and the Village has seen an uptick in bookings for late autumn.

Expressing God’s love and his imminent Kingdom to underserved communities is not a future aspiration; it is happening as we speak through the work of the Nazareth Trust in Jesus’ hometown.

Steve Sanderson joined The Nazareth Trust in June, following many years working with Baptist Mission Society (BMS). In this newly created role as International Director, he will expand our presence across the English-speaking world.

Where did you grow up, and where did your Christian faith lead you?

Like a lot of people who grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, I left seeking a more peaceful, quiet, and secure future. This was as simple as choosing to go to university in Scotland to discover a clearer future.

My growth in my walk with Jesus owes a great deal to the various people who invested in me during my youth, but the biggest growth spurt occurred during my university years. Life, it turns out, doesn’t need to be a drab journey of work and survival; it can be a bold adventure of mission.

If working with students in Dar es Salaam was my first real exposure to the injustice of poverty, it was working with the lawyer’s Christian Fellowship on access to justice projects in Rwanda that opened my eyes to just why justice matters. Standing in the middle of the remains of 20,000 bodies in a school in south-west Rwanda, just a few years after the genocide ended, I was deeply struck by the anger that God must feel when nobody stands in the gap to confront the oppressor and to show solidarity with the oppressed. Increasingly, Bible verses like ‘the wages of sin is death’ stopped sounding melodramatic and started to make sense. Unchecked prejudice, segregation, and sectarianism, the demonisation of the other, they all count as sin. And here, in full horrific illustration right across Rwanda, was how sin leads to death. It moved me to step aside from what would have been a probably tedious (if lucrative) legal career and instead join BMS World Mission to grow access to justice projects in Uganda. At the time, Uganda had its own insidious and cruel civil war. We worked with a local Christian legal network to expand access to justice, represent prisoners, foster community rights awareness groups, advocate for legal reform, and influence public discourse. In four years, the number of beneficiaries grew exponentially. The partner organisation has grown to become the most influential access to justice and human rights group in the country. Supreme Court judges are proud to claim membership, and students line up to volunteer their pro bono services. God’s work continues, and we were privileged to play a part in something extraordinary.

Why did you return to the United Kingdom?

Somewhere on this journey, I met my wife, Caroline. Caroline is a fellow adventurer in every sense of the word. We have three kids (all in their teenage years). When Bethany (number 2) was born, we were told that she had half a heart. As you might imagine, this was a huge shock which really turned our world upside down. Bethany required a series of complex surgical interventions if she was going to stand a chance of survival. Thereafter, she would need regular expert check-ups and a daily drug regimen. There was no going back to life in Africa.  We had a calling, a job, a home in Gulu, a church, friends, social capital, and momentum, but that all evaporated in an instant. None of this made sense, but God’s presence and love sustained us through some fairly dark times. Bethany did a good job of surviving a series of open-heart surgeries and continues to be a force of nature in her mid-teens! Among the tumult, I was offered a job at the BMS head office just south of Oxford.

I have jumped through a few different roles over the last 15 years, including a few years as the Deputy Director for Mission and then a few more as the Director of Strategy. I have had the privilege of working on everything from disaster relief coordination in places like Haiti and Nepal, leading work alongside some amazing people in India, public policy development on sexual violence and religious liberty with the UK government, building multi-agency collaborations within the global Baptist family, developing and coordinating two BMS strategies, working with some amazing church planting groups in South Asia, developing public health projects alongside people in some of the most fragile places on earth, coordinating crisis management teams as well as walking the journey of developing a mission hospital in Chad among other things.

What brought you to the Nazareth Trust?

So, here we are at the Nazareth Trust. There are a lot of Christians leaving the Middle East at present. Conflict, exclusion, and poor economic prospects are all big push factors. I can identify with this. However, as followers of Jesus, we are called to bear witness. Nazareth is a unique place with a unique history. The Nazareth Trust has been bearing witness to the transforming power of Jesus in his hometown for several generations. It is the vision of local Arab Christians to continue doing this that inspires me. In a part of the world which has been marked by so much conflict, Christians play a vital role as those who stand in the gap as agents of peace, justice, restoration, and healing. To put it another way, what I couldn’t find in Rwanda, I have found in Nazareth. I want to be on their side, and if I have any shred of experience or skill that might support them, then I am all in.

You asked about the future. In truth, Nazareth has become the city on a hill that cannot be hidden (which Jesus talks about in Matthew 5:14). Who knows how the present geo-politics of the Middle East will play out, but I do know that Jesus heals, restores and brings fullness of life. My hope for the future is that the Nazareth Trust continues to partner with the Holy Spirit in this business of healing, restoration, and fullness of life. Yes, principally to the people of Nazareth, but also to the region’s broken generation who have known nothing but conflict, hurt, and uncertainty.  The boldest adventures may yet lie ahead.