The head of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) praised the cooperative efforts of the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches (FMEEC) to minister to victims of violence and economic deprivation in the region.

"While the tendency in the face of difficult circumstances is for Christians to yield to fragmentation and division, you have remained together," Nyomi told delegates of the FMEEC's 6th General Assembly held in Harissa, Lebanon earlier this week.

Nearly 70 Anglicans, Lutherans, and Reformed church members gathered for the Jan. 11-13 assembly, held under the theme "…and we are his house if we hold firm the confidence, and pride the belongs to hope."

In his opening words to the gathering, Bishop Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan & the Holy Land (ELCJ) referred to the painful events the Evangelical churches in the area are facing, especially in Palestine, Iraq, Iran, and Sudan.

The group also spent a moment of silence and prayed for victims of the recent outbreak of violence in Egypt, where six Coptic Christians were gunned down in a drive by shooting.

"The attack is horrifying and puts fear in the hearts of Christians in Egypt," Younan said on Monday.

Such violence, coupled with lack of employment opportunities, have been primary causes of the heavy emigration of the Middle East Christian community, which has dwindled from 20 percent of the region's population to only 5 percent over the past century, according to some observers.

"This phenomenon is claiming the cream of the Christian community", Nyomi said in a statement.

Protestant Christians, including members of the FMEEC, represent a mere 0.5 per cent of the population in the Middle East.

Despite their small numbers, Middle East Protestants play a significant role in the region's education, medical, and publishing services.

Primary activities of the FMEEC include working to promote leadership training, runing church-related schools and support programmes for women in churches from Sudan to Iran.