Gaza & Syria: Critical Underground Operation in the Backyard of Islam
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Across the Islamic Heartland,
The Underground Church Advances
Global Catalytic Ministries was born to fill that gap. Our teams are not visitors; they are their neighbors. Indigenous believers who speak the language, know the streets, and carry their own share of the trauma. They worship in living rooms, weep with families who have lost everything, and open the Scriptures at kitchen tables where following Jesus could cost you your life.
Instead of parachuting in and out, we embed. Instead of choosing sides in political battles, we choose to walk with people as Jesus did, up close, personal, and persistent. In Gaza, Syria, and across the Islamic heartland, our underground teams are quietly planting churches that can survive border closures, regime changes, and media silence.
$300,000 Year-End Goal by December 31st
Help us reach our year-end goal to support 50+ indigenous workers engaged in house-to-house, covert ministry, with 80% of every gift going directly to the field: no photo ops, just passionate, risky, long-term disciple-making in the darkest places.
Active Field Report (Real Text Messages)
On November 1, GCM leadership received a series of urgent text messages from one of our underground leaders.
Sister H is a quiet disciple of Jesus born into a family of Hezbollah leadership. She had open doors to pursue safety and prosperity abroad. Instead, she chose something far more costly: to walk back into the Islamic heartland as a “sheep among wolves,” carrying the Gospel to the very people she once had to flee because of her faith.
She prays, hears God’s voice, and obeys, even when that obedience means crossing borders at night, getting shot at and captured by soldiers, and trusting Jesus when a single wrong answer could end her life.
“If I seek prosperity, I choose Australia.
If I seek the Gospel, I go to…”
Gaza, Syria & Beyond
You’ve seen the headlines: “Gaza Burning,” and “Syria Under the Shadow of Terror.” These families are uprooted, and their children are being raised in the shadow of grief. Those headlines move through the world’s feed, provoke outrage for a moment, and then the cycle repeats.
When the bombs fall and the headlines spike, the world rushes to take sides, argue, and move on. Our call is different: to stay in the shadows of Gaza, Syria, and the wider Middle East, long after the cameras leave, and quietly make disciples house-to-house.
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Global Catalytic Ministries Inc. is a 501(C)(3) Org.
EIN: 47-1258737 / All donations are tax-deductible
We are accredited by the ECFA, a national organization for Christian ministry accountability. We earned the Excellence in Giving Transparency Certificate by submitting 175 strategy, leadership, financial, and impact data points and received GuideStar’s 2025 Platinum Seal—affirming our commitment to transparency, accountability, and impact.
Public note: We publish audits/990s and high-level impact summaries; sensitive operational specifics are shared privately to protect people and access.
Why Gaza & Syria?
Why Now?
Gaza and Syria sit at the center of the world’s rage, two of the most closed, contested, and argued-over places in the Middle East. Everyone is claiming these lands right now: political movements, militant groups, global powers, and media narratives that turn real people into symbols.
We believe they ultimately belong to Jesus.
Where the world demands vengeance and division, we want to proclaim the Gospel and bring the only peace deal that lasts, a peace not negotiated by governments but born through transformed hearts in homes.
Strategically, Gaza and Syria are gateways from the Middle East to the Western world. This aligns with our already established access and growing Christian strongholds in Israel (the epicenter of the world), Mecca (Islam’s most holy site), Egypt (the birthplace of Islamic ideology), Iran (the greatest exporter of terror), and other areas vital to establishing gospel movements under the nose of Islam. From these epicenters of conflict, new disciples and house churches can spread across the region. That’s why our indigenous teams are already entering these areas now: to plant the Gospel where it matters most, and where the window is open today.
Will You Stand with Us?
There is no one beyond the reach of Christ. Not Hamas. Not ISIS. Not the most hardened or hated person in the Middle East. The same Gospel that reached you is now being shared, quietly and courageously, in the very places most people have written off as lost.
What we are doing in Gaza, Syria, and across the Islamic heartland is slow, costly, and risky. It does not fit into quick campaigns or easy headlines. It looks like late-night border crossings, whispered prayers in living rooms, and years of patient, hidden discipleship. But it bears real fruit, households coming to faith, new leaders emerging, and simple churches multiplying where they were never supposed to exist.
Our teams are ready to stay when the headlines move on. Many have already done so for years. They will remain with their people, even when attention shifts and the rest of the world chooses other causes. But they cannot do this without a sending and sustaining family behind them. If the world is shouting for revenge, we are asking you to help us bring Jesus instead. To help make His voice louder than fear, hatred, and despair in the very places that are shaping global conversation and conflict.
Will you stand with us?
Prefer to talk first or explore a larger gift, church partnership, or foundation support?
Request a Private Conversation where I can share more details with you at [email protected]
With gratitude and urgency,
Mike Patino
CEO, Global Catalytic Ministries
[email protected]
"Where Your Gift Goes"
- Reach the Lost (We make disciples in the deadliest and most unreached places of the world)
- Coach Belivers (We offer free coaching in 6 of 8 regions worldwide).
- Safe Housing & Logistics (discreet housing, local transport, contingency lodging).
- Security & Communications (secure comms, risk mitigation, low-profile equipment).
- Regional Backbone (staging, recovery, re-entry; cross-border access).
- Legal/Identity & Admin (documentation, Visas, counsel, translation/admin support).
- Emergency & Care (medical support, field relief, rapid relocation, widow/orphan stabilization).
- Contextualized resources (comic books in Myanmar, courses taught by our underground leaders in their heart language, and more)
"What Sets GCM Apart"
- Organizational longevity (Over a decade of continuous work in high-risk contexts with durable access under pressure.)
- Indigenous-first leadership (Nationals lead the work; outside staff serve only when strategic and temporary.)
- Micro-footprint operations (House-to-house discipleship that grows quietly through families and kinship lines.
- Field Station architecture (Covert hubs + regional corridors “staging/recovery/re-entry” that give teams real staying power.)
- OPSEC discipline (Sensitive methods are shared privately; updates protect identities, locations, and access.)
- Decentralized speed (Short approval loops and field-led decisions suited for volatile environments.)
- Proven resilience (Plans and rotations built to continue when borders close or media cycles move on.)
- Accountability with wisdom (Audits, 990’s and impact reporting provided within security limits, clarity without compromise.)
1. Why are you focusing on Gaza and Syria specifically?
Gaza and Syria are among the most closed, contested, and unstable areas in the Middle East. They are strategic hubs that influence surrounding regions, and the combination of war, displacement, and economic collapse has created both very high need and a unique level of openness. GCM already has relationships and underground networks that allow teams to operate there, so work in Gaza and Syria can impact multiple neighboring contexts rather than just isolated locations.
2. How is this different from normal relief work?
GCM is not primarily a relief organization. Our main objective is disciple-making and the formation of simple, locally led churches. We do provide relief such as food, housing assistance, and emergency support, but we treat that as a bridge to build trust and relationships rather than the end goal. The long-term focus is sustained discipleship and church networks that continue after any short-term aid has ended.
3. Where does my money actually go, and can I trust your stewardship?
More than 80% of donated funds go directly to field programs, including support for disciple-makers and coaches, underground field stations and secure housing, cross-border deployment, training materials, and emergency relief and crisis care. Less than 20% is used for central operations such as leadership, administration, finance, and donor relations, along with required compliance and reporting. GCM is ECFA accredited, has Candid Platinum status, is Excellence in Giving certified, and is a BBB accredited charity. We undergo annual third-party audits, and our Form 990s are available on our website for review.
4. Is my gift tax-deductible?
Yes. Global Catalytic Ministries is a registered U.S. nonprofit organization. Donations that meet IRS requirements are tax-deductible, and you will receive a receipt for each gift, whether it is a one-time contribution or a recurring monthly donation.
5. Is it safe for your teams to be in these places?
No environment in Gaza, Syria, or any country that persecutes Christians can be considered safe. Our workers voluntarily accept a level of risk to serve their people. They have counted the cost and journeyed with the Lord in faith as sheep amongst wolves. Over the last few years we have lost over 150 disciples around the world, and others have been arrested. However, we work tirelessly to reduce that risk as much as possible. We use strict security protocols, secure communication methods, planned entry and exit routes, and contingency plans, and we avoid public identification of workers, specific locations, or active operations. Teams receive ongoing coaching on security and risk management.
6. How do you protect identities when you share stories and videos?
We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of the testimonies. We must share stories as it is a part of making disciples and encouraging others to step out in faith and do the same. When we share stories and media, we adjust details to protect people on the ground. Names are changed, specific locations are removed or generalized, and we avoid showing identifiable faces of sensitive workers or local believers. In some cases, we use AI-dubbed or voice-over audio to relay real messages without using the original voice. The events are real, but identifying details are intentionally altered so that stories cannot be used to trace individuals or communities.
7. Why Gaza and Syria instead of other crisis areas?
GCM operates as part of a broader Middle East network. Within that network, Gaza and Syria currently represent high-need, high-impact contexts where we already have access and infrastructure. Work in these areas directly supports and connects with other fields in the region, making them key leverage points in our current strategy. While we are aware of and concerned about other crises, GCM prioritizes the Middle East, where we can have the most strategic impact right now.
8. Can I give monthly instead of a one-time gift?
Yes. You can set up recurring monthly donations. Monthly giving provides predictable funding that allows us to plan and commit to long-term support for local workers, housing, deployment costs, and ongoing operations. It also helps reduce administrative overhead compared to irregular or sporadic gifts. You can adjust or cancel your monthly giving at any time.
9. What impact does my gift have if I’m far away?
Even if you never travel to these regions, your gift directly supports local disciple-makers and the infrastructure they need. It helps cover safe housing, transportation, cross-border movement, training, coaching, and basic relief where necessary. In practical terms, your funds enable people who already live and serve in these high-risk areas to continue their work and expand it, even when media attention and other forms of support have moved on.
10. How can I stay informed without putting anyone at risk?
You can stay informed through security-conscious email updates, curated video reports, and occasional live briefings or Q&A sessions. These updates are designed to share real information about what God is doing, overall trends, and strategic direction, while still respecting operational security. We deliberately avoid sharing sensitive names, locations, or details that could endanger workers or local believers. However, in personal and private conversations, many more details can be shared in relationships with people like yourself. If you want to set up a meeting with the CEO, Mike Patino, reach out to [email protected].
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