ABSTRACT
The Protestant churches in the Middle East were founded in the nineteenth century as a result of the efforts of European and North American missionaries. They remained a small minority. In the postcolonial period, the Lebanese theologians Hovhannes Aharonian, Wanis Semaan, and George Sabra reflected on the identity, witness, and service of Protestants in the Middle East. Aharonian emphasized preaching and teaching as their essential contributions to church and society. Semaan called for contextualization, so that Protestantism would no longer be viewed as a foreign transplant. Sabra advocated Protestant participation in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue. All three authors thought of Protestants as engaged citizens who have a valuable contribution, rather than a beleaguered minority.
