The World Evangelical Alliance has partnered with the Evangelical Churches Alliance in Qatar to break ground for a planned worship center for Evangelical Christians near the capital of the Middle Eastern country.
This groundbreaking ceremony took place on January 24, and the project, which is estimated to cost US $50 million, will provide space for up to 10,000 worshippers simultaneously on land leased free of charge from the government.
The small alliance, primarily composed of foreign workers, seeks support from the WEA and international partners to address the challenge of raising the necessary funds to construct the center within a five-year timeframe, ending in 2028.
With a population of 2.7 million, approximately 88% of Qatar's residents are expatriates, and around 15% identify as Christians, representing a diverse mix of Asian, African, European, and North and South American workers.
As a Muslim-majority nation, Qatar has strict regulations on religious activities. While it allows expatriates from registered faith groups to worship privately, it prohibits evangelism, and conversion from Islam to other religions is forbidden.
For decades, Evangelical expatriate churches have held worship services in private homes and rented spaces, lacking the right to construct churches. Recently, however, they received permission from the Qatari government along with leased land to build a worship complex that could serve all churches affiliated with the government-recognized Evangelical Alliance, ECAQ.
The designated plot is located in the Mesaimeed Religious Complex in the Abu Hamour area outside Doha, where in 2005, the Qatari government and several other Christian groups signed a 50-year lease agreement allowing registered churches to build worship centers for their expatriate communities.
The Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, and the Syrian and Greek Orthodox Churches are among the eight groups that have already established churches in the complex.
Following seven years of lobbying by ECAQ, the Qatari government granted Evangelicals one hectare of land 10 years ago. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in October 2015, but the land was reclaimed by the government due to its strategic location.
Consequently, ECAQ renewed its request for a new site, leading the government to provide a new plot—twice the size of the original—in November 2023. However, this larger area has also resulted in increased construction costs for the new church building, according to ECAQ.
In a promotional video for the new worship center, the Alliance expressed gratitude to the Qatari government for providing the land but noted, “While the land has been donated, the building, however, needs to be built at ECAQ's own expense.” The envisioned worship center will include worship halls, a bookstore, a coffee shop, and event spaces designed to generate revenue.
Established in 2005 by Filipino churches, ECAQ currently comprises 128 member churches, ranging from hundreds to several thousand members, and estimates its constituency at over 17,000 church members.
