Nassib’s Story
A daughter remembers her father’s search for truth, devotion to preaching, and deep desire to help Arabic-speaking families discover the hope of the gospel.
Read Time: 4 minutes
You may recall that we printed a brief memorial for Brother Nassib Shankour shortly after he fell asleep in August 2024. Knowing him and his family, I felt that we could benefit from hearing his whole story. Nassib’s daughter, Sister Abigail Shankour, agreed to write it up and we are happy to share it with you.
Jason Hensley
My dad, Bro. Nassib Shankour, fell asleep in Christ on June 25, 2024. He was a loving father and a pillar who helped shape my faith. His walk of faith not only guided me but also helped many others find the truth. My dad was born in Damascus, the very city where the Apostle Paul was converted.
My dad’s native language was Arabic, and he devoted himself to helping other Arabic speakers seek the truth. I have vivid memories of him waking up early each morning before dropping me off at the Christadelphian Heritage School, reading the Bible, and hosting Zoom classes with students from Europe and the Middle East.
He was deeply passionate about preaching. He often told my mom and me that even a few words could be enough to plant a seed of faith in someone’s heart.
In his first exhortation (given just a few years ago), he quoted Matthew 28:19-20: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
We have been called to share our hope.
I hope that by sharing my dad’s faith journey, it will inspire and encourage others in their walk toward the Kingdom. Many people search long and hard for the truth, and those of us who have grown up in the truth should never take it for granted. I also pray that anyone who has not yet been baptized may be encouraged by the story of someone who longed for the truth and found it.
I hope that by sharing my dad’s faith journey, it will inspire and encourage others in their walk toward the Kingdom.
My Dad’s Faith Journey
My dad was a deeply religious person at heart. While living in Damascus, he once aspired to become a priest and even studied at a monastery. However, during his time there, he realized that what was being taught did not align with the Bible. This deeply troubled him, and he left, eventually moving to America.
In America, he continued searching for the truth. He visited many different churches, going from one to another each Sunday, but none of them offered what he was seeking. Disappointed, he decided to study the Bible on his own. He read it from Genesis to Revelation repeatedly, striving to understand it. Through this, he became firmly convinced of one thing: that there is one God, and Jesus is His Son.
This continued until he met someone.
He had a neighbor, a young woman he liked (my mom). He would often see her returning home from meetings or Bible classes. One day, he gathered the courage to ask her out. She kindly declined, explaining that she was dating with the intention of marriage and wanted to marry within her faith and raise her children in it.
This intrigued my dad, and he asked about her beliefs. She told him she was raised in the Christadelphian faith. Though she didn’t elaborate further at the time, his curiosity was sparked.
Eventually, she agreed to go out with him on one condition: their first date would be at a Sunday meeting. Intrigued, he accepted. Although my mom was part of the LA Hispanic Ecclesia, she took him to the Reseda Ecclesia for that first date.
During the service, when the bread and wine were passed, my dad was confused as to why it was not offered to him. Later, my mom explained that baptism requires a conscious decision and an understanding of God’s Word.
This led him to ask the most important question: “What do you believe?”
My mom answered, “We believe in one God, and that Jesus Christ is His Son.”
Those words settled it for him.
He asked how he could become part of this truth, and my mom directed him to the Verdugo Hills Ecclesia. There, he studied for baptism under Bro. Bob Lloyd, Bro. Peter Wilson, Bro. Dennis Paggi, and Bro. David Collister. In time, he was baptized, and later he and my mom were married.
A year later, I was born and raised in the Christadelphian faith. I feel incredibly blessed to have grown up in the Truth.
Then, with the encouragement of my mom and Bro. Steve Cox, my dad, felt the call to make a difference in the lives of others. He began hosting Zoom classes for Arabic speakers who were interested in learning the truth. He continued this work faithfully until he fell asleep in Christ.
He loved his students deeply. I remember nights when we stayed awake until 3 am to watch several of them be baptized.
One of my dad’s favorite hymns, No. 338 from the green hymn book, was played at his memorial. It reflects John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
My dad truly strove to live by these words.
I had the honor of being baptized by my dad in 2022. That same year, he felt confident enough in his English to give his first exhortation, where he shared his personal testimony.
In April 2024, my beloved dad was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He fell asleep in Christ just two months later.
One memory that stays with me from that difficult time was before he had a high-risk procedure that required heavy anesthesia. The doctor warned that he might not survive. My mom and I were crying, but he looked at us and said, “Why are you crying? If I open my eyes and see you, I will be happy. Or if I open my eyes and see my Lord Jesus Christ, I will be so happy.”
In his first exhortation, he also quoted:
I thought this would be a beautiful way to end his story.
May our Lord come quickly.
Abigail Shankour,
Verdugo Hills Ecclesia, CA