Amir* was pleased to see three new men at his Bible Study, that is, until they started asking provocative questions. One of the men asked, “You say that Muhammad is not from God. Is that true?”
They continued to press Amir with negative questions. He realized they were probably sent to cause trouble, even though Amir had warmly welcomed them.
So Amir addressed the issue with them, saying, “Hey guys, we know nothing about Islam. We can’t tell you about Muhammad or Allah, but we know about Jesus. And we know about the Trinity. We’ll share the Gospel with you, but we are not going to argue with you. That is not our goal.” After that, the three men quit coming to the Bible Study.
A Change in Ministry
When Amir and Miriam* were at Advancing Native Missions to report on their ministry, they shared stories of what they are doing.
Talking with them about their ministry was quite an education. They live in a predominantly Muslim country where Protestant Christians are in the minority. Their approach to reaching Muslims with the Gospel is a little different, as you can see from the story above.
Getting to Know Muslims
Jesus said to love your neighbor, and then He explained who our neighbor is in the story of the Good Samaritan. The parable made Amir realize that Jesus would tell him that his neighbor is a Muslim. Not just a Muslim, but an imam, because Amir is a pastor.
Initially, Amir felt a little scared about pursuing friendship with an imam. He visualized a terrorist with a machine gun and bombs, something like 9/11. What he came to understand is that Muslims, and imams in particular, are the same as other people. They need Jesus in their lives.
So Amir set out to befriend a particular imam in his area, Noor*. Over time, they’ve become good friends, which seems unbelievable and mind-blowing to Amir. He, a Christian pastor of an evangelical church, is now friends with an imam of the second biggest mosque in their country.
Amir’s situation reminds him of how Jesus dealt with tax collectors, prostitutes, and other people who should have been His “enemy.” He did not shy away from them, but showed them love and compassion. Just as Jesus knew that all sinners needed a relationship with Him, Amir does the same with Muslims, Noor in particular.
Recently, Noor told Amir, “It’s interesting that I have a relationship with you and trust in you. I don’t have that with many of my Muslim friends, really, which is unbelievable.”
Amir was thinking the same thing! His biggest desire is for Noor to know Jesus as his Savior. Amir shows Noor the love of Jesus when they are together, while he waits for a chance to share about the Lord more directly. He knows in God’s time it will happen and asks for prayers for the Gospel opportunity.
Miriam Relates to Women
Then Miriam shared about getting to know Muslim women. She said that at first, developing a dialogue with Muslim and Christian women felt strange, uncertain, and a little scary. Nevertheless, she helped organize a retreat with a round table discussion for Muslim and Christian leaders.
On the final day of the retreat, everyone was sitting together at dinner. An imam asked a pastor to explain whether Christians worship three gods or one god. As the pastor explained about the Trinity, the Muslims began to realize their beliefs about Christians were inaccurate. Only in a gathering to dialogue with one another could this realization happen.
Miriam requested that people pray for more chances to share Christ through such gatherings and that the Holy Spirit would continue working in the lives of those who heard about the Trinity that day.
A Ladies’ Retreat Brings Agreement
Another exciting event that Miriam shared about was a small women’s retreat for Muslim and Christian women. A lady who works for an NGO to rehabilitate Muslim women who have been involved in extremism and radicalism organized the event.
As the women met and talked during the retreat, they realized that even though their beliefs, traditions, and points of view differed, they could agree that their country’s educational system does not teach healthy, adequate information about world religions. The women felt that if their children had good information about various religions, they could avoid getting involved in extremist and radical activities. Again, getting to know one another led them to areas of agreement that could have a positive impact on their children and country.
Amir and Miriam requested prayer for their ministry to reach Muslims by developing friendships first. You can download a prayer guide from the website with listed ways to pray for their region, Central Asia.
*Names were changed for anonymity.
