God has given my family and I the privilege of ministering to
Muslim peoples. I want to share a few thoughts on the method(s) we use and also
the challenges we face in this line of work. It is my hope that this article
will be of some benefit to the reader in his/her daily Christian witness.
What I am about to write comes from our short life experience
working among [Sunni Muslim] Arabs in North Africa. As you probably know, not
every Muslim is of Arab descent. The country with the highest Muslim population
in the world is Indonesia. In fact, each of the top four most populated Muslim
countries is located east of the Middle East. It may well be that varying
approaches/techniques should be utilized when witnessing to Muslims from different
ethnic backgrounds; however, our experience is limited in the varieties of
Muslims we’ve encountered.
What works for us:
--Praying (before, during and after)
--Reading and quoting the Bible
--Talking about Jesus (His life, miracles and parables/teachings)
--Explaining God’s plan of redemption from Creation to Christ
What doesn’t work for us:
--Arguing/debating Christianity vs. Islam
--Being preachy
--Condemning Islam, the Qur’an, and/or Muhammad
So many Muslims we have encountered have misconceptions about
Christianity. And really, how can we blame them? The nucleus of Islam is not
far, geographically speaking, from the Catholic motherland. In the North
African country where my family and I live, the oldest non-Islamic religious
structures are Catholic and Anglican churches. Is it any wonder, then, that
Muslims would equate Christianity with orthodoxy or Catholicism? Consider also
the fact that very little Christian witness is present within the borders of
most Arab nations in North Africa and the Middle East. How exactly are Muslims
supposed to learn the truth about Christianity and the Bible? Thankfully there
are media ministries making an impact by beaming Christian material into Muslim
countries through satellite television, radio and the Internet.
We really believe the Gospel is cross-cultural. We trust that God
will work on Muslims’ hearts if we will just relay the simple Gospel message to
them. With that in mind, it makes sense to let the Bible do the talking when we
are witnessing to Muslims. We personally don’t try to persuade or cajole
Muslims to believe the Bible based off of historical, scientific or
archaeological evidences; after all, the Bible is a product that sells itself.
Our cold-call approach usually sounds something like, “Hi, I’m a
Christian. Have you ever met a Christian before? We believe the Bible is the
Word of God. It teaches us all about who God is and how we can live our lives
to please Him. May I read you something....” Another method we use to start
spiritual conversations is to connect objects or themes around us in the
physical world with God or the Bible (ex: using a sunset to talk about God’s
creation; using a rainbow to talk about Noah and the Flood; using the
activities of local fishermen to talk about stories of fishing from the
Gospels; using a slain lamb or other animal to talk about OT animal
sacrifices and the NT Lamb of God). The Word of God is powerful. The Bible
has been and will continue to be used of God to change peoples’ lives
regardless of their religious affinity or social status.
Witnessing to Muslims is time consuming and often discouraging.
Those aren’t reasons to avoid it, though. In almost every witnessing
opportunity we have had here in North Africa, we have fought to keep the
conversation on track. There are many distractions to work through. Don’t get
frustrated if you find the tables have turned and you are being educated on
Islamic doctrine and practice. Find a way to get the Bible back into your
discussion and realize that this type of ministry requires time for a
relationship and trust to develop. Do everything you can to exhibit the love of
Christ.
Good ideas in which to show the love of Jesus Christ to a
Muslim:
--Express a genuine interest in his/her life.
--Ask questions
about his/her family.
--Ask questions
about his/her home country.
--Ask questions
about the current events in his/her home country or region.
--Discover his/her physical needs and find ways to personally
fulfill them.
--Go out of your way to be friendly and hospitable.
--Give him/her an Arabic Bible or New Testament.
--Ask him/her to
study the Bible with you by reading certain verses privately and then meeting back together to discuss the
Scripture.
Written by a friend who ministers in N. Africa.
