“My name is – well, I can’t actually tell you, because who I am, where I work and much of what I do must be kept secret. But I can tell you how I met the maker of stars and how this has changed my life.

I grew up in a close-knit, Sunni Muslim family in the Middle East. Every Friday, we would spend the day eating, talking and having fun together. Our house had a nice garden where we could look up and see the stars at night.

Our religion, Islam, was always part of our tradition, of school, of family life – but I always had questions.

When I was seven, I learned that according to Islamic teaching, Jesus was taken up to heaven. That night I couldn’t sleep, thinking about Jesus looking down on me.

Meeting the star-maker

In my teens, I began to learn more about my faith. I studied the Quran. I learned about the history of Islam and the conflicts within it. I began to realise that much of my faith’s history was about seeking power rather than seeking God. I kept asking: what is the truth?

I had a recurring nightmare about Judgement Day. In the dream, I panicked because I wasn’t ready to meet God. The religious practices I had grown up with never brought me peace; I always felt guilty for not doing enough to please God.

For much of my teens and early 20s, I was in a dark place mentally and emotionally. One night, unable to sleep, I went online and stumbled upon an Arabic Christian channel.

As I watched I heard the gospel and it began to make so much sense. This led me to connect with groups of Christians on social media. I spent many nights secretly reading the Bible while my family was asleep.

As I read the Bible, I began to see the prophets I knew put into context. I saw the continuity of the story of salvation and the prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. I was moved by the way Jesus lived and his compassion, the witness of the early disciples who mostly died as martyrs, and the kindness of the Christians I met, who patiently answered my questions.

Meeting BMBs (believers from a Muslim background) and hearing their testimonies also played a significant role in drawing me to faith in Jesus.

The verse “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) resonated deeply with me – truth is not just a concept but a person: Jesus.

I was learning more about Jesus every day, but I hadn’t yet committed my life to him. One night I had started reading the Gospel of John when something happened. As I read about the Word becoming flesh, my eyes were opened and I heard God’s voice telling me that he is my father. I cried because I knew that I had just met the living God.

My joy was indescribable. I wanted to celebrate and tell everyone what had happened, but I couldn’t share this with my family. Instead, I went outside and danced in the garden. I remember looking at the stars and saying to them, “Now I know who made you.”

Facing my family

I knew I had found the truth I had been looking for, but now I had to face my family, who were all still deeply committed Muslims. My family could see that I was a true believer and had turned my back on Islam, which caused more and more tension between us. I eventually felt I had to leave my home country. I came to the UK, where I applied for asylum. I didn’t know whether I would see my family again.

Choosing to follow Jesus meant losing my community back home. When my parents died, I couldn’t go to their funerals.

But knowing Jesus meant that for the first time, I had the assurance of eternal life. Jesus liberated me from a self-centred life and taught me to live a sacrificial life of love for others, including my enemies. Jesus gave me a voice as a woman, showed me that I am equally valued and that I can be called and used by him.

I started my theological training, but I didn’t know yet what God was calling me to do. Then one night I had a clear dream where Jesus said to me, “Preach the cross and I am with you.” I started pursuing this calling in 2012.

Following a calling

Over the past few years God has been stirring my heart to return to the Middle East and North Africa, where the vast majority of the population is Muslim. At the end of 2021, I had the opportunity to visit the Middle East for the first time since leaving. I hadn’t seen my family for 15 years, but by God’s grace, we were reconciled and they welcomed me back.

I reached out to CMS and was accepted as a mission partner in the Middle East. I am eager to lay down my life for Muslim people to come to faith in Jesus, become disciples and, in turn, disciple others.

I was recently introduced to a couple. The husband had heard the gospel but had not been discipled. He later married and shared the gospel with his wife and, after two years, she too became a believer. They have a young son. She wanted to be baptised, but her family and her husband’s family rejected them because of their decision to become believers, meaning it wasn’t safe for her to take the step of baptism.

I began meeting with the wife, who I will call M, at her home, leading her through a programme which helps BMBs to grow in their identity in Jesus. Over time, M’s trust in me has grown and she says her faith now has a backbone. Praise God.

However, she still experienced challenges in getting baptised. She was hurt and confused that even church leaders were reluctant to baptise her, fearing for their own safety as well as hers.

One day during Ramadan, M was wearing a hijab and drinking coffee in her building. Another woman, from eight floors up, was surprised to hear M calling her son by a Christian name. The two women realised that they were both believers.

I connected with this family and another one in the same building. We planned to travel out of the country for M’s baptism but at every turn we experienced resistance. One of the families in the building connected us with their priest. He said he would be willing to take the risk and baptise her.

One Saturday, seven of us gathered for the baptism. The place that was chosen is my own birthplace as well as where I first encountered Christ. We worshipped and prayed together while we waited for the priest, who needed to travel some distance.

This priest was so humble and so joyful – I was struck by his courage. He told me he could never say no to baptising someone, no matter what the risk. A beautiful liturgy was read and M later told me that when she came out of the water, she felt a huge burden had been lifted from her chest. This was the same experience that I had. I feel privileged to be able to continue to walk with her in discipleship.

Heart for the harvest

For others like me who have given up their community to follow Jesus, I pray that the Church can truly be family. I had to leave my country to live out my faith and be equipped to reach others with the gospel, but it doesn’t have to be this way for believers in the Middle East now. As it says in Matthew chapter 9, the harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.

If we can equip and train BMBs where they are, we can accelerate the spread of the gospel in the Middle East and North Africa.

Related posts

Get our email updates:

SIGN UP

The post “Stars, I know who made you” appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

Ten years after deciding to follow Jesus, a huge portion of Muslim-background believers (MBBs) turn back to Islam or to atheism. CMS is announcing a new plan and a key partnership that will help MBBs continue to journey with Jesus.

“Adam” from Bahrain is 23 years old. His journey to faith in Jesus began about five years ago:

“I first started searching about Jesus when I was 18. I went to the church and told the priest I wanted to be Christian and to know more about Jesus, but he said he could not help me because of their policy.”

Adam persevered in his search. You can read his story on page 6, where he describes being tempted to leave and a stint in prison.

Adam kept pursuing Jesus, but for many, the road to faith is too rocky to stay on. Even after turning to Issa, Arabic for Jesus, a substantial portion veer away. There can be several reasons for this.

Persecution: only part of the problem

It is well known that in many areas of the Middle East and North Africa, Christians, including those who turn to Jesus from a Muslim background, are mistreated for their faith. In 2019, the Foreign Office commissioned Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro and a former executive leader of Church Mission Society, to produce a report on Christian persecution.¹ The report’s findings are stark: “In countries such as Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia the situation of Christians and other minorities has reached an alarming stage.”

However, despite this systemic persecution across the region, interest in the Christian faith is growing as new believers are drawn to Jesus through dreams, visions and the love and kindness of Christians they meet. God is on the move but new believers face a barrage of obstacles.

Identity crisis

Even in places where there is less official opposition from the government, men and women who turn to Jesus from a Muslim background often face intense pressure and scorn from family, friends and colleagues. On a recent overseas visit, CMS mission director Andy Roberts described meeting a North African woman, two of whose sisters had returned to practising Islam after their two brothers had been killed for following Jesus.

“When a Muslim-background believer first becomes a believer, at minimum they will be kicked out of their family and disowned. It’s likely they will lose their job and face a life in constant fear of being discovered or attacked,” says Mamdouh, founder and president of Together Network (TN). TN works in over 22 countries, upholding MBBs in their faith.

Yet, Mamdouh says persecution is only part of the problem. “The biggest challenge MBBs face is internal, because they have no freedom to be themselves.”

This is particularly true among “secret believers”: Mamdouh describes a woman he knows whose everyday routine involves removing her cross and donning her hijab before returning home – in a sense, living a double life. Sociologists talk about anomie: a feeling of a lack of belonging, the inability to be authentic. Rejected by their communities, MBBs are unmoored, disorientated. There is a dramatic remaking of worldview. Furthermore, culturally Christianity can be seen as a western product, particularly if the church has adopted much that is western in terms of structure, music and vocabulary. This adds to an overall loss of identity for MBBs, which can be intensely painful.

“Nobody should have to figure out faith on their own… we want to see Muslim-background believers grow to become deep disciples of Jesus, who can in turn disciple others.”

Tanas Alqassis

Emigration temptation

The above factors have contributed to a notable exodus of Jesus-followers from the Middle East and North Africa. A century ago Christians comprised 20 per cent of the population in the Middle East and North Africa, but today Christians make up less than 4 per cent. This compounds the pressure and isolation experienced by those who remain, leading to further faith attrition. In his story, Adam describes the intense temptation to leave Bahrain and move to North America.

A cautious Church

Adam’s account of approaching a church and being rejected is not unfamiliar. Some churches across the Middle East, North Africa, as well as Europe and Britain, are hesitant to reach out to or welcome MBBs, out of suspicion of motives or fear of reprisal. In the Middle East, new believers are subjected to intense scrutiny in an effort to ascertain they aren’t undercover informants. In the UK, Muslim seekers are viewed with scepticism by some churches.

Keeping the faith

CMS has recently determined that a key focus for the coming years will be helping MBBs stay on the path with Jesus. This will happen in the following ways:

• Bringing CMS people in mission (mission partners and local partners) together to focus on discipling MBBs.
• Partnering with Together Network and supporting training events where MBBs come together to share experiences, encourage one another and take part in learning that will strengthen their faith and help them share with others. Like Amil, who Andy Roberts met recently: “Because of the discipleship course, he started a church in his own home, led his family to Christ and was seeing many more come to faith. He’s able to use the material to train up others from his house church to do the same.”
• Lovingly challenging churches to welcome and disciple new MBBs. CMS is in a good position for this due to longstanding relationships with churches in the Middle East and the UK.

Tanas Alqassis, CMS’s manager for the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, says about this key focus: “Nobody should have to figure out faith on their own. MBBs have to know that they aren’t alone. The foundation for our partnership with Together Network is that we both want to see Muslim background believers grow to become deep disciples of Jesus, who can in turn disciple others.”

“This is my dream, to share about God and truth with others so they can know freedom, too,” says Adam.

¹ Truro Independent Review of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians Final Text for the Libraries of Houses of Parliament 08072019 Final (christianpersecutionreview.org.uk)

Pray together

Please join us in praying for this new partnership and for all those seeking to follow Jesus in the face of great challenges.

Related posts

Get our email newsletter:

SIGN UP

The post Faith on the edge appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

When we think about challenges facing believers in Jesus from a Muslim background (MBBs), we often consider persecution, violence or imprisonment. But what happens when the rejection actually comes from the Church?

From confidence to questions

Sultan* never expected to follow Jesus. But one day, at home in the Middle East, he came across a TV programme featuring a Christian from a Muslim background. He comments, “I used to say, ‘How come these people are so proud of their religion when it is not true?’

“I used to watch with confidence as I knew my religion and wanted to find a mistake in theirs.”

But there were some points raised that Sultan couldn’t answer. So, he asked the imams. “I was very disappointed as none of them gave answers for [my] questions. They just said, ‘Do not watch these shows.’”

After wrestling for six months, Sultan realised, “I had reached a place where I left Islam but not enough to join Christianity.” He read the Bible and found it compelling. “When I read, I knew this was the truth and the true God I was searching for…. So I gave my life to the Lord and I accepted Jesus as my saviour.”

“No one could help”

Sultan wanted to be baptised, but when he contacted a Christian organisation, they said they couldn’t help him and suggested he travel to America. Another pastor told him he couldn’t baptise Sultan for fear of getting into trouble with the government. “I was afraid that I would die without getting baptised, I got so upset.”

Eventually Sultan was able to be baptised and spent several months with a church community in Bahrain. “After that, I was so happy.”

But then Sultan started facing trouble in his community – from friends, family and colleagues – and his wife left him. Although this caused internal struggles, he cried out to God, and “the Lord answered me every time with a Bible verse, he always answered my questions.” He adds, “It has been and still is a difficult journey; the looks, the threats are not easy.”

It’s apparent that Sultan needed and still needs solidarity and support: “My message to Christians is, please open your churches and doors for people like me who need spiritual help. I was so hungry for baptism and it was so important for me. If a person wants to be baptised please do not shut the door on them.” Sultan is not alone in his experience of church rejection.

Online options

When Rania, a young Muslim woman in North Africa, started a relationship with a Christian man, she was also drawn to Jesus. Like Sultan, she approached several churches, but was turned away – they were afraid of helping a Muslim investigating faith in Jesus.

Rania found an online network helping seekers and believers from Muslim backgrounds, led by a CMS local partner. They connected Rania with a local volunteer. After a successful face-to-face conversation, Rania brought her sister to meet the volunteer’s wife and they talked for three hours. Later that night, as Rania and her sister prayed, Jesus appeared to them and light filled the place where they were – overcoming their hesitation.

The sisters continue to meet with the volunteer couple weekly for discipleship. The volunteers say the women love Jesus with their whole hearts.

“Send someone for me”

Adam in Bahrain started searching for Jesus at age 18. He explains, “I went to the church and told the priest I wanted to be Christian and to know more about Jesus, but he said he could not help me because of their policy. I asked God, ‘If Jesus is the truth, please let me know or send a sign or send someone for me.’”

One of Adam’s friends told him about someone online who could help him learn about Jesus. Adam contacted this woman, who lives in Egypt.

“She arranged for me to meet someone where I live…. The first time I met Mr M, he explained lots of things but I didn’t understand; I just thought he was crazy. But something inside me told me that Jesus, that Christianity, there is something there.”

Easy to accept Jesus

Adam began to read the Bible. “I read Matthew, and I found myself reading fast because it was so interesting. I learned about Jesus from reading the Bible and from talking about my questions with Mr M and the woman online. It was very easy to accept Jesus, because it was very logical when I read and understood what he did.”

But following Jesus hasn’t always been straightforward. One day, Adam was arrested after reading the Bible in public and discussing it with two men who turned out to be security officers. He spent a month in prison, which has made it hard to get a job, yet he still remains eager to share his faith with others: “I have walked with two new believers. I hope I will get to journey with others because I feel very happy when people come to know God and know the truth.”

Equipped to make disciples

With opposition coming from their families, communities and even some churches, many MBBs feel isolated and their faith fades. CMS recognises that if MBBs are going to continue growing in faith, there is a great need for people to journey alongside them. That’s why CMS is partnering with Together Network (TN), which focuses on discipling groups of MBBs so they can in turn disciple others. Both Sultan and Adam have taken part in a training conference run by TN. Adam shared, “I’m doing the training because the thing I love the most is to help new people to know God.

“A year ago, I was thinking about emigrating, but after trying many times, I think God…wants me to stay and to share the good news here, so that is what I want to do. I want to do God’s work.”

Give now

No one should have to figure out faith alone. CMS and Together Network are upholding MBBs in their faith and helping churches understand how to welcome and support seekers and new believers so they don’t disappear. Give today and together we will see more disciples making disciples across the Middle East and North Africa.

Donate

Related stories

Get our email newsletter:

SIGN UP

The post “Please do not shut the door” appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).