How can you put on an event for your Muslim neighbours as a church or Mahabba group? First of all, you need a pool of ‘warm’ contacts. People are unlikely to come with an open mind unless a friend invites them personally. So the first step is to share faith naturally with your Muslim neighbours: form a friendship first, then share faith naturally in conversation rather than as a cold presentation. Let it be a two-way process, marked by respect and gentleness (1 Peter 3:15,16). At the same time, be praying as a group for these friendships and for the event you want to invite them to. This may take a few months — when you feel the time is right, invite them.
To plan the event, I recommend the acronym BLESS.
B is for Bless. Meet in advance to pray blessing over the people you will invite. Pray that they will be blessed from the moment they first enter until the moment they leave. Also pray and listen to God about ways the different elements of your event could bless your guests — then invite them.
L is for Listen. Listen to your guests. Be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19). Prioritise them, attending not only to their words but to their hearts.
E is for Eat. When we eat together, people relax and share what is really going on in their lives. When we meet in a purely religious context, the conversation tends to stay focused on religion. I suspect that is one reason Jesus did so much of his outreach over meals — he was known as a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Matt 9:10), because he had come "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:9–10). During the meal, keep listening well without jumping in to correct what you may see as wrong theology; try to hear their heart. The food will need to be halal, of course — no wine or pork, and any meat served must be halal (Mark 7:18-22).
S is for Serve. We serve our guests by preferring their needs over our own. Providing halal food, dressing modestly, and being thoughtful about gender etiquette are all ways of doing that. Make sure you tell your guests that the food will be halal when you invite them, or they may not come. Halal meat is normally easy to find. If that troubles your conscience, you could go vegetarian, or invite everyone to bring a labelled dish to share (1 Corinthians 8 & 10).
Muslims dress conservatively, so honour them by doing the same. You don't need to wear a headscarf, but avoiding shorts or open tops and keeping shoulders covered is a good modest standard among Muslims (1 Corinthians 10:32-33). Muslims are accustomed to removing their shoes when entering a home — providing slippers is a thoughtful touch, though not essential, and in a church hall it is not necessary.
Depending on how conservative your guests are, consider whether to separate the sexes. In more religious Muslim culture, men and women typically meet in different rooms or on different occasions. In home setting, however, we may mix together, as we want to reflect kingdom culture — though we remain mindful of a man not sitting directly next to a woman. In a church setting, allow your guests to choose where to sit; women will likely sit together and men at another table, so prepare your team to follow their lead. Do also make any children feel welcome. If you are unsure about any cultural question, ask your Muslim friend what they would feel comfortable with — this will vary across different Muslim communities.
You may also like to give guests a small gift bag to take home, perhaps including sweets, a small gift, a gospel, or other media.
The last S is for Share. Having blessed, listened, eaten together, and served your guests, their hearts are more open to what you have to share. This can happen in two ways. You can have an open programme, simply praying, listening, and sharing naturally as opportunity arises. On one occasion, we had no programme at all — we prayed that God would initiate the conversation, and after the food, one of our Muslim guests asked a question about the gospel that led to a wonderfully fruitful discussion. Alternatively, you can have a set plan. After a meal in our own home, for example, we invited one of our team to share her testimony for five minutes, then opened the floor for questions — and the conversation flowed. On another occasion, in a church setting, we had a programme with a soloist singing two songs (one secular, one Christian but without overtly religious language), followed by a poem, a testimony, and an invitation for prayer — with coffee and cake available for those who preferred that. Whatever shape your event takes, do explain to your guests in advance what to expect, so they never feel like a captive audience.
The truth is, when people have been genuinely blessed, listened to, fed, and served, the gospel doesn't need to force its way in — it gets invited. That is the power of BLESS.
Chas – Mahabba Network