Muslims are choosing to follow Jesus; joining his family

Today in Britain growing numbers of Muslims are choosing to follow Jesus; joining his family. We need to understand their needs, care for them and help them grow in him. And we want to learn from them.

God is answering the prayers of many over years and now there are churches across the country grappling with the joy and the challenge of welcoming believers from a Muslim background.

This month we are highlighting Joining the Family (JtF) resources – here is a message from Roxy, JtF coordinator.

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I love the word hospitality which for Muslims often starts in the heart attitude of honouring guests into their own homes.

The Greek word for hospitality, Xenia (guest friendship), is again a heart attitude offering friendship to someone who may be far from home.

The word Xenophobia is the fear or distrust of someone who seems strange or foreign.

May we ask God to change our hearts towards people from Muslim backgrounds and not be afraid but be open to those who are far from home when they enter our churches, places that may seem strange and a long way from their spiritual home if not their physical home.

“Hospitality is something I appreciate about Eastern cultures. I have visited many countries of Asia and the Middle East, and in each place it’s the same. When I enter a home I will automatically be offered refreshments… It’s biblical too. Do you recall the account of Abraham rushing to kill the fattened calf for three random strangers who passed by his tent? That kind of elaborate hospitality seems extravagant to western readers but makes sense in an Eastern culture… But this full-blown treatment of guests can all get too much… That’s why I like the idea of ‘laid back’ hospitality. I want my friend of Muslim background to feel welcome and I will always offer drinks and nibbles if they drop by… Laid back hospitality lowers the barriers for me and, I believe, makes it easier for my friend to know they can come and I won’t have to make special arrangements.”

— Joining the Family book. P. 74-75

I pray that as described by Tim Green (above) we would be people who offer guest friendship to people of Muslim backgrounds in laid back hospitality.

Joining the Family aims to enable churches to be places of welcome for believers of Muslim backgrounds through providing resources, training and support to church leaders and those who disciple believers of Muslim backgrounds in the UK. Our vision is threefold:

1. Churches are more confident to receive believers of a Muslim background

2. Theological trainees have an increased awareness and knowledge of the needs of believers from a Muslim background

3. Believers of Muslim backgrounds receive better emotional and spiritual support

To find out more or to contact JtF head to:

Borrow a pastor

Diego Sulivan

Borrow a pastor

This is a blog from a friend of Mahabba Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!

Can we borrow another pastor?

“What will we do now that the pastor has moved on?”

…they asked.

This was not a worried congregation but rather some church members who had boarded the roller coaster of befriending Iranian asylum seekers.

The pastor had pitched in by leading a private Bible study for them, but he was moving away.

“Can we borrow another pastor?”

…was one question that was asked.

We found another solution.

With a little coaching, the ladies started using Come Follow Me.

The participants work through the lesson on their own in English, Farsi or Arabic and then once a week they all come together to discuss, share and pray for each other.

The material does not take them off into theological puzzles or doctrinal disputes but focusses on living as followers of Christ.

If we go back to the Great Commission we find that Jesus himself put the emphasis on teaching people to obey all that he had commanded – most of which was the stuff of living.

So they started.

A retired office worker and a lady who irons clothes for a living were engaged in cross cultural discipleship.

We are all familiar with the cry that the labourers are few (Matthew 9:36-38).

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.””

— Matthew 9:36-38 New International Version (NIV)

Oh, how we would love to see an army of multi-lingual, highly trained, specialist workers of proven experience turning up on our doorsteps asking what we have for them to do.

The people Jesus called that day to pray for labourers became the labourers.

The truth is that for the most part we do not need more bodies, but we need the bodies we already have to be equipped and to discover that they can do the work.

Come Follow Me is a wonderful piece of kit which enables non-experts to engage with confidence in helping new believers grow in Christ.

The next training day is in Wakefield, Yorkshire, 27 October. Maybe request one near you?

Upcoming events

Come Follow Me training day

Saturday 27 October
Wakefield
For full details, contact Flora

Enquire now

Come Follow Me training Wakefield enquiry

Regional gathering

Monday 1 December

For full details, contact Gillie

Enquire now

Regional Gathering December enquiry

Joining the dots

Katie McNabb

Joining the dots

This is a blog from a friend of Mahabba Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!

Reflecting on the dots

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte

In the 1880s French artist Georges Seurat introduced an art form known as pointillism. As the name suggests, Seurat used small dots, or points, of colour to create an artistic image.

Up close, his work looks like groupings of individual dots. Yet as the observer steps back, the human eye blends the dots into brightly coloured portraits or landscapes.

We can think of September as a month when we start filling the picture of our year with dots. Each day fills with greys, reds, ambers and greens, that may fill us with trepidation or excitement, and leave us feeling anywhere between exhausted or invigorated at the end of the day.

It’s only when we step back and reflect that we start to see patterns and shapes.

The picture that emerges may square up to the one we had in mind at the start. But more often, it has unexpected shades of light and dark that present us with a different image to the one we planned.

In the same way, the two on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13) were reflecting on the ‘dots’ of events that had happened over the Passover weekend in Jerusalem.

They saw only dark and sombre tones of violence and death. The picture of Jesus, as they left Jerusalem, did not square up to the picture they had planned for Jesus, the prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and the people (v. 19).

Then Jesus joins up the dots for them, bringing the light and shade of Moses and the prophets, and all the things the scriptures had been saying about the Messiah (v. 27).

As Jesus breaks the bread at home in Emmaus, they are given a moment to stand back and see the full, beautiful picture.

In the same way, our ministries may push us right up against the canvas with busy schedules, scarce resources and a lack of workers for the harvest.

We might have only our own dot and a couple surrounding in sight (and their colours might even be on the opposite side of the colour spectrum to ours). But are we perhaps forming a beautiful image together?

On 13 October, Birmingham wants to have such a day of standing back and joining the dots of those working to engage with Muslims in our city.

A place of peas

Pixabay

A place of peas

This is a real-life story of recent events from friends of Mahabba Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!

Vandalism to Vegetables

About 5 years ago one of our regulars got involved in a sort of city farm project.

It is in an area of stark terraces almost entirely occupied by Bangladeshis.

The project was secular but with several white Christians heavily involved.

When we met to pray, we heard tales of plastic tunnels being vandalised and project personnel being threatened.

All we could do was pray.

The other evening, I  went to the site for a prayer meeting.

The gate was open. There were no high fences, no barbed wire, no security measures of any kind.

Some Asian teenagers sitting on the benches greeted us politely.

The project is highly valued by the community. Members of many families use the project. They grow vegetables. Children come to learn about nature.

It is a place of peace and harmony. God has answered prayer.

Your turn

Have you been touched by this story? If so, you can play your part.

• Share the amazing news of God moving among Muslim with your friends via e-mail or social media, using the links below
  

• Support Mahabba in its work to equip everyday Christians to build relationships and share Jesus with Muslims

Lost, asleep & on the wrong path

Dan Grinwis

God is moving among Muslims

This is a real-life story of recent events from friends of Mahabba Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!

Lost, asleep & on the wrong path

Hello everyone, I was born in Iran. I thank God that he hasn’t left me lost and asleep on the wrong path. From childhood I was brought up as a strict Shia Muslim however I always felt weak. I used to pray and worship but I wasn’t able to reach God in the way I wanted to.

I was always looking for a God of love and friendship and so finally I decided to look for God in another way. For this reason I started looking into Sufi Islam. I felt I was lost and I was looking to find the right way. Many times I went to Sufi meetings however I was still not satisfied.

When I had a problem with my job, I decided to go into a church and light a candle. After a few days, the problem was solved. A short time later, when a different problem arose, I had to leave my country.

When I arrived in England, I got to know some new Iranian Christian friends and I got a lot of information from them. Little by little, I began to feel that following Jesus was a better way and understand that Christianity is a complete way to reach God, until God accepted me and I came to faith in Jesus.

I understood that all my life I had been following the wrong way and that there was no other way than following Jesus to reach the God of love because all the other ways put distance between me and God. However, following Jesus enabled me to become a friend of God. Now I am a son of God and he has become my Father – I’m not a slave of God.

The teachings of Jesus have taught me about life and how to live in love. He taught me how to relate to people around me, who I used to think were my enemies, and be at peace with them; how to live in freedom and help others to live freely too; how to find when Satan was working against me; how to put to death my selfish pride; that God is a God of love we can relate to, not a God of fear.

He answered my childlike questions and gave me a new outlook. Through my words, those who oppose the Gospel can understand and get to know God, whether they’ve had information before or not. The Lord’s return is near and he has given us a great responsibility to go and make disciples of all the nations, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Lord Jesus, I confess that I’m a sinner. I know I cannot attain salvation and become righteous through my own power or good works. I believe you were killed on the cross for my sins, were buried in the grave and after three days you rose again from the dead.

I believe that you’re alive and have the authority to forgive my sins and count me righteous before you. I surrender my whole heart and life to you. Thank you for hearing my prayer, Amen.

Your turn

Have you been touched by this story? If so, you can play your part.

• Share the amazing news of God moving among Muslim with your friends via e-mail or social media, using the links below
   
• Support Mahabba in its work to equip everyday Christians to build relationships and share Jesus with Muslims

Hope & healing

Tanja Heffner

God is moving among Muslims

This is a real-life story of recent events from one of the local Mahabba groups in the Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!

Our contact in a church in London, tells us what happened...

Hope & healing

About 75 people came to our church event for people of other faith backgrounds. It was lovely to see about fifteen Muslim women there in their hijabs. Other less religious Muslims were also there and many Hindus. All invited by Christian friends.

The whole evening was very enjoyable and peaceful. People stayed for a long time even though we were very challenging in plainly sharing the Gospel with them, but in a gracious way.

We began with refreshments, and a fun quiz. This was followed by a free halal and vegetarian meal. After this we gave the quiz results and prizes. 

We then gave a fifty minute presentation on the theme of hope. People listened attentively to someone from a Muslim background sharing his testimony of coming to faith, boldly and lovingly.

There was a short talk on the reasons for our Christian hope. This was followed by an invitation for prayer for healing. Two healing testimonies were shared, one of a healing from a cyst. Later a lady came for prayer with the same condition.

About 25 to 30 people came forward for prayer for healing. There was a queue!

One person said their post cancer operation pain had left. Another who had pain in their foot said it was gone.

All the guests stayed well past the finish time as we ended the evening with coffee and cake. 

Lots of people came at the end and said how much they had enjoyed the programme. We are now planning our next event!

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You can see all upcoming events in the Mahabba Network here →

Your turn

Have you been touched by this story? If so, you can play your part.

• Share the amazing news of God moving among Muslim with your friends via e-mail or social media, using the links below
   
• Support Mahabba in its work to equip everyday Christians to build relationships and share Jesus with Muslims

God is moving among Muslims

Marc-Olivier Jodoin

God is moving among Muslims

This is a real-life story of recent events from one of the local Mahabba groups in the Network. Names and details have been deliberately removed to protect the identity of those involved, but praise God - he is working in the lives of Muslims to reveal Jesus!

He is moving

I was delighted to be invited to the birthday party.

Oz was a Syrian asylum seeker. I met him just at the time his application was accepted and he promptly moved away with his family into a big city

In our small town he had found Christian friends and even attended some church events. I visited him in his new home.

On the one hand it was gloriously multicultural and on the other hand it was not a nice neighbourhood. I knew it, he knew it.

I put him in touch with a nearby Christian bookshop which I understood to be run by a Pakistani believer and was pleased to hear later that he had visited it.

Then came the invitation for his two year old’s birthday party. It was quite an event. And the bookshop manager had been invited too.

He was not a Pakistani at all but fellow Syrian, young in the faith and keen as mustard. That was more than I had asked or thought.

Then came the news that Oz had found a better place to live and was moving out to a suburb. I was glad that his family had a nicer home, but could I put him in touch with local Christian friends?

I spoke to the bookshop man:

“Oz is moving. This is his new address.”

The bookshop man said:

“Really? I live just round the corner from him!”

Wow. God is on his case. Hallelujah!

Your turn

Have you been touched by this story? If so, you can play your part.

• Share the amazing news of God moving among Muslim with your friends via e-mail or social media, using the links below
   
• Support Mahabba in its work to equip everyday Christians to build relationships and share Jesus with Muslims