Because my friend invited me

This blog was initially published on 31 March 2017, and subsequently edited with an update on 7 September 2017.

Because my friend invited me

I was visiting with a family of Syrian refugees who had come to the UK on the government’s Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme from refugee camps in the Middle East.

They were one of the first refugee families in our area, helping those who came after them to settle. In the process, they’ve become central figures in the resettled community.

Many local Mahabba members have helped them along the way with driving lessons, English lessons and furniture.

I’m trying to learn Arabic from them.

Last week, the husband and son were on their way out when the mum, my Arabic teacher, said I should practise my new vocabulary and ask them where they’re going.

The response was,

“ila l-kanisa,”

which means, 'to the church'.

“To the church?”

I asked surprised,

“Why are you going to church?”

“Because my friend invited me,”

was the simple response.

Dad picked up the keys and off they went, just like any other parent ferrying children to activities.

I was struck by the familiarity and simplicity of the scene – this Muslim boy is going to church because he had been invited.

So often we are hamstrung by questions about the proper way to introduce our Muslim friends to Christ:

“What if I say the wrong thing? What if we serve the wrong food? What if…”

Whoever this boy’s friend is, he gave me a valuable lesson that night.

Just do it!

---

And as it happens, a few month's later at the first Mahabba group meeting of the new academic year I heard an amazing development.

This boy had asked one of our other Christian friends, who knows the family, whether he can be a Muslim who follows Jesus.

So be encouraged - just do it and see what God does!

---

SINCE YOU'RE HERE...

... we have recently planted another local Mahabba group in the UK - awesome news!

With your help, though, we would like to continue to sow, plant and support Mahabba groups.

Our work involves a small team of regional reps and central hub personnel investing in local coordinators and groups, as well as spreading the word.

To continue this vital mission to Muslims, we need to increase our regular monthly income.

Our initial target is to raise up 100 individual regular donors, giving an average of £10 to £15 per month.

Could you be one of the 100?

Network Annual Report 2016-17

Matt Briney

Network Annual Report 2016-17

Welcome to our annual report for the last financial year (1 September 2016 to 31 August 2017), or, as everyone wants to know, what we've done with your money!

Please do take a couple of minutes to leave your feedback at the end of the report - we particularly want to hear back from people in local Mahabba groups.

Here's a quick index, if you want to skip to particular sections (click on the links):

What's been happening >
How we've used your funds >
Impact of what we've done >
Reports from Mahabba groups >
Feedback >

 

What's been happening

As ever, Mahabba has been up to lots. Here is a quick summary of the main things this year:

New growth!

The Network has grown to 51 local groups, and the following have joined us to pray and share Jesus with Muslims: Peckham, Basingstoke, Aston, Frenchay, Newham, Southampton, Morden, Dublin, Salford and Loughborough.
See our groups >

Prayer and action campaign

During Ramadan, for the fourth consecutive year, we have run Lovefast, a campaign to encourage Christians to pray for Muslims and engage with them in the community. Over 330 people joined us across the 30 days.
Read more about Lovefast >

Annual Gathering

For the third consecutive year, Mahabba people from across the UK, as well as other interested parties, gathered for prayer, networking and equipping with us in Derby.
Read more >

Supporting local groups

This year we successfully distributed 500 '30 Days of Prayer' guides to local Mahabba groups. This coincided with Ramadan and our Lovefast campaign. The aim was to encourage individuals into prayer in groups, as well as among Christians in communities.

Tithe Fund

Mahabba has continued to sow 10% of all its income this year into like-minded projects and ministries. It has distributed £17,342 into over 20 individual projects.

Within Mahabba

1. We have welcomed a new member onto the Network Team - made up of regional reps - who will focus on strategic development with other organisations, among students and strengthening the Network
    
2. We launched our new fundraising initiative, Friends of Mahabba, encouraging individuals to partner with us closely financially as well as prayerfully. We believe this will play a key part in increasing individual giving. Find out more about Friends >
    
3. We commissioned a brilliant animation all about Mahabba and to inspire people about what God is doing among Muslims to get involved. This tells the big story of how Muslims are coming to know Jesus as well as Mahabba's work. Watch the animation >

 

Don't forget The City!

For four year now we have continued to provide an online community platform - The City - which gives people a place to network, encourage each other and engage in issues to do with outreach to Muslims.

We actively sow into this forum, while encouraging discussions and sharing organically. There have been some inspiring and robust exchanges, which have been very informative.

We produced a popular FAQ off the back of one of these which has been visited regularly:

 

How we've used your funds

Here's what we brought in

Income - our main sources

N.B. graph does not represent the the total income for the year, just the main areas

• Our main source of income for the year was from major grants (£5,000 and above)
• Although we have been successful at fundraising in this area, we want to reduce our reliance on this source
• One-off gifts has been an equally fruitful area for us, with the same caveat as above
• Overall, we want to build up regular giving to Mahabba from individuals and churches to give us a strong, sustainable base on which to grow for the future

 

Here's what we actually spent

Expenditure - main expense areas

N.B. graph does not represent the the total expenditure for the year, just the main areas

• Overall, we have faced a challenging year in terms of income, so had to reduce our spending to reflect that
• Our largest expense is for fees paid to our Regional Facilitators
• Other significant costs incurred were for support personnel (£36,000), UK travel costs (£6,643), office rent (£5,385), hospitality (£1,984), conferences and networking (£1,006), and overseas travel and conferences (£3,585)
• Payments from the Tithe Fund in the year amounted to £16,342

 

Impact of what we've done

Animation

Thanks to a generous grant, we commissioned a video about Mahabba and its mission to Muslims. This has been well-received, taking central place on the website. At the National Gathering, almost 80% said that they would be prepared to share it with friends and church.

On the move

Our small team of Regional Facilitators has been on the move across the UK. Between them, they have covered approximately 1,345 miles, visiting groups, encouraging coordinators and spreading the word. This is the equivalent of Land's End to John o'Groats 1.5 times, although our teams generally didn't visit groups on foot or bike!

New growth

Through investing in our team of Regional Facilitators, who are key personnel in Mahabba, we have increased the number of groups from 41 to 51, which is an increase of almost 25%. This has released and encouraged more Christians on the ground across the UK to pray and engage with Muslims as a result.

Prayer and action

This year was the fourth consecutive Lovefast campaign, and an additional 113 people signed up to get involved with prayer and action. This was an increase of just over 50% - from 224 to 337 participants. We took out a targetted Facebook advert in order to boost numbers, which resulted in a healthy conversion rate to subscriptions.

“Just appreciated reading some stories of changed lives and how to pray specifically. I appreciated the action points to keep in mind when the Lord allows me to cross paths with Muslims in the future.”

— Deb

Annual Gathering

We used funds to put on our third consecutive Annual Gathering. 73 delegates from around the UK gathered together in Derby for encouraging, equipping and networking of those interested or working among Muslims. This was an increase of 20% on the previous year.

Here's the feedback from the event:

• Over 80% would recommend the National Gathering to a friend
• Over 80% felt the event achieved its aims 
• The favourite session was Adam's (session 2) - Working with refugees locally
• 90% said they are likely to attend in future

“So encouraging to see how God can use our simple skills and time in a myriad of ways to reach out and touch Muslim hearts”

“A great way to meet others from in the Network, be inspired and encouraged to persevere in local outreach to Muslims”

Tithe Fund

We were particularly excited to hear back that one of the tithe projects that we sowed into was very fruitful. The individual, alongside other believers, was very active in praying for Muslims and sharing Jesus with them.

“We met an elderly Muslim man on crutches who was in extreme pain, leaning against a wall. We shared the love of Christ and helped him find somewhere to sit to relieve the pain. While praying with him, his leg grew and the pain melted away”

— Karen

 

Reports from Mahabba groups

 

Feedback

Comments are closed on this blog, but please do let us know your feedback.

We are especially interested to hear back from those of you in local Mahabba groups.

How can we continue to grow a sustainable income, and in what ways, so that we can support Christians reaching out to Muslims?

How would you like to see us spending the funds we receive?