Burgers With V. and J.

Thursday, March 4^th

For their protection, I cannot tell you where these 2 guys are from. They live in a place where Islam is radicalized and Christians are being mobilized.

Over a Thursday night re-entry meal of burgers and hot dogs I sat mesmerized for over an hour as they shared their lives and their lifestyles. I can’t tell you their real names, so let’s just call them V. and J. V. knew some English so he did most of the talking.

V. shared how he had carried on a witnessing relationship with a local mullah. The mullah agreed with V. that he needed Jesus. And he knew that his sins had not been removed. He said he lived with his sins daily and that he realized he needed a savior. But he explained to V. that his family had problems and the salary was very good for being a mullah. The mullah moved to a large house and V. lost track of him.

Struggling to find the right English words, V. recounted for us his encounters at the mosque. Yes, they sometimes go to the mosques to talk about the Lord with people. V. said, “I prefer to talk with the radical Muslims instead of the nominal Muslims. We don’t try to bring down Mohammed. By using the Koran itself, we lift up Christ higher than Mohammed.”

I asked V., what accounts for so many converts to Christianity? (in one area, 35 out of 100 witnessing exposures were led to Christ). He said, “People see dreams. Dreams of a man in a white robe. All of this happens before we have a conversation with them.” One man had recurring dreams of this kind so he went to a church. He became a Christian and the dreams stopped. Others have experienced miracles in their lives.

We talked further about the strategy that these church planters use to reach people: The Four Fields Approach.

• Field #1: Entry

a. Do prayer walks.

b. Share your testimony and find a “man of peace” (Luke 10:5-6); that is, someone who is open to a relationship with you.

• Field #2: Evangelism.
  

In the context of a friendship, continue to share basic Christian truths with your new friend.

• Field #3: Discipleship.

Cover essential Christian practices and truths. Encourage them to reach their friends, following your example of ‘Entry’ and ‘Evangelism’.

• Field #4: Plant a Small Group (house church).

We asked S. (the director) how he and the other church planters stay motivated, since evangelism in such hostile environments must be draining. “One thing I’ve learned,” he said, “is that my motives must be pure, and that I am sharing my faith totally for the glory of God.” He continued, “Evangelism isn’t natural for me. I used to shy away from sharing my faith because of fear, especially with Muslims,. Now, my personal focus is to worship God. Now I eagerly share my faith daily.”

If you are still reading this post, pray now for these brothers and sisters in Christ in the same way that Paul requested the prayers of the Ephesian believers (Eph. 6:19-20): “...and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.”