It’s understandable if the phrase “ministering to Muslims” seems sort of daunting to you, especially if you’ve never heard a practical approach to the task. However, the reality is that no matter where you live, you most likely have a Muslim neighbor. A simple act of kindness can open the door to share your testimony! In Mark 16:15 (NIV) Jesus tells His disciples to, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.” When Jesus says all, that’s exactly what He means!
Today, I want to share a story with you.
I was living in Denver a few years ago. One day, we were downtown and there was an outdoor skating rink in the winter, and I see a young man skating. The first thing I noticed was he was a very good skater. He was Arab and had a distinctive look.
More than a week later, we were downtown doing evangelism, and I saw him again and realized that he looked familiar. I didn’t know why I recognized him, but then I remembered. I saw him walking by, I stopped him and said, “Hey, I saw you the other day ice skating. You are really good!” I told him I was impressed. This opened up a great conversation. He went on to tell me a little bit about his life, and I come to find out that he was originally from Saudi Arabia, and that’s where he learned how to ice skate (surprising, right?). He used to teach there! We struck up a conversation.
That initial conversation led to a friendship
It soon became that when I went out with our base and did weekly evangelism, he would come with me. He watched us evangelize, pray for people, and tell them about Jesus. Within a couple weeks of him hearing the gospel and seeing us sharing with others, we asked if we could pray for him, and he said yes. He was touched by God to the degree that his whole body was burning. I didn’t know anything about ministering to Muslims, yet he was so impacted that he invited all of his friends from foreign nations to come hang out with us—friends from Saudi Arabia and Japan.
He received Christ
This was my friend Ahmed, and he was my first Muslim friend I ever led to Jesus.
At the time, I wasn’t part of a ministry like ours that focuses on ministering to Muslims. I didn’t know the strategies and tools of sharing Jesus with Muslims. All I knew was to love people and share the most amazing story of what Jesus did on the cross. And it was enough for a beginner to bring a new soul into the kingdom of God.
You can do it, too!
I saw him one day, I remembered him, and I talked to him. I simply started a conversation. Anybody can do that. Why not go up to someone and give them a compliment or encourage them? It wasn’t an accident that he was out ice skating the day I was there. Whether you are a seasoned apologist in ministering to Muslims or you are simply a lover of Jesus with no context of what Muslims believe, God can and will use you! If we are willing to listen to his voice and risk the awkwardness of talking to a stranger, you never know who you might meet.
It is not as hard as you might think.
Ministering to Muslims is as easy as being friendly and loving people. I didn’t need to know the doctrine or foundations of Islam. God’s word says to simply “love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” God’s love did the rest.
Yes, there is benefit to knowing what Muslims believe, how to defend your faith against objections Muslims have, and strategic ways to share your faith with this people group. In fact, we have an entire school here at YWAM Redding dedicated to this! (click here for more information) But you do not have to wait until you know more to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the unreached.
Pray intentionally. Go out. Be bold