That They May Know

“How can I follow Jesus?” Thousands of Muslim background North Africans approach MB Mission with this question each year. A ministry has taken root in North Africa which supports a network of house churches throughout the region that is growing in strength and number to this day.

In the early 1990s, MB Mission began a relationship with a pastor in the Vancouver area who was planting an Arabic speaking MB church. This pastor, an Egyptian native named Samir, was interested in evangelism in his home country. MB Mission began sending short term teams of college students to serve alongside Egyptian youth while Samir spoke in church-based outreach events. Samir’s ministry in North Africa has since grown to include radio broadcasts and satellite television programs focused on evangelism and discipleship. These broadcasts have made him a widely recognized Christian leader throughout the region, drawing people to the truth of Jesus Christ and opening doors to even more ministry opportunities.

Abe is one Muslim background North African who experienced the transforming power of Jesus. Despite his devotion to Allah, Abe did not feel God’s presence or love. As prescribed for all Muslims, he decided to pray five times a day in the mosque. One day as he was praying he heard a voice behind him say, “You are not praying the right way.” Abe turned around, but there was no one there. Over the following weeks, this same voice spoke the same words to him each time he came to the mosque to pray. Abe became frustrated with this counsel because in Islam there is only one prescribed way to pray.

Abe visited his brother for guidance as to what to do with this voice he was hearing. His brother sympathized with his frustrations in prayer and invited him to read a book from his library that a friend had given him. That book was the Bible. As Abe read the life and ministry of Jesus, he discovered the relationship with God that he had been looking for. His prayer life was transformed as he experienced the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Today Abe is leading a movement of house churches in his country and is involved in the follow up ministry of Samir’s satellite broadcasts.

North Africans are hungry for the truth. Many are hearing the Gospel for the first time and responding to what they have always desired: God’s invitation to fellowship. Pray for the hearts of Muslims all over the world to open up to a God who loves them and longs for a relationship.