An apprentice at a church in Oxford tells us of his particular focus, the ministry to Muslims.
Like Christians, Muslims worship one God who created all things and who will one day judge every person who has ever lived. They also believe that Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus were all prophets sent by God. However, Muslims do not believe that Jesus is God and neither do they believe that Jesus was crucified. For Muslims, salvation is not secured by trusting in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice at the cross but is instead pursued through living out the five pillars of Islam (creed, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage) and hoping in God’s mercy at the Day of Judgement. The vast majority of Muslims believe in God and earnestly seek to serve him, and yet without the forgiveness and personal relationship with God that can only be received through faith in Jesus, they are facing an eternity of darkness. The problem of reaching Muslims with the gospel is one of the greatest challenges facing the church today.
Through high birth rates Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion and one in every five people around the world are Muslim. There are around 1.8 million Muslims in the UK and about 5000 who reside in Oxford, most of whom are from Pakistani origin. In addition, there are many more Muslims who have come to Oxford from all over the world, either to study in the universities and language schools or to seek asylum. The vast majority of all Muslims living in Oxford have never even met a real Christian, let alone heard the gospel.
It has been my great privilege to be involved in sharing the gospel with Muslims in Oxford as part of the apprenticeship scheme I have been on this year. This has involved going out and meeting Muslims, sharing my faith with them, reading the Bible with them, praying for them and loving them as best I can. Reaching out to Muslims has its own unique challenges: Although we have much in common from which to build from, and conversation will almost always turn to God at some point, Muslims are also particularly immunized to the claims of Jesus through the doctrines of their own faith and many have been taught how to counter Christianity from an early age.
Muslims are fallen people, like us, for whom Jesus died. Islam has brought Muslims to a well where they can sense living water, but it is only through Jesus that they can draw water and experience forgiveness and a personal relationship with God for themselves. Despite the resistance that many Muslims initially feel when they first hear the gospel, I have found that as genuine friendship develops they become much more honest about their genuine needs and fears and the relevance of Jesus for their lives becomes much more apparent to them. It has been thrilling for me to see how over time God has been growing a genuine spiritual hunger, a conviction of sin, and a desire to engage with his Word amongst many of my Muslim friends and it has been wonderful to read the Old Testament prophets with them, many of whom also appear in the Qur’an, and see how clearly they point to Jesus. I have also found that the parable of the lost son speaks with particular power to Muslims, who are taught that they are slaves of God but never learn that God is a loving Father who wants to welcome them as his own children.
When it comes to Muslims, the Church tends to be divided not over theological grounds but over emotive ones—whether to welcome Muslims or to fear them. I sincerely believe we must reach out to them in love and in friendship. Although Muslims are so often portrayed as people to fear, my Muslim friends, who have come from countries as far afield as Libya, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, as well as from England, are some of the most fun, generous, and gracious people I have ever met and I have been blessed greatly through my friendships with them. It is a tragedy if we do not share the gospel with these people who are so zealous for God and so desiring to do his will. Christians often think you have to be an Islamic expert and know the Qur’an inside out to share the gospel with Muslims but actually the only qualification anyone needs is being born again. I hope and pray that as more and more Christians seek to share the gospel with Muslims in the context of genuine two-way friendship, then these friendships will be the bridge Jesus will use to step into the hearts of Muslims and bring many to salvation in Him.
Recommended websites:
www.answering-islam.org - Answers to common questions and objections that Muslims have with Christianity.
Books:
A Christian's Pocket Guide to Islam (Patrik Sookhdeo, Christian Focus) – brief basics of Islam for Christians
Faith to Faith (Chawkat Moucarry, IVP) - A Christian Arab Perspective on Islam and Christianity.