This is day 27 of 32. Throughout April, we will be posting daily. We invite you to learn about Chinese Muslims and pray with us for God’s glory to be made known among them. If you would like to read other posts in this series, you can find them here or download the prayer guide here.
Abraham is a Muslim-background believer (MBB) from an average Muslim family in China. He allowed us to interview him recently and share his story. He desires for people to understand more about Chinese Muslims and to pray intentionally and passionately for them. His real name and location are removed to protect his identity. This is part 5 of 7.
Share how you learned the Gospel needed to be shared differently with Muslims than others.
Now when I share with my friends, I really don’t confront them with the Gospel. We spend time together as friends and I try to find out what he really needs. If he has a problem, I try to help him understand it. I ask if I can pray for him. I pray, and he does not stop me. I still pray as a Muslim in the same position. If I had a similar experience as this guy in the past, I would share with him how God had helped me or provided for me.
One of my friends had really difficult family relationships. His family treated him horribly. His father or grandfather had a really big transgression in their history and it was on his head. He thought God was punishing him. I told him I understood what he was saying. Then, I told him a similar story of what happened to me and a story of what I heard happened in the mosque. I also shared a story from the Bible. I wanted to show him what God’s Word said. He didn’t agree with everything that I said, but he did respond. I am helping him and others to think more about who God is.
When I was still in college and I was sharing with my friend, I was telling her if you are doing bad things you are going to go to hell. Then after that day we never talked with each other, and she said many bad things about me. She calls me a devil. So I changed my approach. I am not so confrontational now.
There are many mixed views among those who live among Chinese Muslims about the best approaches for sharing the Gospel. The reality is that regardless of the method, Chinese Muslims need to hear the Gospel proclaimed and hear it often. MBBs and foreign and national workers all need wisdom about how best to proclaim the Gospel biblically and contextually to Chinese Muslims.
I wish I had an Muslim-background believer who was older than me who could teach me. That hasn’t happened in my life. I don’t want this same thing to happen to others and to my family. I want to be able to mentor new Muslim-background believers.
Prayer Requests:
- Please pray that God will give wisdom to MBBs and other followers of Christ about how to best proclaim the Gospel clearly to Chinese Muslims.
- Please pray that God will provide mentors for new MBB believers. May MBBs be intentional about making disciples.