FEATURE STORY
CASTING A NETWORK FOR SPIRITUAL SEEKERS Medhat is a local partner working across the Middle East. Here he tells how people have come to hear the good news of Jesus both in person and online, even during lockdowns.
“I
was afraid I was on my own!” This was the first thing that A, a professional man in Cairo, said when we connected him with another Christian at his workplace. My ministry is all about connecting those exploring faith with Christians in their local area. I build and maintain a network of trusted volunteers who connect with seekers near them. Our volunteers answer questions about anything related to our faith and connect people with other local Christians, and help source any materials they might need. A’s faith journey had begun when some Islamic hardliners made references that A wanted to investigate further. As he researched those references, A came across some Christian programmes. He contacted the makers of one programme and subsequently said, “I accepted Christ as my Lord and now I feel like a newborn baby living a new life.” On meeting A, our volunteer
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noticed the joy on his face. A expressed a desire to be baptised, though he was also afraid. Our partner encouraged him not to rush into baptism before some discipleship to prepare, and met with him twice a week to learn and study the Bible together. In one of his first discipleship meetings A brought his friend and started sharing about Jesus – A is very eager to reach people around him with the good news.
NETWORK CONNECTIONS Like A, many others get in touch as a result of TV and radio broadcasts, social media posts and other online material. Some have seen broadcasts from our organisation and contact us directly, others get in touch with media organisations with whom we work closely – we support those organisations by connecting seekers with our volunteers. Another part of my work is in
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empowering local churches and home churches to use the internet – so this area of work has become very important in the last year. Normally, I would travel to encourage our volunteers, as well as speaking to them regularly by phone. Although I have not been able to travel over the last year, I continue to be encouraged as our volunteers share stories of God at work. God is doing great things even in this pandemic – we see people coming to Christ and lives changed.
FINDING A FAMILY L is a university student from a Muslim background, studying in
