In the midst of tragedy, God is drawing Syrian Muslims into His kingdom.
While serving in a refugee settlement near the Syrian border, a veteran Frontiers team leader discovers that many Muslims are hungrier than ever to study the Word of God.
“During a recent two-week period, we visited over sixty Syrian families,” Joshua says. Some families expressed no interest in learning about Christ. “But in most households, we found people interested in studying God’s Word. In many homes, there was even a deep hunger for the Word.”
Joshua’s team has joined churches and other organizations in a collaborative effort to bless refugees with much-needed gifts of food and supplies. Spearheaded by national believers, the project is the global church’s labor of love to serve Syrian refugees. These acts carry the sweet aroma of Christ among Muslims who have suffered greatly at the hands of their own people and in the name of Islam.
Joshua and his team help distribute food and supplies. During their visits, they encourage refugee families and point them to Christ. They do so following the instruction of Colossians 4:5-6:
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
“We try to let our conversations be ‘salty,’ sprinkling them with stories about Jesus Christ and truth from the Word of God,” Joshua says. “Before we leave, we often ask if they would like to gather their friends and family together to study more of God’s Word. So many are saying yes.”
Team members also give out SD memory cards with audio files of the Bible in Arabic. The contents are specially formatted to be used in Bible studies.
Masoud and Zahra received these audio scriptures last year. When Joshua’s team first visited this young Syrian couple, they showed them how to study the Bible, teaching them to listen and follow the teachings from God’s Word.
“As they went along obeying Scripture, Masoud and Zahra fell in love with the One who has the words of eternal life,” Joshua reports. “Several months ago, they were baptized. When we last visited them, Masoud read from John 15, led us in a study of the passage, and then shared the Lord’s Supper with us.”
Zaki is another refugee who has come to faith through the ministry of Joshua and his team. When Zaki first received a Bible, he quickly devoured it. Within months, he was passionately and knowledgeably preaching the Gospel to others. Not long after, he and his family were baptized.
“Zaki has not only shared Jesus Christ with family and friends,” Joshua says, “he has also started five Bible studies and has helped these groups multiply. We know of over a dozen groups that have started thanks to Zaki’s witness.”
Praise God for the spread of the Gospel among Syrian refugees. And pray for the rapid multiplication of Bible studies—and that many Syrian men, women, and families would find eternal life in Christ.
**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.**
Original article: www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/syrian-refugee-update-bible-studies-and-baptisms
