Our team’s vision is to help Muslims gather to study God’s Word and obey Jesus’ teachings.
This summer, we were asked to help lead a weekly English reading group for local Muslims. When we heard that they discuss a passage from the Bible every week, we immediately jumped in.
From the start, the men and women who came were eager to learn from the Bible. We led them in amazing conversations, and the reading group quickly grew in numbers.
But soon we realized that if we were going to reach more people with the Gospel, we had to stop leading. Our Muslim friends needed to be encouraged and equipped to gather with their friends and family to learn to obey the Word. If they started more Bible reading groups, then Christ’s message could spread far and wide.
We had some concerns about changing how the reading group is led. Would our Muslim friends still come if we weren’t leading it? Would they be willing to lead?
We explained to the group that instead of us facilitating the discussion, we wanted them to take turns leading it. We showed them a simple but effective approach to studying the Bible. One person reads the passage, others retell it, then we discuss what we’ve learned about the passage and how to obey it.
They loved it, and in the following weeks, all our friends continued coming and even brought more people with them. They researched the passage and prepared before it was their turn to lead, and they really took ownership. Throughout the week, they shared the stories with others and obeyed what they’d learned from Jesus’ teachings. Our role was simply to host and chime in every once in a while.
We love to see how our friends are being transformed as they learn to obey Christ. They are growing as disciples who follow Jesus. Now we’re encouraging them to start similar groups among their family and friends. They’re becoming leaders who are inviting others to also grow as disciples.
Click the button below to read about Fadil, a Muslim man who is growing in love for Jesus through this English reading group.
**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.**
Original article: https://www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/why-we-stopped-leading
