“No one has ever shown me this book,” said Adel, a Muslim in Northeast Africa reading the Bible for the first time in his life. Looking up from the passage he’d been studying with Frontiers worker Daniel, he said, “These are the wisest words I’ve ever read. What a shame I’ve never seen this book until now!”

They were reading the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew and discussing Christ’s teachings on anger, loving your enemies, and building your house on the rock. By the end of the passage, Adel was convinced that Jesus is worth following.

As he and Daniel continued meeting regularly to study the Bible and pray together, Adel committed to following Jesus.

“My people need to hear about this treasure,” Adel said. “Every village in this region needs this message.”

First he needed to start with his family and begin building his own house on the rock. Adel’s wife, Jamila, was furious that her husband had begun following Jesus. She accused him of bringing shame on the family by turning from Islam. It didn’t help that Adel had always been a harsh man and had rarely said a kind word to his wife and kids. His children lived in fear of his anger.

So Adel and Daniel started spending hours each week praying for transformation in his heart, marriage, and family.

At the same time, they began making plans to reach Adel’s entire people group for Christ. He started sharing the Gospel in Muslim villages throughout the region. In several towns, he was able to gather people in small groups to study the Word of God.

After one year, Adel had led forty people to Christ. The number of Muslim-background believers is still multiplying, and Adel is helping train new leaders to shepherd this growing movement of disciples.

God also freed Adel from anger, and his marriage and family life have been transformed. As Jamila witnessed how Christ changed her husband and turned him into a kind and gracious man, she accepted the message of the Gospel and is now following Jesus!

• Praise God for saving Adel, healing his marriage, and using him to help reach his people group for Christ.
• Pray that Muslim-background believers will be powerful, loving witnesses of the Gospel to their spouses and family members.
• Pray for more laborers like Daniel who will bring the message of Christ’s transformation to Muslim families and communities.

**This account comes from a long-term worker. Names have been changed for security.**

Original article: https://frontiersusa.org/blog/houses-on-the-rock