Why the Church in the Middle East Won’t Stay Hidden

Frontiers teams in over 40 countries are seeing extraordinary growth of the Kingdom as they introduce Muslims to the Word of God and disciple new believers.

In the Middle East, for example, groups of believers are multiplying exponentially as new movements of faith emerge. Among one major Muslim people group in the region, hundreds of groups are meeting to study the Bible. In another Middle Eastern country, more than 2,000 men and women from Muslim backgrounds have embraced Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Let me tell you about Saleh, a young man in one of the countries where movements to Christ are growing. Saleh put his faith in Jesus after starting to read the Bible with Dave, a Frontiers worker. He shared the Gospel with his friends and began inviting them to study God’s Word with him whenever they got together.

But one friend, Rahim, wasn’t interested in the Bible. Rahim would try to ignore Saleh and the others when they read the Word and talked about Jesus.

One night after hearing his friends read about Christ’s birth, Rahim dreamt he saw a bright star. “Follow this star to find the truth,” he heard a voice say. “This star is for the birth of the Messiah, the Savior of the world.” In his dream, Rahim followed the star and found a man in a white robe saying, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; whoever believes in me will be saved.”

A quick online search the next day led Rahim to John 14:6, in which Jesus says He is the way, the truth, and the life. Rahim is now earnestly studying the Bible with Saleh to learn about the Messiah. Pray that he and his friends will embrace Christ as King and Savior as Saleh helps them engage with God’s Word.

God is working powerfully among Muslims as Frontiers workers present the Gospel to them. Pray with us that in the coming years, we’ll witness such extraordinary growth of the Kingdom that it becomes impossible for the church in Muslim lands to remain hidden, ignored, or crushed.

Despite the progress we’ve seen, there are still key parts of the Middle East where the Gospel has yet to flourish. In the Arab Gulf, some men and women from Muslim backgrounds have responded to Jesus. But believers have yet to gather in groups and multiply.

We thank God for the way He is strengthening the church in the Muslim world through the efforts of faithful workers, supporters, and prayer warriors. May the sound of worship from new believers resound until it can no longer be contained, rising up for all nations to hear.

  • Pray for the Gospel to take root in places where Frontiers teams have yet to see movements to Christ—in the Arab Gulf and beyond.
  • Pray that whole families will come to Christ, and ask the Lord to strengthen new believers who face persecution.
  • Pray for record numbers of faithful believers to say yes to God’s call to reach Muslims in the least-reached places.
  • Pray that Frontiers workers will flourish in spite of challenges on the field, and ask God to give them favor with authorities regarding visas.

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In the Middle East and across the Muslim world, God is revealing His healing love and power to families like Nabil’s. Click the button below to discover how Jesus Christ brought healing to Nabil and his family.

HEALED BY A VISION

 

**Names and places have been changed for security.**

Main photo by Travels with Kathleen

Original article: https://www.frontiersusa.org/blog/why-the-church-in-the-middle-east

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