Part Two: The Method... Searching for a Man of Peace
Serving as peacemakers is what we seek to do. First, between the Christian and Islamic faiths, but ultimately our prayer is that Djoula Muslims will find the peace they earnestly seek with their Father, Who seeks them. That being said, how do you evangelize a people who are staunchly against being evangelized and acutely aware of the consequences (not just from conversion, but even in seeming to show interest)?
Hence, we generally avoid going door to door or setting up a stage in the middle of town with microphones. For most Muslim Background Believers (MBBs), accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior is a process... and often a long one at that. Typically, we, the American Church, understand conversion to Christianity as an event. The Gospel message is presented and one either accepts it or doesn't. A Muslim who has been hearing the message put it best, "you prepare the soil, you plant the seed, you wait for rain and then pray that it grows." (Interestingly, this man has yet to be baptised, but expresses the process well... even using biblical imagery - 1 Cor. 3:6-7) We start by preparing the soil, loving our neighbors as Jesus would.
What initially drew most people to Jesus during his ministry? His ministry of compassion and healing brought people into contact with the power and love of God. The crowds not only heard messages about the Kingdom of God, but witnessed the difference this kingdom made in people's lives. It's equally important to note that this ministry of compassion and healing was not just for Jesus, but when he commissioned his disciples to go out preaching about the kingdom of God, he also empowered them to do the same ministry as well. (Luke 10:9)
Often, the soil is hard when initially working with Muslims. It can be difficult breaking through the hard layers of mistrust that have compacted over many years. That's why you serve people at their greatest felt needs. That's why we have a clinic open to all people, treating each person with dignity, respect and love that they deserve regardless of their ethnicity, social status or religion. It's why we engaged people on the street and visit them in their neighborhoods, trying to relate to them where they live, not waiting for them to come to us. It's why we seek to help communities start CHE (Community Health and Evangelism) programs to bring about both physical and spiritual transformation. It takes time to work hard soil, but the seed we carry is worth the effort. Its fruit produces eternal life. However, you can't bear fruit if you don't plant seed.
After engaging people with the compassion and love of Jesus, we also seek out those who are ready to receive the seed. In Luke 10, Jesus gives us an essential model to follow when sowing seed. He tells his disciples, "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house." Literally, this is our prayer, that God will lead us to men and women of peace whose hearts He has prepared to receive His message of the kingdom.
So what do we specifically do? Having developed a relationship with an individual or family (we try to reach out to entire families if possible), we ask them if they would be interested in learning what the Bible teaches. For those who accept our offer, we start a CBS (Chronological Bible Storytelling) group teaching about God's story and plan for mankind starting in Genesis and culminating in the resurrection of Jesus, his Son. Some accept the message, others want to continue the dialogue, while others choose not to make a decision.
Our teammates, the Jones and Hauser families (the Jones are heading back home on furlough and the Hausers are now working with the Djoula in Burkina Faso), have headed up the Djoula outreach in Abengourou, ministering to their Djoula friends and contacts. We will continue following-up with these folks. I am also excited about our new project that Dr. Bernie and I are heading up and hope you will join us in praying for a great outpouring of God's Spirit among the Djoula. This month we have been meeting with local leaders from Cocoterrain (translation: Field of Coconut Trees), a district in Abengourou that is heavily populated by Djoula and hit hard by the effects of poverty. On May 25th we will be doing a health screening, assisted by a short-term mission team from FAME and Hazel Dell CC, in Cocoterrain and hopefully following up by starting a new CHE plant in that community.
Pray that our efforts might prepare the soil well for future seed sowing and that God would prepare their hearts to receive His message. Pray that we will find men and women of peace, where we will be welcomed. Pray that good contacts will be made for learning the Djoula language and culture. Pray that the love of God would permeate all that we do.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6)
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