This post continues the Seed to Orchard Manual. Click here to go to the beginning of that guide. Or download the whole PDF guide below. Subscribe to keep getting updates. I plan to publish one section of this manual every Friday.
Across South Asia, God is using Christians in powerful ways to minister among the Muslim community. One such example is Ajay and his wife, Myra. Ajay came to Christ at the age of eighteen and immediately became involved with ministry. By God’s grace, he became an itinerant church planter and was used by God to help start churches in new places and to develop many leaders. He was even involved with training other church planters and developing them to plant churches where he could not go. He occasionally shared the gospel with Muslims, but he focused primarily on Hindus, even though he lived in a Muslim-majority area.
One day, Ajay was at a prayer meeting with other pastors, and God did a miracle in his life. God gave Ajay His love for Muslims. Ajay led a long, passionate prayer for Muslims, to the surprise of the other pastors. During that time of prayer, God put a desire in Ajay’s heart to win Muslims for Him.
Ajay’s first steps in sharing the gospel with Muslims were awkward, but he was surprised to find they were open and eager to hear more. He found someone who was more experienced in Muslim evangelism to mentor him, and he quickly grew. He began going to share the gospel with Muslims every day. Over the next year or two, he shared the gospel with thousands of Muslims. He also trained hundreds of Christians to share the gospel with Muslims as he had. During this time, Ajay became proficient in speaking the language of the local Muslim community, in understanding their beliefs and culture, and in answering their questions and objections. He also grew a longer beard, began speaking more like local Muslims, and began wearing a shalwar kameez more often.
Myra was slow to adopt Ajay’s passion for Muslims. For a few years, while he focused on Muslim ministry, she focused her ministry efforts on Hindus. As she saw her husband’s passion and prayed with him, the same passion for Muslims grew in her heart.
Although thousands of Muslims heard the gospel through Ajay and Myra, none repented and believed. So, Ajay called the man who had trained him in Muslim evangelism and asked for help. The man recommended that he look for five or ten households he had evangelized and seemed open to the gospel. He said that, for a time, he should focus less on evangelism and more on following up with those households. Ajay adjusted and saw his first baptisms. But these first believers did not grow into the leaders Ajay hoped for.
During this time, Ajay was putting most of his efforts into developing other Christians who were becoming cross-cultural evangelists to Muslims. But the Lord showed him that he needed to switch his focus to developing Muslim-background believers (MBBs) instead. It was a difficult transition for Ajay because it meant spending less time with mature Christians and more time with seekers and MBBs. At times, Ajay felt a bit isolated. Some local Christians even misunderstood Ajay because of his long beard and traditional clothing.
But the focus on MBBs became fruitful. MBB leaders began to emerge. Ajay and Myra helped them begin forming a few churches. More Muslims began coming to Christ. Every step had challenges.
As they worked, God began to break through. MBB leaders began to emerge who were even more successful at reaching other Muslims than Ajay and Myra. Their ministry began to change again from being the primary person reaching Muslims to becoming a shadow leader to emerging MBB leaders. Increasing amounts of their energy transitioned to gathering groups of MBBs for discipleship, growth in the Word, and training them for ministry. As Ajay’s focus shifted to developing these leaders, the Word of God grew even more among the local Muslim community.
The guide in your hands is designed to help you walk in Ajay and Myra’s footsteps. Across South Asia, many Christians are taking bold steps to be used by the Lord to reach their Muslim neighbors with the gospel. My prayer as I write this booklet is that He will use you in the same way.
[1] Please note that this story, and all stories throughout this book, have had names changed and stories slightly altered for the sake of anonymity and security.
