Ahmad's story shows that when helping people discover God, you've got to start at the beginning
Peter, a disciple-maker in West Africa who we've shared about before, is training a Muslim-background believer to make disciples. This believer, Ahmad, is seeing fruit that he never saw before in his years of interaction with Muslims. Read below to find out why!
Ahmad is Seeing Fruit Like Never Before
I facilitate a Discovery Bible Study at my church. One member, Ahmad, is a Muslim-background believer who I've shared about briefly in my last story. His previous efforts to introduce Muslims to Jesus have always resulted in arguments.
"It's a whole different ballgame," Ahmad said, ever since he started Discovery Bible Studies beginning with Creation.
His Muslim friends are excited to read the Bible because it is already somewhat familiar to them. He no longer finds himself in unproductive arguments but in engaging conversations about Scripture!
God Sent Spiritual Seekers to Ahmad
Word is getting out about Ahmad as well. Another Muslim man approached him saying, "I used to have a Bible when I was younger, but I lost it. I was wondering if you could find me a Bible?" This Bible-seeker came from a region very resistant to the Gospel. He said he would have to hide the Bible from his parents when he went home.
A little while later, I gave Ahmad the first Creation to Christ Scripture passage in his local language. A guy approached Ahmad on his way home and asked,
"Can you tell me about Creation? I was wondering about it and I looked at you and saw a glow around you..."
"...I felt like you were a guy who could tell me about how God created the world!" Ahmad had that exact story in his hands! So, Ahmad shared the story and plans to begin a Discovery Bible Study with him.
The Director of an Islamic School Asked for a Bible
Not even a week later, the leaders of a prestigious private school in Ahmad's area contacted Ahmad, saying, "the director of the school wants to see you." Ahmad was worried there might be a problem because of how vocal he is about his faith.
When Ahmad and the director met, the director said, "Ahmad, I was wondering if you could get me a Bible. I remember reading some of it as a child—would you get one for me?"
Ahmad had these three positive experiences after years of seeing very little fruit! He already has an ongoing DBS, and plans to start another one with these new seekers.
What changed Ahmad's disciple-making from ineffective to fruitful:
Ahmad is open about his faith, so that was never the problem. In addition, Ahmad is already a person of influence in his community. People actually trust him to keep his word more than they trust other Muslims. However, the first difference between Ahmad's unfruitful ministry in the past and his success today is due to Ahmad's focus on directing unbelievers to God's Word, not arguing with them into believing in Jesus on the spot. Second, Ahmad starts with Creation. Before, he went straight to Jesus, explaining that He was the Son of God. This was often received poorly by his Muslims friends. Now, Ahmad found that beginning with Creation in Genesis and then leading to Christ a more natural opening that Muslims receive well. The starting point made all the difference.
Learn More with the Podcast: The Case for Creation to Christ
When reading a story, where do you begin? God inspired the order of the Scripture stories intentionally. Hear to our podcast to learn why going from Genesis to Jesus matters in making disciples. Listen here.
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