April to June 2019

‘Oh Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. Forgive my sins. I open the door of my heart to you. I accept you as my Saviour. You are the King of my life. Please make me the man that you want me to be,’ prayed Hezzah*. He is too fearful of meeting with local believers, so he continues to study the Word online with one of our responders.

Hear my voice

While preparing these quarterly insights, we thought about how God’s unfailing promises are revealed in our day to day lives. Sometimes it takes a moment of reflection out of the bustle and noise, to remember God’s promise and our theme for this year, You Are Not Alone. Often, it is in moments of stillness that God speaks to our yearning hearts: Hear my voice.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27–28

There are many isolated believers across the Arab world whose voices often go unheard. Thousands who are desperately seeking the truth need someone to listen. But as John 10 says, those who follow Jesus will never be snatched out of the Father’s hand. He is with them; they know his voice.

Read on to find out how God is using Arab World Media to encourage seekers to ask questions and share their hearts. Then let us ask God to open our hearts and ears to hear their voices.

The statistics: April to June 2019

Four times a year, we review the results of our online efforts to reach people seeking the true God. Have a look at the encouraging results below, along with a selection of stories from our response ministry.

We reached an impressive 11.1 million users on Facebook; 13 per cent of whom clicked on our content. Our Arabic website continues to attract a large number of visitors, even though we haven’t actively sought to increase visits.

Though the numbers are lower, we’re continuously working on better identifying and connecting with engaged seekers and filtering out those who are not searching for the truth. These seekers are the people whom our team are actively interacting with, often on a daily basis

We are delighted to see 85 individuals come to faith. Our follow up teams remain busy with the logistics of organising more meetups.

The people behind the stats

Secret faith

‘I have already accepted Jesus. But it is not easy to be a Christian amid a Muslim family and society. My faith is chained, and I feel a spiritual emptiness.’ Hosni* has been following Christ in secret for nine years. He discovered the truth of the gospel online but has been fearful of sharing his beliefs with anyone. He is currently too afraid to meet with local believers. Our response team maintain contact with Hosni to support him spiritually.

The cost of discipleship

Halina* fled Yemen with her young daughter due to violence and, what she calls, the ‘darkness of Islam.’ She first reached out to our team via email and then switched to WhatsApp for more frequent, conversational, and personal contact. She quickly read the gospel and accepted Christ. Halina wants to be baptised but is worried this will dissolve her marriage as her husband is a Muslim. She is being followed up by local believers.

‘Christ is the key’

‘I am a young Egyptian. I grew up being very religious and obedient to the teachings of Islam. But after searching and examining, I discovered that Christ is the key to solve all problems. The truth is Jesus is Lord and Saviour – there is no salvation apart from him. So, I want to become a Christian. But it is not easy. What shall I do? Please help me.’ Ajmal* has been exchanging messages on WhatsApp with our response team, eager to find out how to follow Jesus. Our response team was able to lead him to the Saviour. Arrangements are being made for him to join a small group for his spiritual growth.

Some ways to pray

Many of the responses we have received of late have been requests for help: many seekers want to profess their faith or meet with other believers but are too afraid of the consequences. They fear rejection from their families, friends, and communities. Pray for protection and peace for these new Christians. Please pray for wisdom, as our response team handles many contacts in sensitive situations.

* Names changed for security.