May 9, 2021
Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in the Jewish synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people (Matthew 4:23).
But how can we develop similar strategies to reach those in our world today?
In Houston, missionaries working with Global Gates developed and implemented a plan to share the gospel with Bengali Muslims in this vast, diverse metropolis.
Jesus had a target geographic region (Galilee) and a target people (“the lost house of Israel”). He worked for three years by sharing the good news in every city, town, and village of Galilee. He enlisted others (12 and 72 disciples), baptized new believers (John 4:1), and performed healings.
How can we replicate this approach?
One Houston apartment complex houses 28 Bengali Muslim families. The missionaries decided to focus on this complex as both their geographic and people group target.
Missionaries rented two apartments and placed two missionary families in the complex with the goal of sharing the gospel with these families in a year. To enhance their outreach, a Muslim-background believer from Bangladesh joined for two months.
Local partner churches pitched in, too, providing food and job training and hosting ESL programs for the Bengalis. Prayer ministries systematically covered the 28 families. Holidays provided opportunities to celebrate traditions together.
With less than one year’s presence in the apartment complex, the missionaries report that half of the 28 families have heard the gospel. Two individuals who once expressed anger now welcome the missionaries into their homes. And four families are joyfully listening to Bible stories.
“I now understand that Jesus is God, and he is my Savior,” one Bengali man reported.
Pray that God will help us develop effective strategies for reaching Muslim Americans.
- Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out more laborers to enter his harvest in other Houston apartment complexes and live among Muslim people groups (Luke 10:2).
- Pray for visas for Muslim background believers, so they can join the work in Houston.
- Petition the Lord to work in hearts to form a Muslim-background house church.
NOTE
These pages are made available every day during the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World for those who cannot afford to purchase, or do not have access to the booklet.
Please note: The annual costs to produce and market this important prayer focus are not covered by foundation grants or major donors gifts, but by our personal funds. In other words, we depend on sales to recoup the money and to be able to continue.
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