New Ways for New Movements

Day 1 – June 6th, 2016

New Ways for New Movements

The first 13 centuries after Islam saw only a very few movements to Christ. But in the last 150 years we have seen 72 movements of at least one thousand Muslims turn to faith in Jesus, some of these recording hundreds of thousands of new believers. Why is this happening now? What has changed?

For centuries, Christians tried to offer Muslims a better religion. But Muslims have a pretty good religion of their own. They know, as we do, that religion does not offer salvation.

Christians have also tried to advance their faith through military means. However, Muslim armies are better prepared for fighting, culturally and religiously, while Christian armies have to face the fact that Jesus said, “Love your enemies.” (Matthew 5:44). Christian armies failed at medieval Crusades and made only temporary gains in the 19th century colonial era. Today, most Christians recognize that military conquest has no part in the advance of God’s Kingdom.

Instead, Christians today are meeting with Muslim men and women as people who are, like us, lost without a Savior. They are seeking to win hearts and minds to One whose Kingdom is not of this earth.

Likewise, missionaries are learning that it is not our religion that offers salvation to Muslims; it is our Lord! Testimonies of Muslim-background believers from West Africa to Indo-Malaysia reveal a common theme. It is not our religion, our politics, our economy, or our civilization that is prompting them to surrender their lives to a new faith; it is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Prayer Ideas

• Pray that Christians today will follow Christ’s example when trying to advance His Kingdom – not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit! (Zechariah 4:6)
• Pray that Christians today will follow the example of Jesus who, though “being in very nature God…made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” (Phil. 2:6-7).
• Pray that we will not follow failed strategies of the past, but rather lift up the person of Jesus Christ who is fully able to draw all men, including Muslims, to himself.