by Douglas Brown, Naya Jeevan ministry rep New England
For the past three months I have found a beautiful and effective way of reaching people with the gospel of Christ. What I have done is “Liked” or “Followed” as many Muslim and South Asian Facebook pages as I could: Al Jazeera, Shaykh-ul-Islam, etc. When these Facebook pages post something, I click on the “Comment” button and send a private message to all those that comment on the posting. I do not post a comment on the posting no matter how tempting it would be. I will click on each person’s name, look for the “message” icon on that person’s FB page and write them the following message:
“Peace be with you. The Holy Book says in John 3:16-17, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.’ We can find forgiveness only through Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross. JESUS loves you… surrender to Him…. He is the way.”
After sending that message to 40 or 50 people each day about 5 to 10 will respond. The questions range from “Why does God have a Son?” to “Why would God kill His own Son?” And statements like, “The Christian Bible has been changed by man.” I have formulated standard but personal responses to each common question. I try to make a friend.
I have had many ask me to pray for them, many have seen the Jesus Film (in their own language) and one even had dreams! I don’t fully know the impact of what I am doing but I am enjoying a new method of reaching the lost in closed countries.
One thing to note, if asked, I will share historical proof about Islam, the Quran and Mohammed. I will only quote from Islamic sources – Hadiths and the Quran. Then I allow them to formulate their own thoughts and a few have admitted that Mohammed did not lead a totally virtuous life. I never use “you,” (as in attacking the person) or insult Islam, nor will I ever disrespect their prophet. At most I will show inconsistencies between Mohammed’s life and the scriptures. I try to steer the conversation to my testimony on how I met Jesus, HIS power, his healing…. After I have made the friendship I appeal to them to seek the truth and love of Jesus Christ.
I find this way to plant the seed of the gospel to be a highly effective approach.
Source for this article: http://nayajeevan.org/resources/ (Breakthrough Naya Jeevan Prayer Bulletin)
Also see: Christianity Today