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Recently Global Initiative had the opportunity of training over 25 ministers in the Middle East. Most of the attendees were church planters among Muslims! Upon considering the composition of the attendees, two things stood out that emphasize the new move of the Holy Spirit: (1) all the trainers were national workers, except for one American, and one of the trainers was a former Muslim; and (2) students came from many surrounding nations, including Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, and Syria. This is significant because just a short time back, we couldn’t even imagine that church planters would be…

“I would like to testify that the Lord has confirmed my call to minister to Muslims. I had been praying about this for one year and today the Lord has confirmed that call.” The young woman who stated this was among 24 students during our first week of training in El Salvador. For years the Lord has been calling Latin believers to serve as missionaries in Muslim majority countries. Now, the church in Latin America is recognizing the need to reach Muslims who are coming to their own countries. While we do not normally associate Latin America with the growth of…

Looking at the Muslim woman in the boat with them, Dimas* told his friend, “Let’s throw her out of the boat. Nobody will see us because, at the moment, it is only us and her.” It may come as a surprise to you, but Dimas is a pastor and a professor at a Bible school in Indonesia. Once you hear what he and his family endured, you may understand why he wanted to feed the Muslim woman to the sea. It is difficult for us to understand what minority Christian groups in Muslim majority nations face on a daily basis….

Both Farhan* and Neha* were born into Hindu families in a Muslim majority country. When Farhan was 15 years old, a Christian evangelist came to his city, and his mother decided to attend the evangelistic meetings. Although untouched by the preaching, Farhan’s mother accepted a New Testament in her local language. She gave this new religious book to Farhan to read. Farhan, having his curiosity peaked by other worldviews, read the entire New Testament. After a thorough investigation into this new faith, he simply laid the book aside and kept practicing his Hindu beliefs. Six years later, while studying in…

The heart and focus of Global Initiative is for Muslims to know the truth about Jesus, but we also desire to see people of every nationality and religion come to that same saving knowledge! We also want to take the time to highlight intercessory prayer ministries that are lifting up various groups around the world because, as we pray, God increases our capacity and love for all who are lost. You may be aware that Ramadan is coming up in the next few weeks. This is a major holiday for Muslims, as they take time to fast and seek Allah’s…

As Islam grows throughout the world, the Church has had three reactions. Some have reacted with fear and anger, believing that the advance of Islam will herald the death of God’s kingdom. We demand that “they” go home and refuse to interact. We view them with suspicion. Some have reacted with indifference, believing that they have no responsibility to engage with Muslims. We close the doors of our churches and hearts. We take refuge in our own salvation and do not concern ourselves with the spiritual death of those outside. Some have reacted with hope! We pray that God will…

Over the past several years, Latin Americans have comprised the largest group of converts to Islam. Predominantly Catholic countries are seeing rapid conversion, and many have attributed this growth to their shared history during the Golden Age of Islam, while some seem to be seeking a more holistic experience, or a stronger connection to a religious community.   (parts 2 and 3) Whatever the reason for each individual conversion, our trainers have held several Jonah Initiative trainings in various Latin American countries to equip and empower Christians to reach the growing Muslim population. Whatever it is that these new converts…

A few weeks ago, we shared the history of the Islamic kingdom of Al-Andalus in Spain during the Middle Ages. Over the centuries, the Arabic and Spanish cultures merged in a number of ways, and a portion of the Spanish language melded with Arabic, producing the Castilian dialect. When the Spanish and the Portuguese colonized what became Latin America in the 15th century, much of the blended DNA came with them and, although the religion of Islam was not transplanted, the commonalities in the two cultures remained. Muslims began to immigrate to Brazil and Argentina in the 1920’s. Mosques were built,…

After attending Bible college, Pablo met and married a wonderful woman who was a devout follower of Christ. Together, Pablo and his new wife felt God calling them to missionary service in Panama where they planted a church and started a Bible school. During their time in Panama, Pablo met a community of Muslims from Afghanistan. But after the September 11, 2011 tragedy in New York City, Pablo developed a bitter resentment toward Muslims. Soon, though, the Holy Spirit convicted him of his unChristlike attitude, and his hatred was replaced with God’s love for Muslims. When Pablo and his wife…

“The love of a Christian couple” is what brought Sarawut* and Malee* and their children, a Muslim family in Thailand, to understand the gospel and accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. A Christian couple, Niwat* and Sinee*, attended the training and told us the story of how they had reached out to their Muslim neighbors, Sarawut and Malee. They didn’t hound them. Instead, they took advantage of every opportunity the Spirit provided to share the truth about Jesus. Through Niwat and Sinee’s love and compassion, Sarawut and Malee saw the love of Christ. While facing a difficult financial and…