Nurturing faith through media ministry

3 minute 28 second read

2023 was a landmark year in terms of ministry for the Arab World Media team. By God’s grace, they saw more than 365 Arab seekers finding Christ through their media outreach – equivalent to at least one person turning to Christ each day.

The team tracked the numbers to see which channels of media (e.g. blog articles, YouTube videos, Facebook adverts) were most effective but also to see how close they were each month to the prayer goals set at the start of 2023. In one month alone, they saw thirty-six Arab seekers come to faith in Christ. Here is one person’s testimony, Mustafa*, who came to faith in the first half of last year.

Mustafa’s story

Mustafa grew up in a very religious family in Morocco. He was very passionate about his Islamic faith because he wanted to grow closer to God. Because he had a beautiful voice, he would often lead the prayers in the mosque. But the deeper he went into his faith, the more disconnected he felt from God. Despite outwardly leading others in the Islamic prayer routines, inside he struggled with his life feeling empty. He sensed a huge chasm between himself and the one he was trying to worship.

He started to question whether or not he was worshipping the true God. In his search for answers, Mustafa began watching YouTube videos about inconsistencies and mistakes found in the Qur’an. 

One day, while online, he came across one of our ministry adverts and followed it to our Arabic website. He requested online contact and quickly joined in long debates and discussions with two of our digital responders. He had lots of questions. Our team answered them as best they could, helping him to understand, and pointing him towards the truth. During this time, he was also searching for answers in Hinduism. He felt like both Christianity and Hinduism were calling to him, and that both were about peace.

Eventually, he concluded that Christianity, not Hinduism, held the truth. After more time studying and praying, he accepted Christ as Saviour. He was recently baptised along with eighteen other new believers and is making friends with local Christians. He is hoping to start attending church soon.

Searching for wisdom

One of the joys of cross-cultural mission is the ability to work with brothers and sisters in Christ from across the globe. The media team is multicultural and spread across several continents, all united by a passion for seeing Arab Muslims come to Christ.

Shams* is a Middle Eastern woman who works as a driver for a company like Uber. She is divorced and is raising her three children alone. She noticed that clients from the Christian faith often expressed interest and concern for her as a person, and she generally felt safe with them.

When Shams communicated with our online ministry, she was curious about the Christian view of women. She wanted to learn about the Christian faith so she could understand what was at the heart of these differences she’d experienced. As Shams discovered Jesus’ love and concern for her, she decided to follow him.

Having a Christian to guide her through the difficult step of leaving Islam to follow Christ made a huge difference. She explains how God used Adel, a digital responder on the team, in her faith journey.

Shams’ story

When discussing spiritual matters, I felt like I was back in primary school, starting all over again. Sometimes Adel’s* explanations were difficult to understand, but he would clarify them with an amusing story. The lesson was enjoyable and the hour passed quickly. I was never bored, and after speaking with Adel, I felt comforted and had a more positive outlook.

The lessons I read on the website were new and strange to me, and yet so beautiful. I didn’t need to memorise or study anything to find the correct answer – I needed inner peace. I needed a personal relationship with God!

Sometimes I felt that if I ever finished reading all the material on the site, I would be the Queen of Wisdom! My character was transformed, and every day my brother in the Lord, Adel, phoned to increase my knowledge and bring me comfort. Each call was like new medicine for an old wound.

Eventually, by the power of God, I was able to put behind me all the pain, hatred and resentment I had suffered in the past. None of it had power to control me any longer. I am so thankful for the patience and teaching of your media team. I love you all and pray that the Lord will reward you for your efforts. Amen!

*Names changed and library images used to protect identities.