The invisible believers of the Arabian Peninsula

18.02.2022  Stefanusalliansen 

In many places, people have to keep their faith a secret, even from those closest to them. Like us, they can't go to church, join a community or practice their faith in any other way.  

Every day they have to look over their shoulders to make sure no one is following them. Loneliness and isolation is a permanent experience. In the Arabian Peninsula, believers in Christ have no church to go to, no community for care and guidance.   

These are the people we at Stefanus Alliance want to support. We have annual conferences far outside the region where these believers live. There they can safely receive fellowship, training and care. Some have not yet been baptized, others have been disciples of Jesus for a long time and can guide those who are new. 

Longing for meaning  

For security reasons, we cannot disclose the location of the conferences. But we want to let Stefanus Alliance's friends know that we have such courses, so that more people can join us in praying for those who live in secret with their faith. They are invisible to their surroundings. But God sees them, and we who have been invited in trust into confidential communities see them. 

How do people in the Arabian Peninsula come to faith? The internet and television are breaking through walls that previously prevented people from sharing the gospel. Christian programs and preaching awaken a longing for meaning. The Arabian Peninsula is enjoying unprecedented prosperity. But wealth has not been able to fill inner voids. 

Bible salesman on the street  

One person who experienced God's miraculous intervention is Ahmed. Growing up, he was told by his mother: "Remember, it was the Christians who saved your life." As an infant, Ahmed was treated for a life-threatening illness in a Western-run hospital.   

Ahmed grew up in a strict conservative Muslim community without a Christian church. He experienced an inner conflict. At school, Ahmed was told how bad the Christians were, that they had turned away from God. But he struggled with this: "How can those who saved my life when I was a child be so lost?" 

One day, Ahmed heard someone on the radio preaching the gospel in his own Arabic dialect. He started asking God for a Bible. He thought he would have to travel to a western country to get one. But one day Ahmed met a ten-year-old boy on the street. The boy was selling Arabic Bibles. Ahmed bought a Bible and went straight home. Amazingly, there was a lot of excitement, and they took a photo of Ahmed with the Bible. He went out later to find the boy again. But no matter how hard Ahmed looked, he never saw the Bible salesman again.  

Eventually, Ahmed became sure that it was God himself who sent the Bible seller. Maybe it was an angel? This happened 20 years ago. Today, Ahmed is one of the many followers of Jesus in the Arabian Peninsula. 

Dreams  

Nora was a devout Muslim from a young age and strictly adhered to the religious obligations she was taught. But then she faced a life crisis. She was very disappointed in Allah. The despair ended in a suicide attempt. At the hospital, a Christian nurse gently told her that she could know God through Isa al Masih, as Jesus is called among Muslims. 

- For three nights in a row after I got out of the hospital, Jesus appeared to me in dreams and told me what to do. Once he told me to go to a street and knock on a door. Jesus told me where this was. It was a strange dream, but I took the chance. I found the house and knocked. An older woman answered. I had never met her before. She said: "Come in. I'll show you your room. This is where you will live."  

Here, in her deep despair, Nora found a place of refuge. She could live in safety with a strange woman whom God himself had called to help. How God took care of Nora is strange: 

- For three years, Jesus led me through dreams. I had no Christian friends to guide me. I was like an "infant". Nor did I have a Bible to read. Later I was given a New Testament. Eventually "I could walk on my own".  

Nora told the story when she came to one of our conferences where she saw that she was not alone. There she could pray freely and receive prayer and care. 

Invisible church  

God is building his church in the Muslim world. It is different from our churches, as it is often invisible to outsiders. Many worship alone in their rooms, perhaps in front of a computer screen with video contact to believing siblings who help them.   

Stefanus Alliance gives them the opportunity to meet their fellow believers face to face, receive intercession, training and inspiration. Pray for them, that they will be empowered to live as disciples of Jesus in environments that present challenges we often don't think about. We are members of the same body; Jesus Christ.