The silver bullet for Muslim evangelism

It's always important to manage expectations. And especially in evangelism.

We are thrilled to read remarkable stories of how people come to faith in Christ in dramatic and earth shaking ways. And we long for some kind of "Silver Bullet”—a perfectly pitched, unanswerable argument that will propel our friends to faith in Christ.

But the vast majority of those who are found by Christ do so after long years of unspectacular friendship, witness and prayer from faithful believers. And the truth is that some ground is harder to plough than others—much harder! Perhaps especially with Muslims.

In his recently published book Engaging with Muslims, author John Klaassen encourages us to think differently about how we view our witness to Muslim friends. He talks about moving from “Prayer” to “Presence”—spending time with Muslim friends—and then to “Proclamation” and “Persuasion” of the good news. In an illuminating chapter entitled Bridges to the Gospel, he writes:

Now you are sharing biblical truth with your friend, and you are living your life in such a way that the gospel is demonstrated; they are seeing your struggles, pains and how you find solace in Jesus. You pray to him and honor him in every aspect of your life. Surely, you might think, I will see my friend come to faith. If only that were true! 

I wish I could share with you some silver bullet that works every time and will bring great conviction to your friend and will humble them to the point of giving their lives to Jesus, but you know it doesn’t work like that. The amazing thing about God is that he is the one who converts; it is not you, not your words and not your winning personality. I think that is what I like most about evangelism. 

My job is to tell the story, share the good news, and make straight the path. John the Baptist said that was his job, as he quoted Isaiah and said he was to “make straight the way for the Lord” (John 1 v 23).

The picture in Isaiah was of the coming of a king. When I lived in a country that had a king, every once in a while he would make his rounds and come to my town. It was always a huge event. I remember one time; they had just finished construction of an Islamic library near my house. In front of the library there was a nice little park that hadn’t been touched by a gardener in years. You could still see the beauty that once was, but now it was in disarray. Where I lived they liked to paint the sides of the road to tell you where you could park and where it was prohibited. They hadn’t been painted in years. 

About a month before the king was due to inaugurate the library, things started to change. An army of gardeners came and tore out the weeds and fixed up the grass in the park. Painters came and painted the curbs. They even repaved the street the king would travel down to visit the library. The day of his arrival, the place was transformed: flowers were planted, holes were filled in, streets were swept, and everything looked amazing. The way was made ready for the king. 

In our outreach we are called to do much the same. We are called to make ready the way for the Lord; to make his paths straight and smooth. This means we are to share the gospel in ways our friends can understand. Answer their questions as best we can. Get to work on their biases and presuppositions as to what a “real” Christian is. Allow room for the Holy Spirit to work in the life of our friends. We are never called to convert them, convince them, or change them—only to share truth with them in love, and make straight the path of the Lord. 

Engaging with Muslims is published by The Good Book Company price £6.99. It is available for pre-order in the US.

Coming later in the week: Five massive "No-No's" to sharing the gospel with a Muslim (and a few Yes-Yes's)