Andrew & Rachel Chard of Grays Baptist Church, Essex, reflect on some of the lessons that they and their Timo team learned about church-planting in a Muslim context. 

At two o’clock one morning a few years ago we lay in bed and listened as the ‘gospel’ was shouted at people down the street through a loudspeaker. The voice was rasping and words were drawn out for effect. It did nothing for our sleep and we wondered how much it did to reach non-believers. Those who are used to this method of evangelism seem to like it, but we suspect that to them we might be considered unspiritual if we objected. After all, do we not want everybody to hear the Good News?

Yes, we certainly do! One of the things in which we passionately believe is enabling people to ‘hear’ the good news of Jesus Christ. Not just with their ears but with the heart and mind. In Romans 10, Paul wrote, “How can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” Surely he meant not just physical hearing, but heart-hearing - for that is understanding.

As we prepared to embark on church-planting in a Muslim setting we knew that our evangelism demanded a lifestyle approach. The communities in which we would be ministering are bound together by their religious symbols and ceremonies. All they do is touched by their religious beliefs. They are taught from a young age what they must believe, no room is left for question or debate. To barge in and preach at them would be like setting a cat among the pigeons and expecting the pigeons to be enthusiastic!

Although not required by law, when we first visited the villages in which we wanted to live we decided to ask the permission of the local people if we might live among them. This was both a courtesy and a strategy.

We entered the village as learners which helped us to build relationships and to find ways to contribute to the life of the community"

We were coming as a Timo team and as such we were able to lean on our cross-cultural training programme and studies as a way of explaining our desire to live with them. We knew that our presence would be a contentious issue and it seemed the wise thing to ask permission to move into the area.

We did not have the team with us at one of the introductory meetings. There was considerable opposition and some strong feelings were expressed. One condition was that we should not be allowed to talk about our faith. We felt that such a condition was unreasonable but we offered a solution: we would not preach publicly but we would welcome anyone who wanted to discuss faith issues with us. In the end it was the imam himself who persuaded the people to allow us into their village.

Learning language pays immeasurable dividends. It enables you to understand not just the words, but what lies behind the words"

We are convinced that there are certain core values that assist the witness of the gospel in Muslim settings and one of those is that wherever possible, living among the people themselves – enabling them to see our lives and us to see theirs – is the way forward. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” so we settled into our new home determined, as much as possible, to move with the community, copying their cultural norms for daily interaction, learning how they practice hospitality, learning what is important to them in all facets of life. We entered the village as learners which helped us to build relationships and to find ways to contribute to the life of the community which would be strong bridges for the gospel.

No need to shout Muslim communities across Africa are usually hospitable and they respond positively when we are also open and sociable. It is a great way to share the gospel! We do not need to shout – we can live it and breathe it while all the time looking for opportunities to speak about it.

That brings us to language-learning, because, yes, we do need to talk the gospel, to proclaim it in words whenever we can. It is so important to understand that language learning is ministry in itself – thank you Drs Tom and Betty Brewster of LAMP (Language Acquisition Made Practical). Learning the language of the people is always worth the effort. That might be obvious, but it is easier said than done. We found that it takes time, a lot of humiliation, frustration and commitment but learning language pays immeasurable dividends. It enables you to understand not just the words, but what lies behind the words, in the worldview of the people. This is one of the keys to ‘preaching so that the people can hear’, that is to say heart-hear, because in our different cultures we think so differently. Furthermore, learning language gives you frequent, close contact with local people, especially language helpers.

 We believe that wherever possible, Muslim ministry should be done in teams so another challenge was and is to grow and show the love of Christ in our team relationships, for Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”. (John 13:35)

All along we have been asking ourselves how else we can enable our local people to ‘hear’ the Good News. We need to use methods appropriate to the listeners. We have learned that with functionally illiterate people we need to use a more oral approach to teaching the Bible and have been learning to use Chronological Bible Storying*. The Bible is, after all, a story about God’s plan of salvation and we can tell that story by using the stories within The Story, in a way that many can take hold of and use. Using stories teaches doctrine, and offers the opportunity to build a strong foundation of understanding as to who God is and who we are as needy recipients of his mercy and grace. For more literate enquirers we have often used Theological Education by Extension, which, like Chronological Bible Storying, has been used in many countries of the world. We realised that some people crave an opportunity to ‘study’ and want more formal learning. Using the two methods meets the needs of both kinds of enquirer and for teaches new believers.

So the work goes on. Now we are joined by a few local believers for whom becoming Christians has brought some tough times. The encouragement of fruitfulness helps of course, but the encouragement of Scripture keeps us all mindful of God’s purpose, “For God loved the world so much that he sent his only son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

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