Ministry Hopes to Equip Texas Christians for Evangelizing Muslims
by Allie Martin
March 15, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Evangelical Christians in Texas are being mobilized to bring the gospel to Muslims across America. Recently, a Virginia-based ministry called Truth for Muslims sent literature to 50,000 households nationwide, explaining the differences between Islam and Christianity.Truth for Muslims is a project of Spear Ministries, a nonprofit organization dedicated to proclaiming the gospel to Hindu, Muslim, pagan, and other unsaved people groups. Officials with the ministry say the enthusiastic response from Christians in Texas to the recently literature distribution campaign exceeded expectations.
Now plans are under way for an organized initiative to help equip Christians in the Lone Star State witness effectively to followers of the Islamic religion. John Marion, project director for Truth for Muslims, says Islam is unique in the sense that "there's been no greater challenge to the church of Jesus Christ in the past 1,400 years."
Marion was a missionary to Afghanistan in the 1990s. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he focused his attention on helping Christians meet the challenge of confronting Islam in America.
"Islam has shown itself to be very resilient and very anti-Christ in terms of theology," the ministry spokesman observes. Muslims "deny the fact that Jesus is the son of God," he says, "and they deny that Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead. And those are fundamental truths in Christianity."
Marion notes that evangelical Christianity "certainly seems to be strong in Texas," if the overwhelming response among believers in that state to the Muslim outreach initiative is any indication. "Maybe President Bush has something to do with that, what he has stated about his faith," he says.
On the other hand, the Truth for Muslims project director speculates, Texas Christians may be reacting to the ambiguous comments and messages about Islam that have come from the current administration. He acknowledges that there has been "some controversy about things that President Bush has said and, I think, confusion in general about what is Islam, what is the proper response" for individuals and also "what is the proper response for America."
Marion believes the recent literature mailing has begun to address these questions for many Christians. Meanwhile, he hopes the evangelism initiative now being coordinated will assist Christians who have a burden to witness to Muslims in presenting the gospel effectively and explaining to them the differences between Islam and Christianity.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
