—By MariaMaria #217DO #29258/93

1. We read a recent statement by one of our Family Members that, "We in no way, shape or form try to convert the Muslims." If we are not in any way, shape or form, trying to convert the Muslims, why in the world are we ministering to them? Why have a missionary work at all in the rest of the World if we're not trying to convert those of other faiths who need the Lord? And from all the things Dad has said about Islam & its tangled lines & its false teachings, why shouldn't we be trying to convert the Muslims? That's our ministry, to go into all the World to preach the Gospel to every creature‚ & if we're not trying to convert them‚ why are we preaching the Gospel to them? In other words, why then are we there & what have we been doing there?

2. If you're in a country where the Muslim influence is very strong & you don't feel it wise to directly present Salvation to each person you meet, or perhaps you are in a Western Christian country, but you feel the Muslim person might be highly offended if you were to ask him to receive Jesus, you can always indirectly use the lit to present Salvation to them. In such cases, our lit can do a wonderful job of giving them the message & explaining to them about Jesus & His Love. We've got to witness to them one way or the other. And if we feel that we can't approach them directly with Salvation, at least we're going to have to present it indirectly through our lit.

3. On a long-term basis‚ when we're living in their country & among their people, our sample will speak very loudly, of course. But there will come a time when we will have to explain either in person or through our literature why we're there & why we love them, & why we're doing what we're doing. The Muslims need His Love just as much as anyone, & it doesn't look like there are very many people in the World who are giving it to them.

4. We've worked closely with other religious groups‚ & while we haven't insisted that they receive Jesus into their hearts, we have still given them our literature, & not been afraid to discuss our beliefs with them & give them our testimonies, & when they ask questions, answer them. And if it got to the point where they looked like they were ready for Salvation & they were wanting what we had, we didn't hesitate to ask them if they would like it. How can we not offer them this priceless gift when we know they so desperately need it?

5. Though we may not do hard-sell witnessing, in all clear conscience & in order to be true to our faith & our primary ministry‚ which is preaching the Gospel‚ we cannot withhold the Message from people who need it. It's our whole purpose for having left our home fields & gone into any mission field!

6. It's all right to tell them, "We're not trying to change your religion. We are not trying to replace anything, we are just adding to it." We're not trying to change their religion or culture, but we're still going to preach Jesus to them as an addition to their existing belief or religion, like Dad's Letter about the Buddhists & how we can minister to them, witnessing to pagans.

7. So in that sense, we are not trying to "convert" them. So if that's what was meant by this statement by the Family Member which I quoted above, we can understand. But there is a sense in which we definitely must try to "convert" them—in some "way, shape or form." Although we don't want to change their religion, we do want to change their way of looking at Jesus, & we do want to bring them to know Him in a very real & intimate sense as their Saviour & Lord. So we can't accurately say that in "no way, shape or form are we trying to convert them."

8. We're not going to be able to hide the fact that we're Christians. And it's going to become evident very soon what our goals are. Even our most GP Statements clearly bring these out & show that sharing the Salvation message was first & foremost what the Family was founded upon. And this is what all Christians believe & are supposed to practice.—The evangelisation of the World & the going into the World to preach the Gospel to every creature.

9. So I don't see how we can apologise for this. And I do think that our lit is an excellent way to preach to them without being so offensive to them as to sit them down & ask them if they want to accept Jesus. Our lit does it for us. And especially when the mention of needing to receive Jesus & our Salvation prayer are only incidental in a way to the actual message that the pub is emphasising, I think it's an excellent way to get them to read it & not to feel on the spot. In other words, all our Posters about the Endtime & our Statements, while not a sermon, do present the need to accept Jesus & pray the Salvation prayer. These have the message right there for all who read our lit.

10. We are not going to try to proselytise, we are not going to try to hit them over the head & tell them that they've got to pray the Salvation prayer & receive Jesus, but I don't see how we can hide what we're there for! It's throughout all of our lit. And if they want to read our message about the Endtime & about the AC conspiracy & about all kinds of other subjects, then they are going to have to take our Salvation message & our mentions of Jesus along with it.

11. Our belief that Jesus is the only way to God is fundamental to all Christianity, & surely they must know what Christians believe. And we certainly cannot tone down that message that is already in our pubs just for their sake.

12. But we shouldn't be offensive in trying to preach to every Muslim we meet about how they need to have Jesus. We may give them our lit about the Endtime, which has a Salvation message on it, but they don't have to accept it & we are not going to get upset if they don't. We can just agree to disagree.

13. I know it may be pretty hard for them to take‚ but they know we are Christians. And if they've read our Posters they've certainly read the Salvation message on them, too‚ so they must be aware of that. They might be reassured to know that we are not going to try to vigorously convert every Muslim that we meet, but we can't say that we won't give out our lit to them, since the kind of lit we would give them would mostly be our Endtime message. We can't take off the Salvation message just because we're giving the lit to a Muslim.

The Music Miracle!

14. Don't forget how powerful our message & music can be in planting the seeds & softening their hearts. We have such wonderful songs covering a wide variety of subjects, but all emphasise God's Love. Our Endtime songs could be particularly effective, as they give hope to a people that need their faith encouraged that God still loves them & He is going to win the battle, & they will see the victory in the end.

Muslims are Muslims—Not Arabs!

15. We also need to get in the habit of referring to Muslims as "Muslims," and not confuse the matter by referring to them as "Arabs." The majority of Muslims are not Arabs. For example, Iranians, Pakistanis & Indonesians are not Arabs, but almost all are Muslims.

Copyright 1996 The Family