In Seoul, as part of the wider Fourth Lausanne Congress, more than 250 leaders gathered over four days to address Islam and how we might close the gap between the current reality and a preferred reality, committing ourselves to this task.
Listening to the Current Reality
Muslims represent a large and growing proportion of the world population. In addition to size, Islam is very diverse as a global religion. Like the range of contexts and peoples that are Islamic in some form or another, there is great diversity in Christian responses and approaches, and Christian-Muslim relations remain deeply complex.
However, the house of Christ can be part of transforming the house of Islam. But, as Christ-followers, meaningful connection with Muslims must be based on profound commitment to our spiritual vitality in prayer, repentance, Scripture engagement, and fellowship with other believers.
In recognising our current reality, we need to address the part we play in the house of Christ:
- Building a foundation of spiritual life through repentance, prayer, engaging Scripture, and fellowship with other believers
- Embracing Christian character: love, patience, faith, courage and friendship
- Serving through: Unity, Contextualization, Relationship, Equipping, Understanding, Community, Discipleship & Training, Mobilisation and Effective Structures
In terms of current reality and expected demographics, the house of Islam is relatively youthful and is growing in proportion to the world population. It is a global religion with a high diversity of practice and belief. For more information regarding the current reality of Islam, please refer to the report published in the State of the Great Commission in advance of the Fourth Lausanne Conference.
Imagining a Preferred Reality
As we imagine a preferred reality, we see greater unity and collaboration among Christians to engage in discipleship and church planting in contexts where there are currently many Muslims. It will require the whole church to mobilise to close the gap.
We have a vision of unity and collaboration among Christians to reach Muslims with the gospel effectively. The emphasis is on empowering believers from a Muslim-background to witness to other Muslims, as well as fostering cross-cultural discipleship where Christians live out kingdom values before directly confronting others with conversion. Indigenous churches, particularly in Muslim-majority areas, are crucial for discipling and sending believers into their communities and beyond. Collaboration across churches and parachurch organisations is essential for mobilising resources, sharing knowledge, and equipping Christians to engage with Muslims in culturally relevant ways. One such way is attentive stewardship and care for God’s creation, being a witness and reflecting God’s love for all his creation.
There is optimism regarding the growth of Muslim communities coming to Christ, with notable instances of dreams and visions leading Muslims to faith.
The global church is called to work together to create gospel-centred, Bible-preaching churches among every people group and community. There is also a recognition that working together can lead to transformative, holistic changes in communities as more Muslims are reached with the gospel and discipled. This movement emphasises prayer, collaborative efforts, and equipping Christians with contextualised training for cultural understanding to advance the mission of reaching Muslim communities with the gospel.
The following are key parts to this preferred reality:
1. Theological Engagement: Promotion of deeper biblical and theological exploration of topics relevant to Islam—such as the person of Jesus, prophecy, and revelation.
2. Unity and Collaboration: In imagining a preferred reality, we see a much greater unity between believers from a Muslim background (BMBs) and those from a Christian background. This would be reflected in:
- Collaboration: Unity between Christians and BMBs in reaching Muslims, sharing resources, and engaging in contextualised ministry.
- Empowering BMBs: Muslim-background believers are seen as essential in leading and discipling others in their communities.
3. Discipleship and Church-planting: Discipleship and contextualised witness are a core part of the vision for the future:
- Contextualised discipleship: Living out kingdom values in local contexts is key to effective witness in preparation for direct conversion.
- Indigenous church planting: Local churches in Muslim-majority areas are crucial for discipling and sending believers cross-culturally.
- Dreams and visions: Increasing instances of Muslims encountering Jesus through dreams have the potential to lead to gospel-centred conversions.
4. Hospitality and Presence: Local expressions of hospitality, particularly in areas experiencing migration or refugee resettlement, can open the way for Muslims to encounter Christians for the first time.
5. Whole Church Mobilisation: The dream is to see the whole church involved in participating in God’s mission to Muslims. In this global mobilisation, the global church focuses resources, training, and prayer on areas of large Muslim populations and other Muslim-majority areas. Worldwide prayer and mutual encouragement are critical in sustaining efforts to reach Muslims.
Approaching the entire task
In our vision, we engage the entirety of the task, seeking holistic transformation. Concretely, reaching Muslims with the gospel leads to broader community impact and transformation as Christ’s truth is lived out. Using the above example of creation care: our stewardship and care for God’s creation can be a witness and part of discipleship. Sustainable practices can be encouraged, such as: fair compensation, sustainable industries, and thoughtful development that respects God’s creation. Restoration and healing should be sought where vulnerable communities and the rest of God’s creation flourish. Churches are encouraged to embrace a gospel that cares for both the spiritual and physical needs of the world.
Creating a Way to Close the Gap
We recognise a gap between our current reality and our vision for the future. This urges us to reflect on a way to close it. This starts and rests on the spiritual foundation of prayer and fasting. Upon this foundation, we build a pillar of genuine relationships with Muslims, seeing these relationships as part of fulfilling the Great Commission. We form a second pillar in taking a collective and strategic approach to our engagement, seeking to mobilise the entire Church to see outreach to Muslims as one of its core responsibilities.
Having seen people come to Christ from a Muslim background, we can close the gap by equipping indigenous leaders and churches to disciple their own communities. Furthermore, we need to provide support to believers from a Muslim background (BMBs) through leadership training and contextualised training—creating systems for such training and utilising existing resources.
In addition to working with leaders, we need to collaborate with local church communities. This will involve promoting cross-cultural collaboration, connecting believers for mutual edification, and sharing good practices among churches and mission organisations. This is essential to forming unity and cooperation between local churches, mission organisations, and global networks to effectively engage and disciple Muslims.
Finally, we have opportunities to leverage digital outreach and translation projects to make the gospel accessible in every language and within every community.
By fostering relationships, engaging in strategic collaboration, and equipping local leaders, the global church can play a pivotal role in advancing the gospel among Muslim communities, ultimately contributing to fulfilling the Great Commission.
Communicating a Prayerful Proposal
We emphasise collaboration, prayer, training, and evangelism, particularly in engaging with Muslims and cross-cultural missions. We commit and encourage others to commit to pray and to deeper and broader collaboration, deepening our unity as the body of Christ.
Prayer remains central; we invite many groups to commit to regular, intentional prayer for each other and for their work. We need prayer to overcome challenges and to unite believers in our mission. We request ongoing prayer movements and efforts to encourage more churches to engage in reaching Muslims.
Collaboration needs to be undertaken at both local and global levels. Relatively small efforts of collective outreach to Muslim communities, as well as at much broader and more complex levels, such as the Lausanne Movement and other major networks, are needed. We call each of us to form networks with like-minded ministries, starting locally and expanding regionally and globally.
We reiterate the importance of training church leaders, congregations, and ministries to engage effectively with Muslim communities. This includes providing tools for evangelism and discipleship, contextualising materials for BMBs, and building strategies for biblical stewardship and resource mobilisation. We can empower local churches through workshops, seminars, and practical training programs
We acknowledge that the work of engaging Muslims is difficult but rewarding. Many of us are encouraged by the increasing number of Muslims coming to faith and the rise of Messianic Muslim movements. Collaboration and mutual encouragement are seen as vital in sustaining this work. Some groups engaged in these discussions also expressed the need for continued advocacy and justice efforts, particularly in addressing vulnerability and human rights issues.
Finally, we would like to underline the importance of sharing success stories and experiences. This not only fosters encouragement but also serves as a learning opportunity for others working in similar contexts. We suggest continuing to use digital platforms and newsletters to share updates, prayer requests, and best practices.
Acknowledgements
Firstly, our thanks and worship go to our one Lord: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Special thanks to the Islam Gap content specialists: Nathan Chung & Tharwat Wahba And also, to the rest of the team: Ali A, Brent M, Lanver M & Heidi T Finally, we are grateful to the Lausanne leadership, Congress facilitators, and Korean service teams that made this possible.
Author
David Kimiti
David serves in mobilisation for a mission agency working to take the gospel to least-reached communities worldwide.