Morocco (MNN) — “I came to Christ because the Word of God touched my heart and God opened my eyes [to] the truth.”
Fouad is a pastor in the North African nation of Morocco, where being a Christian is both unlikely and difficult.
It’s unlikely per se for several reasons. Morocco is more than 99% Muslim today; there is strong cultural and governmental pressure on people to keep it that way. It’s difficult because although Christians are allowed to practice their faith, they are carefully watched. If someone is accused of “shaking the faith” of a Muslim or of criticizing Islam, they can be punished by a prison sentence and/or fines.
To describe the persecution Moroccan Christians go through, Fouad recounts part his family’s story. “The pressures comes from the family first, because they reject us in the beginning. They were all really very tough on our children also, when they said they are Christian,” he says.
Men sitting on sand dunes in Merzouga, Morocco. (Photo courtesy of Ignacio Ceballos via Unsplash)
“It was very difficult time for the whole family, but we understand in the Word of God that because of our faith, [because] of the Savior, many will reject us, even though some [are] family members.”
More on persecution in Morocco here.
After he began to follow Christ, Fouad became part of a small local congregation. Eventually he served as an elder and then was asked to lead the church. Despite Christians being few in number (less than 0.2% of the population), they see God making His Word known to more and more of their fellow countrymen, just like He did in Fouad’s life.
One significant way this spread is happening, Fouad says, is through media.
“Now people can compare and listen. They can research by themselves about the truth and look, you know, for ‘who is the true God?’” he says. “That’s God Himself who let His Word be known. We have seen that, and we praise Him for that. He’s [a] faithful God.”
Join in prayer for Moroccan believers like Fouad and his church.
“For protection for the church and also for the church be unified, for the new believers to grow in Christ, and to share the message of the gospel with their families and with the whole people of Morocco,” he says.
“We pray also for the internship that we hold in this church and also for discipleship in other churches, that the Lord [will] prepare workers and prepare servants for His Word in the whole country.”
Header photo of Morocco courtesy of Fouad.
