International (MNN) — Last month, we talked about short-term missions trip opportunities in the Muslim world with Frontiers USA this year. But today, we’re giving you a closer look at what several of these trips actually will be like and why you should consider joining.
Have you ever done a bungee jump before? Frontiers’ Perry LaHaie says their short-term missions trips to reach Muslims with the Gospel are kind of like that!
(Photo courtesy of Frontiers USA)
“If you’re up for an adventure and you want to have fun, it will be safe and you get to meet Muslims. But it is like a bungee jump! You’ve got to step out of your comfort zone and take a risk and take a leap. We can help you prepare. You just go to FindYourFrontier.org, look at what you’re interested in, click on that, and then we’ll have a time of orientation where we’ll get you ready.”
Biblical outreach to Muslims with Frontiers isn’t as much about apologetics as it is about relationships.
LaHaie explains, “You don’t have to be a Bible blackbelt. You don’t have to be an Islamic scholar. You don’t have to be a ‘super Christian’. You just need to be an ordinary person who wants to love Muslims!”
In the process of being a loving neighbor and building relationships, you are representing Jesus Christ and opening the doors for faith conversations.
Here are just a few of the short-term missions trips featured with Frontiers:
Southeast Asia
The short-term missions trip with Frontiers to Southeast Asia is a great opportunity to live with a Muslim family and teach English to university students!
(Photo courtesy of Frontiers USA)
“It’s a chance to meet college students in a place that’s just nominally Muslim. The Muslims there love Americans, they want to know us, [and] they want to hear about our faith. These Muslims know English and they want to get to learn English even better.”
Jordan
For their Middle Eastern Language and Culture trip to Jordan, LaHaie says, “There’s a chance to go to Jordan and learn the Arabic language from Muslims. You get to work with some refugees, you get to travel to the Dead Sea, maybe go to Jerusalem, and you’ll be able to meet missionaries from several regions and just learn what it’s like to work in the Muslim world from people who are experts. You will make Muslim friends in Jordan!”
This trip is especially helpful if you are considering long-term service as a missionary in the Muslim world.
India
Another English-teaching missions trip with Frontiers will take you to India. This particular Muslim region is unengaged with the Gospel. As you’re teaching English to Muslims in India, you will also get to share your faith, pray through the cities, and learn from the local Christian leaders and church planters.
LaHaie adds, “In India, we need a guy or two who wants to do sports ministry. You would be able to follow around a really cool missionary dude who does fun stuff with Muslim young people like play soccer and [it’s] just a chance to mix it up with Muslim teenagers and early 20s who have never heard the Gospel before.”
(Image courtesy of Frontiers USA)
Arab Gulf
In the Frontiers trip to the Arab Gulf, LaHaie shares, “You would be able to learn from a young missionary couple on what it’s like to live in the Arab Gulf and love Muslims; lots of stuff to do outdoors like hiking and prayer walking and just making friends with Muslims!”
You would live among the unreached in an urban center and begin to learn Gulf Arabic. Team members will also get to experience Disciple Making Movements (DMM) and Discovery Bible Studies (DBS).
Sicily
Do you have a heart for refugees? The Sicily missions trip with Frontiers will bring you face-to-face with Muslim refugees from Syria and other countries.
LaHaie says, “[Sicily] is a beautiful place and you get to reach out to people who are just maybe more open to Jesus than they ever have been before because of their refugee situation.”
Regarding this trip, Frontiers’ website says, “Allow your heart to be moved as you listen to refugees’ stories. Share your story, and more importantly, tell God’s story.”
Creative Arts
According to Frontiers, Facebook is one of the most effective outlets for reaching Muslims who are interested in learning more about the Gospel. That’s why Frontiers has creative arts missions trip opportunities.
“If you’re into creative arts, you can go work with a Frontiers team. If you’ve got experience in film, photography, social media, you can use those skills to help these teams produce content for their area. You could actually run a social media campaign. You could gather footage if you know how to do some filming that would help in sharing the Gospel. So that is for you if you are a creative type.”
(Photo courtesy of Frontiers USA)
Nomad Truck Venture
“Finally, if you are an adventurous person, we’ve got the adventure for you,” says LaHaie. “It’s a 3,100-mile adventure over five weeks, seeing what’s over the next sand dune, loving Muslims on the move (nomadic Muslims), hanging out around the campfire every night, building friendships that last a lifetime — five weeks of adventure, loving Muslims who want to hear about Jesus.”
There are even more trips listed at FindYourFrontier.org. If you feel God stirring your heart with a desire to reach Muslim peoples with the Gospel, now is the time to go! Frontiers would love to help you take the next step in short-term missions and answer any questions you may have.
Meanwhile, please pray for the teams that will be going out and for the individuals they will build relationships with. Ask God to make himself known to Muslims around the world and that more would embrace salvation in Jesus Christ.
(Header photo courtesy of Frontiers USA)
