Evangelism tools headed to FMI partners

Middle East/Asia (MNN) — Forgotten Missionaries International is headed to the world’s three largest dominate Muslim countries with a new evangelism tool this June and July.

But, the small FMI team’s trip won’t necessarily be easy. The countries – Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia – are top spots for Christian persecution with high Muslim populations. Yet, it hasn’t deterred Christians in these areas from sharing the Gospel.

To help, FMI comes along side these Christians and helps empower them to mature in Christ, carry out evangelism and outreach in their communities, and to asses the risks of ministry in their areas. This FMI team will meet with pastors, hold conferences, make field visits and provide training.

“One of the most exciting things that we’ll be doing is the development of a new evangelism tool that the churches can be using in their countries. And each tool, while similar in style, is going to be distinctively tailored to their own culture,” explains Bruce Allen with FMI.

The ability to tailor the tool keeps each of them relevant for both the evangelists and those who hear the Gospel. So what is this tool? Well, Allen calls it ‘project snapshot.’

“Essentially, it helps the person who the Gospel is being presented to, to interact very well with the person who’s giving the Gospel presentation and actually, not just have it be a one-way dialogue. But, this tool will allow the listener, or the recipient so to speak, the opportunity to say, ‘Here’s a snapshot of my life right now, and this is what I’m going through, this is where I’d like to be.’ In terms of personal ambitions and goal as well as with things of a spiritual nature,” Allen says.

However, individuals have to be careful how they evangelize to others in their culture for a couple of reasons. First, Christians are a sliver of the minority in these countries. So before they completely open up about Christ to someone, they must still be alert and on guard. In other words, they basically conduct a quick investigation to decipher if this is someone who wants to learn about Christ or harm the church.

Another challenge is the fact, in Muslim cultures, women and men who are not related are forbidden from being alone together and aren’t really allowed to talk to each other. For this reason, even during church services, pastors tend to talk to and focus more on the men.

“Discipleship of women, by women, is a very crucial thing that needs to be occurring in these churches,” Allen says. FMI has begun a women’s discipleship initiative to get this ball rolling.

Please pray for the Great Commission in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. Pray that God would continue to provide for these Christians’ needs, both personally and for ministry. Pray for their safety and pray for those who have yet to hear the Gospel.

Also, as Allen and his team prepare and eventual make their trips to each of these countries, would pray for their safety and God’s provision too?

“One of my hopes and dreams for project snapshot is that the whole church can use this tool. It’s not just the pastor… it can be used by anyone,” Allen expresses.

And, a gift of $50 to the ‘tangible resources’ account provides a pastor and his church with ten of these tools!

Or, a gift of $100 provides onsite training for a pastor and his church too!

To donate, click here!

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