USA (MNN) — It can be difficult to share your belief in Christ with a Muslim when you don't know how to answer questions or what questions to ask. Many Christians find themselves intimidated when speaking with their Muslim friends because they simply don't know what to say.
"Sometimes Christians and Muslims don't understand each other," says Fouad Masri, president of Crescent Project. "We at Crescent Project want to bridge the gap and help Christians and Muslims when they communicate, to communicate beyond common grounds."
Tips for Muslim-Christian communication often include talking about the many things we have in common. But focusing solely on these things can keep believers from discussing the most important part of their faith: Jesus.
"People who go through our training are shocked at how little Muslims know about Jesus. They cannot believe that there are people in the 21st century who don't even know about the angels appearing to the shepherds; they don't even know that Jesus said ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,'" says Masri.
In order to get Christians comfortable with sharing their faith with Muslims in a non-offensive way, Crescent Project hosts Bridges One-Day Seminars. "We hope our trainees know how to answer [questions], but we also teach them how to ask good questions," says Masri about the seminars.
A typical Bridges day provides training in three areas. "The first part is ‘What is Islam?' The second part is ‘What is the Gospel to Islam?' And the third part is how to do it–how to begin a conversation and how to end it," explains Masri.
As the seminars progress, believers are taught how to share with their Muslim friends out of love, "involving Muslims in a friendship rather than just an argument." The seminars even include testimonies from the journeys of Muslims who have converted to Christianity.
A Bridges seminar is coming up in Minneapolis, Minnesota this Saturday, July 10. It will be hosted by Berean Baptist Church, but believers from all churches are welcome. For more information on this seminar, click here.
If you can't make it to Minneapolis, look for another Bridges One-Day Seminar at the Crescent Project Web site. Seminars will be coming to Nashville, Chicago, Kalamazoo, and other cities.
If you want to learn how to effectively witness to Muslims around you, consider going to a Bridges One-Day Seminar. "It's just equipping [you] and giving you a toolbox that you could use in daily life on how to build bridges with Muslims."
