International Christian Concern | June 30, 2020
We were amazed by the testimonials of a group of MBBs in Africa, who continue to live in Muslim-dominated communities in order to reach other Muslims with the Good News. We traveled to Africa to meet with three of these evangelists, two of whom are former Muslims. They gave us a firsthand witness of their work with new MBBs, which we now support. Here’s an inside sneak peek of their life and ministry.
A Crusader for Christ
Reverend Musisi worked as an assistant mission coordinator for six years before being sent to a city known for its huge population of Muslims. Islam had spread in the region through promises of wealth and power; in one town alone, there were 33 mosques and 10,000 Muslims. This was the beginning of Musisi’s foray into Muslim evangelism.
In 1994, he held his first crusade. He had no idea what he was getting into, or how powerful the Muslims were in that community.
“When we started, we started ignorantly because we didn’t know how rich the Muslims [were]. I remember [in] 1994 we had the first crusade, and other evangelicals were beaten and then taken to court. But…the case was won in the court.”
He can still remember in 1994, when they prayed with a Muslim man who had a crippled daughter. An amazing thing happened when they prayed. He shared, “We prayed for her, and [his] daughter was delivered, and then she accepted Jesus Christ to be her Lord and savior in the middle of that town.”
They began to lead the new coverts in discipleship and their evangelism training exploded.
“We found God in that Church of Uganda,” he shared. “In that town, we have [started] like three parishes and over 20 churches around their mosques. And we thank God for that and [that] we’re reaching them.”
One year, they mobilized a massive crusade with around 10,000 attendees. Musisi was called to the police station three times that week, but nothing happened. The crusade was a success and through it, they were able to start fellowships in the area. One Muslim woman even asked him to pray over her home.
Today, Musisi continues to bravely serve at his parish in a Muslim-dominated area.
Leaving the Results to God
Bwambale’s first religion was Islam. Though his parents were nominal Christians, he never saw them go to church. He decided to convert to Islam because of the social benefits, but in 1985, while reading the Bible in secondary school, he realized that he had made a mistake. Jesus was the only way to God.
At the same time, Pakistani Muslims came to his area, training the Muslim community to hate Christians. They told them that “Christians are not the right people to live in the world.” Bwambale was told not to share with Christians, not to eat with them, and not to tell them anything about Islam except what would be needed to convert them.
But, as Bwambale heard these words, he thought, “Now, if the Christians are Christians because of Christ, and the Quran is saying Jesus is the straight way, now why should we hate the Christians?” These questions weighed on him, especially because he was being prepared to lead a mosque in the area, though he had not received formal training in Arabic or Islamic teaching.
Eventually, the seed of doubt urged him to reject his future calling. He told the Pakistani Muslims, “No, I can’t continue with Islam, since Islam is hating Christians and then it is Christ who will take people to heaven.” On January 20, 1991, he decided to commit his life fully to Jesus Christ. This commitment catapulted him into evangelism ministry.
After his conversion, Bwambale faced persecution. He shared, “They tried to come and maybe tease me and abuse me, but because I also [know] some verses in the Quran, they feel challenged. So with God’s help and God’s grace, I’m surviving and I have known these tricks.”
“During that time, other fellows came to train us in Muslim evangelism, so I started trying to reach my fellow Muslims. However, it was not easy. They could toss me out. Others could want to fight me because they knew that I was a Muslim before. So, they didn’t want to listen to me. However, some few people who were listening to me, we could continue with them, and I was sharing [the Gospel] with them. Many people, many Muslims, have come to Christ.”