Ready to welcome

We are looking at the subject of the place of the convert from Islam in the local Christian church.

In the previous article (July EN) we answered three questions: What are the church’s responsibilities towards Muslim converts? Should a Muslim convert be encouraged to be baptised? Should a Muslim convert break completely from Islam? We now address another important practical question. How can we integrate Muslim converts into the church in the West?

Not the best solution

Sometimes totally new churches have been started for people from various ethnic communities. These churches have functioned closer to the cultural patterns that are familiar to the ethnic group.

However, this is not the best solution. One major issue about separate churches is that it is short-sighted. It fails to take into account the needs of the children growing up in the Western country. They often need both cultures to feel they belong. Otherwise they may join Western churches and families will be separate. Also receiving converts into existing churches is a reflection of the biblical vision of the universal church in heaven which includes all tribes and nations. Therefore, it would be better to integrate this new wave of believers into existing churches. To do this necessitates a willingness on the part of the church in the West to make changes and create a church with greater diversity.

Sense of belonging

When Muslim converts come to our churches, we want them to attend meetings, listen to sermons and grow in the Lord. But when the meeting is over in a short time, the congregation leaves. Where does the Muslim meet his need for a sense of belonging? One or two hours in the church does not give him a sense of being part of a new community.

I feel that it is necessary to speak openly and sincerely with Western Christians who may be called upon to receive a new convert from a Muslim background into the fellowship of the church. Several things need to be carefully considered.

Be a family to him

Our first goal should be to build a strong, loving, personal friendship with the new believer. Most Muslim converts will have come from a foreign country. They are likely to feel strange and vulnerable in the spiritual environment of a Western church.

We must realise that Muslim culture is community-based, whereas the emphasis of Western culture is on the individual. A Muslim makes decisions in relation to his family and community much more than a Westerner. This is true not only of those who come from abroad, but also of those who have been born and brought up in the West. Therefore, it defies his culture for a Muslim to make an individual decision for Christ. A Muslim who comes to the Lord loses his former community. Often he loses his place in his family as well. So, when Christians with Islamic backgrounds come to our churches, they need to feel they are joining a new community.

Be sensitive to his culture

Most Western Christians are not accustomed to investing significant amounts of time in new friendships and may lack sensitivity to cultures different to their own because of their limited exposure.

Muslims are not all the same. They come to the West from countries around the world. This makes it necessary for the Westerner to become a student of his new friend’s background. A few minutes of research on the internet can provide enough information to allow a person to hold an intelligent conversation with his new friend about the friend’s country of origin. When we show interest and respect for his country and culture, we develop the basis for understanding and trust.

Be hospitable

No matter where a Muslim convert comes from, hospitality will be a very important element of his culture. He will appreciate an invitation to visit in your home, and most likely he will also want you to visit in his home.

What are some guidelines for entertaining a foreign guest of Muslim background? Remember that he may have strong feelings about dietary restrictions. Don’t ever serve pork or alcohol. Sometimes it is helpful to ask a Muslim friend what he likes to eat so that you feel confident that the food you are preparing is appropriate.

Be helpful

As I have already said, when a new convert from Islam makes his faith known to his family, he may be totally cut off from his family members. This can create serious financial hardship, particularly for students. Financial help can be a great blessing. Government agencies in the West may provide some temporary assistance, but the church may also need to reach out and meet some of these practical needs. When assistance is given, care must be taken to preserve the dignity of the individual. Assistance should never be rendered in a way that could be misunderstood as an inducement to conversion.

Be a teacher

Because of erroneous preconceptions about Christianity, a lot of time must be invested in teaching Muslim converts in a way that will help them grasp key doctrines, such as the deity of Christ and the Trinity. Some Western churches provide no in-depth discipleship training for their new converts, even though every new believer from any background needs such training. This is especially essential for the establishment of a new believer from an Islamic background.

Separate meetings could be organised in which the Muslim convert will feel more culturally at home; maybe in a home, around a meal, with accommodation for different languages where possible. This helps meet the felt need of belonging without founding a separate church.

Muslim converts have probably seen a lot of hypocrisy. They come from a community where white lies, jealousy, anger, hatred and backbiting are common. They need to see transformed believers who can teach them integrity. They should be guided into how to live a Spirit-filled life every day. They need to see in a practical way to resolve difficulties and tensions with a Christian attitude. And as the new convert sees models of Christian love in action, he will learn the kind of relationship he should have with his wife and his children, as well as how he should invest in God’s work.

Be wise

Concerning witness, I would advise you not to expose a new Muslim convert to publicity pressure that might put him on the spot with family or his community. Do not ask him to give his testimony in public too quickly, especially in the presence of Muslims, but prayerfully wait for him to come to the place of wanting to share his faith.

Be a shepherd

The dominant feature of Muslim society and culture is the concept of shame and honour. It is a powerful emotive force. You do everything you can to avoid bringing shame on yourself, your family and your community. You do everything you can to achieve honour. That is what dominates life. A person who does something shameful will disappear and have no courage to face his family, friends, or members of his community.

Why am I mentioning this? The shame-honour concept remains with a Muslim convert even after he comes to Christ. If a Muslim convert does something seriously wrong, he may be so ashamed of what he has done that he can’t face his brothers and sisters in the church, particularly those for whom he has great respect. His solution is to disappear. I have known at least three North African converts who did this. By the grace of God, two of them have come back to their churches through the hard work of other Christians, who persistently visited them and gave them loving encouragement. Unfortunately, in the third case, the church lost contact with the convert, failing to make contact. They made no effort to encourage him to return. The church’s attitude was, ‘If he is a true follower of Christ, let him come back and publicly confess his sin’.

If a situation like this occurs in your church, please don’t let the person disappear without contacting him. Take the first step. Make it easy for the convert to return.

Be ready for the disruption!

I must mention here the disruption that this will cause to the cosy fellowship we often enjoy in monocultural churches. Unless a church has faced and dealt with any selfishness that exists, it will lead to tension if numbers from other cultures increase. For example, can you accept that it may take time for a Muslim convert to see the need to get involved in helping in the kitchen at church, due to his lifelong exclusion from the kitchen at home?

Conclusion

God is bringing many Muslims to the West. By his grace, some are coming to Christ. The challenge to the church is to love them and understand their needs. Then the church, through honest and sincere friendship, can make these new believers an integral part of the Christian family. This cannot be done unless you are willing to open your heart and help create an environment inside your church where Muslim converts can grow and feel a sense of community.

E.M. Hicham is an assistant pastor and author of Your questions answered: a reply to Muslim friends, published by Evangelical Press. He is also a founder member of MEC Word of Hope Ministries — a non-profit-making literature ministry producing literature for Muslim evangelism. For more details visit http://www.word-of-hope.net

Receiving Muslim converts, part two