Lizzie Schofield tells of how the women of St. Nicholas, Tooting, London, met up with their local Muslim counterparts
‘We are looking to see if we can come to your local temple to get to know your women’s organisation.
‘We feel it is very important to be aware of all other religious organisations as well as our own.’ This was part of an email that popped into our ‘info@stnicholas’ email box a few months ago from the local Ahmadiyya women’s association.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is a moderate Muslim sect whose spiritual leader is the 19th-century reformer Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be Islam’s ‘promised Messiah’. Followers are seen as heretics by many mainstream Muslims. Thousands have settled in the UK following persecution, for example in Pakistan where they were officially declared ‘non-Muslims’. They are very ‘evangelistic’ and keen to see us become Ahmadis — this makes for an interesting dynamic!
As a church, we were already reaching out to our Muslim neighbours through individual friendships and Bible study, but this was the first time that they had approached us! How might we respond to this God-given opportunity?
After much prayer and planning, we invited the Ahmadiyya ladies to tea and cake on a Saturday afternoon. We invited them to speak for 15 minutes on the topic ‘How can I know God?’, followed by 15 minutes on the same topic by a Christian, with a Question & Answer session at the end.
Nerves and prayers
Managing logistics in the run-up to the event was nerve-racking. How would we handle the Q&A session? How much food should we make? What would they like to eat? Would the PA work properly? How many Christians should we aim to have there? And most importantly — would anyone turn up? Everyone in church life knows how hit-and-miss these things are. And we weren’t just worried the Muslim women might not come: although many women at St Nick’s have Muslim friends or colleagues, the idea of time specifically to discuss Jesus was a new and daunting prospect for some. In particular, many of us felt under-confident and inexperienced about discussing Christ with Muslim visitors.
We prayed and prayed. Word got out to our network of missionaries and organisations involved in Muslim outreach. As a result we had churches in the US praying and fasting for us.
Delighted
When our contact from the Ahmadiyya group told me she expected between 30 and 40 women would come, I immediately thought, ‘That means we’ll get 15–20.’ So, on the day itself, when over 40 women came, we were taken aback — and delighted. (And no, we hadn’t put out enough chairs. Happily, there were plenty more close by.)
Great exchange
We had a great exchange. The gospel was preached. Everyone was given a copy of the Gospel of John. A woman trained by Ravi Zacharias ministries helped us during the Q & A time and afterwards with the deeper theological issues that arose. There were so many questions that we didn’t have time to answer them all, so we agreed to email those people whose questions we didn’t get to. Friend-ships were started and phone numbers exchanged.
Praising God
The Christian women were also wonderfully inspired. This email expresses what many women felt after the event. ‘I went home praising God so much for this afternoon. It was so encouraging to see many women there… the atmosphere was so positive and conversation really easy and God seemed to open doors for lots of great chats about Christ.’
Of course there is still much work to do, mainly through on-going faithful, witnessing relationships. But it has been a very encouraging start, and we are hoping to hold a similar event in the coming months. ‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen.’
