Tens of thousands of Muslims find Christ
In Bangladesh, several tens of thousands of Muslims have changed
religion in the past few years, and now follow Jesus. New ‘Jamats’? Christian
house churches with ex-Muslim members? are being formed across the
nation, reports the Swiss missions agency Kingdom Ministries. The movement
is by far the fastest-growing Christian group in the country. In 1997,
the Bible was translated into a form understood by the rural
population. The movement’s most important characteristics are its house church
form with 15-25 members per group, flat hierarchies and the emphasis on a
lay movement with very few mobilisers; evangelisation and church
leadership are in the hands of laypeople. The new converts call themselves
‘followers of Jesus’, and keep their old names. Around 10% of them have
seen Jesus in a dream or vision, or have experienced healing in his
name.
The transformed healer
“We met a man who travelled the country seeking God, having given up as
a religious teacher. One day, he met a Folk Islamic healer, to whom
hundreds of people travelled. The healer encouraged him to open his own
spiritual centre, which he did. He soon had some 4,000 listeners, but no
significant message for them, until Jesus appeared to him, saying ‘You
are our man in this region!’ The old man started evangelising a little,
until Jesus appeared to him a second time, asking him why he did not
teach the people everything. So far, 300 of his listeners have been
baptised and follow Jesus.”
Source: Kingdom Ministries, www.kministries.ch
http://www.jesus.org.uk/dawn/2004/dawn48.html
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TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS IN BANGLADESH PUT FAITH IN CHRIST
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS IN BANGLADESH PUT FAITH IN CHRIST In
Bangladesh tens of thousands of Muslims have become Christians in recent
years through a movement that emphasizes house churches and lay
leadership. Jamats — house churches with ex-Muslim members — are springing up
across the nation, reports the Swiss missions agency Kingdom Ministries.
The movement is the fastest-growing Christian group in the country.
Using a modern translation of the Bible understood by the rural
population, the movement’s most important characteristics are its house churches
with 15 to 25 members per group; flat hierarchies; an emphasis on a lay
movement with few mobilizers; and putting evangelization and church
leadership in the hands of nationals. The new converts call themselves
“followers of Jesus” and keep their old names. (FridayFax)
