Through tragic circumstances, God is building a fledgling fellowship in the Middle Eastern city where Eric, Janelle, and their teammates live and serve.
It started when violent conflict struck another city nearby. Men, women, and children fled with nothing but the clothes on their back. Hundreds of these displaced families ended up in Eric and Janelle’s city.
Saeed is among the refugees. He’s a Muslim-background man who became a follower of Jesus Christ ten years ago. Shortly after fleeing the fighting in his hometown, he met Eric and Janelle.
The women were hungry for the Word, but they had little access to it.
The Frontiers couple quickly discovered that Saeed had been sharing the Gospel with other refugees. Twice a week, he gathered a dozen men together to study the Bible. He even kept a little notebook to record which books of the Bible they had read and what they were currently studying.
All these men, Eric and Janelle learned, professed to love and follow Jesus.
Their wives and daughters were also hungry to understand God’s Word and learn about Jesus. But even though the men were studying the Bible consistently, the women had little access to it. As illiterate women, they couldn’t read Scripture for themselves—and their husbands hadn’t read it to them.
Recently, one of the men called Eric. “Another man wants to become a disciple of Jesus Christ!” he said. “Would you and your wife join us?”
As Janelle shared the Gospel, the women’s faces began to glow with excitement.
When the Frontiers couple arrived, Eric joined the men while Janelle went into a separate room with the women. Seven or eight of them sat quietly, uncertain and seemingly uncomfortable about what was going on in the men’s room.
“One of your husbands wants to follow Jesus and be baptized,” Janelle said. “Do you know what God’s Word says about this?”
They asked Janelle to tell them. She began with the story of Adam and Eve, continuing through God’s story to the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As she shared the Gospel, the somber silence lifted and the women’s faces began to glow with excitement. By the end, several ladies asked to start meeting to study the Bible to learn more about Jesus.
Eric and Janelle are excited to strengthen this fledgling fellowship. Pray with us that it will grow into a vibrant church that multiplies and reaches many others.
- Praise God for Saeed’s faithful witness and his desire to plant churches among Muslims.
- Pray that believing husbands would share the Bible with their wives and children, leading their families as followers of Jesus.
- Ask God to give more Muslim women access to the Word so they can understand the Gospel and Christ’s love for them.
- Pray for Frontiers workers like Eric and Janelle as they disciple new believers and help others discover life in God’s Word.
This account comes from a long-term worker. Names and places have been changed for security.
Main photo by Tribes of the World