Born into a North African Muslim country hostile to Christianity, Kabil* came to know Jesus after he began to doubt the Islamic faith in which he had been raised.
Image: Prayer before classes start, Emmanuel Christian Training Centre.
As he started attending church, Kabil said one prayer resonated with him deeply.
“It is a prayer from Joshua 24:15,” he said. “It says, ‘Me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’”
God soon answered his prayer and Kabil was given a role as a Bible teacher in his church. However, with this answered prayer came a challenge.
“My family told me, ‘You must make a choice: it is us or Jesus,” Kabil said. “They asked me, ‘Do you want your family, or do you want your new faith?’
“That was a really tough choice, but nothing can equal the life Jesus gave to me. I gave up my family, my home and my business. I still have no contact with my mother.”
The Power of Discipleship
Image: Prayer at a Pastors’ Conference.
Even as his own faith was tested, Kabil came to recognise the difficulties of following Jesus in a hostile context.
“People who were converted didn’t come to church anymore,” Kabil said. “We also saw that some believers were not stable in their faith. The need was obvious.”
Alongside our local partners, Kabil and other church leaders established a discipleship training course to help meet the needs of the North African church.
He said, “After we started offering the course, we noticed changes among our brothers and sisters. We saw that they were staying in the church, we saw that there was great progress in terms of their relationships with one another. We witnessed so many positive changes on both spiritual and practical levels.
“I am motivated because I see the work of God through these people.”
The Mission Of The Church
Image: Open Doors Bible Training in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan.
As Kabil sees believers strengthened in their faith, he longs for more people in North Africa to come to know Jesus – including his own family.
“This is the mission of the Church, to build people instead of building buildings,” he said.
“I thank God for what He has done for me. I pray every day for my mother that she will be touched by the Lord.
“Joseph was rejected by his family, by his brothers for years. God called him and brought him to Egypt and once he was there, he had everything he could wish for, but the Lord saw that there was something missing in his heart: his family.
“God did everything to bring his family near him in Egypt. God has enough love for [my family] as well. I know that one day, the Lord will touch my mother and that we will share the joy of the Lord together.
“According to Psalm 126:6, ‘Those who sow with tears will harvest at the sound of joy and happiness.’ One day we will harvest so many souls in this region. The Lord will rejoice when He sees the people awakening in North Africa.”
Your support can make this hope a reality and transform the lives of thousands of believers in North Africa like Kabil.
*Name changed for security purposes.