Blog

Sharing Faith With Confidence

Imtiaz Khan

3 Apr 2021

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Blog

Sharing Faith With Confidence

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Creator of LCMs Muslim engagement training course, Imtiaz Khan, would like every Christian in London to be ready to share the gospel with Muslims.

If you know and follow the truth and you see others around you destined for destruction due to their distorted beliefs about God, the only compassionate response is to persuade them of their error with all urgency and conviction. Sound familiar? That’s how most Muslims view Christians. Muslims see Christians as people who have somehow strayed from the teaching of Abraham and Moses that God is one, to worship Jesus as God, a sin that God cannot overlook. They believe the Qur’an is the final revelation from God and was necessary to address corrupted Christian beliefs. This is one of the joys of working with Muslims: they want to talk about God. They are deeply committed to their religion, their conviction and their identity, and are passionate to talk about the spiritual realm.

MISCONCEPTION, MISCOMMUNICATION

Most Muslims’ understanding of Christianity is solely from the Islamic perspective. They believe the Bible has been corrupted, leading Christians to believe that Jesus is the biological child of God. The vast majority of Muslims really think they have the truth, and we are the ones who have fallen into error. So when Christians fail to understand their worldview, it often ends in a conversation that falls apart because both sides fail to make meaningful connection. We have an amazing opportunity in London to speak openly about Jesus without being persecuted. Yet most of us do not seize the opportunity. I believe this is because the vast majority of Christians are influenced by mainstream culture – the British values to respect everyone and be tolerant of everyone. Many Christians think that tolerance means we cannot openly disagree with anyone or to argue with them. But when we come to talk about the truth of the gospel we’re going to disagree. What matters is our approach – and for us it’s always gentleness and respect.

MUSLIM MINDSET

LCM’s Muslim Engagement Training course helps ordinary Christians understand the Muslim world and the Muslim mindset. Then, the course helps you crack the misunderstandings Muslims have about Christianity. The aim is to help people understand and talk confidently about three essential beliefs that Islam denies: the authority of Scripture, the divinity of Jesus and his work on the cross. By addressing these issues directly, the course actually fosters better relationships between Christians and Muslims and grows deeper understanding between the two faiths. Every time we run the course, participants say their confidence to share the gospel has increased. We started a four-week taster course for MET at the beginning of March. I invited a couple of missionaries who work in our schools’ team to join the sessions. Even after the first evening, they said it inspired them to approach schools’ ministry differently when there are Muslim children in school.

I would love for every Christian in London – and throughout the UK – to feel equipped to share their faith with Muslims in a way that understands their worldview and helps followers of Islam to engage with the gospel.

Find out more about LCM's Muslim Engagement Training.


Written by: Imtiaz Khan

Imtiaz is LCM's Islam Missiologist Training Director, equipping missionaries and churches to share the gospel with Muslims in London

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