“Start praying and asking God to open your eyes to see what He’s doing.”

Jason Rivers
Special to Spur Ottawa

“This is an opportune time in Canada. I don’t think it’s an accident that God has brought, with increasing numbers, Muslims from some of the hardest-to-reach parts of the world right into the neighbourhoods where Christians live,” says Lorna Winston, leadership team chairperson for the Canadian Networks of Ministries to Muslims (CNMM).

Canada has a rising Islamic demographic. While many Christians struggle with how to reach out to Muslims, Winston says Christians who see Muslims in their communities are starting to see the need and respond. CNMM helps by equipping and encouraging believers who are trying to fill this gap.

For those who feel called to minister to Muslims, Winston’s advice is to befriend Islamic neighbours.

“I think there is a false mystery as to how we get started. You start by starting. Start by choosing to love these people [regardless] of if you feel equipped or whether you feel like you have anything to offer.

“Jesus calls us to love these people, but love is not instant. It’s a journey,” she says. “Start praying and asking God to open your eyes to see what He’s doing and, as you begin to see Muslims in your community, pray for them by name.”

Muslims are very open to faith discussions. It can be easier than approaching atheists or agnostics.

Winston also suggests volunteering with ministries already reaching out to Muslims.

Judy Dancer is part of CNMM in the Ottawa area. She hosts monthly prayer meetings with other Christians who are ministering to Muslims. The group also discusses their work and what strategies they are seeing results with.

Dancer says many Muslims are active on university campuses, sharing their faith. One of her goals is to help Christian campus ministries prepare for the discussions she knows are happening.

One challenge she highlights is the discrepancy between what Muslims have been taught about Christianity versus what Christians actually believe. Islam teaches that the Bible has been corrupted over time and that Jesus did not die on the cross.

However, Dancer says if people approach their Muslim neighbours, they would find Muslims are very open to faith discussions. It can be easier than approaching atheists or agnostics, she says.

The Church in Ottawa lacks a plan to reach newly arriving Muslims.

Walid Bitar, pastor of the Arabic Evangelical Baptist Church of Ottawa, says his church strives to reach out to Ottawa’s Arabic community.

“We work with Arabs. If they are Muslim, if they are nominal Christian, if they speak Arabic, this is our ministry to the Arab, and we can reach the Canadian [Arabic] community for Christ.”

Bitar says Arabic Muslims arriving in Ottawa often call the Arabic Evangelical Baptist Church asking for help with physical needs. He uses these opportunities to share the Gospel.

One gap Bitar sees is that the Church in Ottawa, as a whole, lacks a plan to reach newly arriving Muslims. His church offers training in how to share the gospel with Muslims. One important key, he says, is that you can’t just do the work as one or two people; the Church needs to work together. He believes the Church needs to develop a strategy, focus on specific areas, and work to reach people personally with the love of Christ.

Yet, reaching out to Muslims has to start somewhere, so he exhorts believers, “Go to them. Get in touch with them. Build the bridges with them. Talk to them. Visit them. Give them a New Testament. We have the Word of God and that’s powerful, and we have the word of our testimony.”