If people won’t come to you, then you have to go to them. That’s the approach to evangelism that I’ve participated in around the world. Malawi was no different.
On this particular day I was paired with Dre as we went to follow up with some houses that we had visited the previous week. Our interpreter’s name was Frackson and he loves doing door to door evangelism. Weird, I know, but he actually does love it. When we visited houses, Frackson would always say that he was going to “my office”. So the three of us took off down a dirt path into the corn fields, winding through thick brush and various crops on our way to encourage some believers we met the week before.
The family once again welcomed us onto their property, obviously remembering our previous visit. Six inches taller than most, white face, red hair and beard, kind of difficult to forget; after all, there were very few azungus (white people) in Nkhotakota. So Dre, Frackson, the man of the house, and I sat underneath a tree to escape the blazing Malawi sun. I tried to encourage him with the parable of the mustard seed, urging him to allow God to use him, no matter how much faith he felt like he had or needed. Nkhotakota has a tremendously heavy Islamic influence, making it difficult for the Christians to actively live their faith. Each morning and evening the Muslim prayer chants would echo through the countryside, seeming simultaneously enchanting and diabolical.
Frackson picked up where I left off, moving from the mustard seed to having faith rooted in the Word like a tree rooted in the ground. I don’t speak Chichewa, so I don’t know everything he said, but I know that Frackson knows God’s Word, and I know the truth that he was sharing was falling on very receptive ears. When Frackson finished, I felt God urging me to teach this man the “Bridge to Life” diagram. There are a lot of established, mature believers, and then there are a lot of “infant” Christians. I wanted this man to get past just receiving and to start giving back. So we went through the illustration, first with me drawing the picture in the sand and telling the story, then urging the man to tell it and draw it back to me. He did it perfectly!
Our visit was drawing to a conclusion when he asked if we could spend some time with the man who lived next door. Turns out that the neighbor was not only a Muslim, but he was also this man’s nephew. The nephew came over as friendly as you can imagine, telling us that he was extremely honored to have us visit him. He has been a Muslim for some 40 years or so, growing up in an Islamic family and inheriting their religious practices. He knew who Jesus was and believed in him, but he obviously also believed in Mohammed and all the confusing crap that comes with that. The amazing thing about the Muslims is that 99% of them don’t have any clue what they believe because they use ridiculous, circular logic to defend their beliefs.
Why do you believe in the Quran? “Because Mohammed says to.”
Why do you believe in Mohammed? “Because the Quran says to.”
It’s a frustrating process.
Luckily God had been working in the nephew’s life, and he was ready for truth. I explained to him the simple differences between Allah and God, Jesus and Mohammed, and Islam and Christianity. God sealed the deal when I got to assurance of faith. Islamic people live their entire lives hoping to please Allah, but will readily admit that when they die is when Allah decides whether or not to admit them into Paradise. The Quran describes Allah as being very moody and fickle, completely abolishing any hope for an assurance of salvation. Praise God that we don’t have that uncertainty!
Dre had some Bible verses written down in Chichewa which she gave to both men, who immediately read them aloud. As they read through one of the verses, the man began to teach his nephew the exact lesson that Frackson shared, about the roots of a tree and being rooted in God’s Word. So here we had the Muslim nephew reading Bible verses for the first time and the Christian uncle actively teaching his nephew. For several days, Dan and Frackson had conversations about the importance of discipleship and not just evangelism. I think this was the point when their conversations really held water for Frackson because he saw in front of his own two eyes how discipleship paid off. Immediately he decided to start a Bible study in this area so that he can continue to disciple both the man and his nephew.
Dre and I agreed on the walk home, this was one of our favorite ministry days of the whole trip. The entire conversion, discipleship, missions-as-a-lifestyle process unfolded before our eyes in just one afternoon. House visits can be frustrating and appear like a waste of time, but those two men would disagree.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19
