From Curious to Courageous Church Planter

A devoted Muslim, Andre* was known in his community for his diligence in reading the Quran and in reciting daily prayers facing Mecca. He assisted the local imam and made sure that his friends did the “right” things.

Then he began dating Lia. Although Lia wasn’t that interested in religion, her mother was a committed follower of Christ. Whenever Andre visited Lia’s house, he noticed a copy of the Gospels sitting in the family’s front room. He thought it was unusual that these Scriptures were in his local language and he was intrigued. Eventually he summoned the courage to pick up the book and read. He was hooked.

From then on, every time he visited Lia, Andre would read God’s Word while he waited for his girlfriend. As he did, God began to draw Andre to Himself, and Andre was struck with the certainty of salvation that Jesus offered. But, he told no one of his studies.

Finally, Andre couldn’t hold in what he was learning. He began to teach Lia about Jesus and to discuss what he’d read with members of her family. And, God began to draw Lia to Himself as well.

When Andre and Lia began to talk about getting married, Andre’s extended family confronted him about his bride-to-be: “She’s got to become a Muslim first! Then you can get married.”

With a courage that still surprises him, he responded, “We will get married as Christians in a Christian ceremony!”

Thinking he’d gone crazy, Andre’s immediate family sought out local spiritual men to “cure” him. When the cure failed to work and it became clear that Andre was still committed to following Christ, Andre’s family issued an ultimatum: “If you ever come back here, we’ll kill you. It’s better that you go to hell by yourself, rather than … defile us with your beliefs and cause us all to be condemned to hell.”

Since his marriage to Lia, God has kept Andre safe and continued to give him the courage and passion to share the gospel. Today, he’s involved in a church-planting movement coordinated by Christar workers, and is sharing the good news in his community.