Reaching Refugees on the Road in Europe

Every day as many as 5,000 refugees and migrants are arriving in Europe from Muslim majority countries.¹ Many have never heard the gospel. But their journeys are bringing them to places where they can hear the good news—sometimes, while they’re still on the road!

Aaron*, a Christar worker in Europe, saw this firsthand. When he and a small team of local believers volunteered to help, they were asked to guide refugees along a leg of their journey that had been rerouted after muddy conditions made the old path difficult to travel. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” said Aaron. This team of believers had been given a unique opportunity to share the hope of Christ with refugees on the move.

Sharing Jesus Along the Refugee Road

The team spent the day walking with group after group of refugees, talking and praying with them as they went. The day was nearly over when Aaron spotted Samin. Aaron shares:

I saw a young man walking alone, with an elderly women clinging to his arm. He was weighed down with their belongings. When I approached and asked if I could carry something for him, he kindly refused, but later allowed me to carry his mother’s handbag. I asked him where they were from and why they were leaving. He began telling me a detailed story of how his city of 2 million people had been bombed, and how nearly everyone had fled. He said that his brother had been critically wounded by a sniper.

I could see that not too far ahead I was going to have to leave him. I asked what religion he was and he said he was a Muslim and that his name was Samin. I told him I was a Christian and asked, “Will you allow me to pray for you and your mother in the name of Jesus?” He smiled and said yes. So I prayed, asking God to give them safety on their journey and to help them. I asked that their eyes would be opened, and then ended my prayer in Jesus’ name. …

I will never again see Samin in this life. I pray he will read the Christian material that was given to him by another team of Christians and come to faith in Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that by my words and actions he has now caught a glimpse of the true face of Christianity … If [refugees] have only seen darkness and never the light, they are doomed to remain in the darkness. But whoever comes to Jesus will never walk in darkness again.

From Darkness to Light

God is already using the ministry of Christar workers and local believers to bring refugees on the move into the light of Christ! One local believer shares that every day, four or five refugees are placing their faith in Christ as his church reaches out to them at border crossings.

We praise God for this awesome opportunity  to reach out to refugees, not only when they arrive in their destinations, but also on their journeys! As displaced people continue to flood Europe, please ask God to continue to use Christar workers and local believers to bring these refugees from darkness into His light.

Participate by Praying:

• Praise God for bringing least-reached refugees to countries in Europe where believers can freely share the gospel with them.
• Ask God to continue to open the hearts of refugees and prepare them to hear the gospel.
• Pray for wisdom for Christar workers and local believers seeking to reach the vast number of refugees moving into Europe.
• Ask God to provide financial resources so that workers in Europe can partner with local believers to meet refugees’ needs.