Reaching Muslims Not "Rocket Science"

Author: Reaching Muslims not 'rocket science'

Community and family are everything to a Muslim. Most Muslims "would rather go to hell with their families than go by themselves to heaven," said Nik Ripken, who has served for 25 years alongside his wife Ruth in North Africa and the Middle East [note: names have been changed for their safety].

Ripken, author of a new book "The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected" from B&H Publishing, was among the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina's featured speakers at the annual state evangelism conference.

Muslim family bonds should never be taken lightly, said Ripken, a leading expert on the persecuted church in Muslim cultures who has interviewed people from Muslim backgrounds in 60-plus countries.

Christians must reach out to families, not just individuals, Ripken noted at the Feb. 25 conference at Pleasant Garden (N.C.) Baptist Church, with the theme of "Culture Reach: Understanding, Loving and Relating to Muslims."

Friends of his have lost their lives for their faith, Ripken said, describing the number one cause of persecution globally as people choosing to follow Jesus.

Yet persecution is a sign of Christian growth, he said, noting, "Where we're seeing the greatest growth of the church is in places where persecution is the most widespread."

Building relationships with Muslims and people of different ethnic groups isn't "rocket science," Ripken said.

Ripken described Muslims as loveable and, like everybody else, in need of friendship. One of the first things a person can do to build a friendship with a Muslim family is invite them to dinner, Ripken said.

"... When was the last time you had a lost family in your house on purpose that wasn't your relatives?" Ripken asked. "What would it mean to the tens of thousands of Muslims in North Carolina if you were to feed them and invited them in your home?"

While meeting and interviewing Muslims in the Bible Belt, Ripken said nearly 100 percent of those who were asked about their lives in the United States said they had never met a Christian. They said no one had mentioned Jesus to them, and nearly all described America as a lonely place to live.

"Almost all of them had [invited family from overseas] to come and live with them because no one had ever spoken to them from this country," Ripken said. "Some of them had been here for 10 years."

All it takes to begin a friendship with a Muslim neighbor, he said, is to have "an obedient heart."

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