Oasis

I spent my time this weekend at the Oasis conference where we discussed outreach to the Muslim community. It was an opportunity to learn more about the Islamic faith and to understand how to reach out to the Muslim community in our everyday lives, by simply inviting another person to share in your life.

There were many interesting facts presented during the weekend, including the fact that 85 – 90% of Muslims in America are not simply non-militant, but also want to be integrated into American culture. Sadly, we heard many accounts of Muslims that had not been asked into a Christian’s home at all for years on end during their time in America.

There are many misperceptions within the Islamic community about Christianity, primarily because they do not have a chance to interact with Christians, so the images that they receive are solely from American TV, broadcasting shows like Desperate Housewives, or Britney Spears’ latest mistake. Often the perception is that a white American is a Christian, so many people who are acquainted with neither America nor Christianity are often under the impression that Christians act the way they see people act on TV.

The most eye-opening portion of the weekend was when the group took a trip to a mosque and witnessed a weekly service, the equivalent of our Sunday morning services.

All of this leads to the conference’s main point of the weekend, which was exploring what I call life-based ministry, which I referred to earlier. The Oasis method of ministry to Muslims is difficult, but not demanding. It does not require that one moves across the world to lead an underground church in the heart of an Islamic country, instead there is something that I know this church body can do, because I’ve experienced it!

The way that the Oasis group recommends ministering to the Muslim community in America is quite simple. One must only strike up a conversation with a Muslim, and become a friend.

Perhaps opening your home to a person from another country, and another religion is a difficult thing to conceive of, I would encourage you to start with something perhaps a little easier, Inviting Gilbert, Kate, and Cole into your home would be an excellent ministry to them, as well as a great way to expand your personal ministry to those around you!