Ramadan.
During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan (24 April-23 May this year) – where practicing Muslims will express their devotion to God by not eating or drinking anything during daylight hours – let us bring the Muslims of Africa in prayer before God. It is estimated that up to 40% of Africans identify as Muslim, most of these living in the north.
Over the past few years African Enterprise has been quietly working out a strategic approach to reach those Muslims in areas that are completely closed to Western Missionaries, or indeed to any overt evangelism. AE wants to see Sub-Saharan African Christians engaged to reach out with the gospel to these hard to reach groups.
There are three prongs to this strategy:
- Stimulating Sub-Saharan African churches and Christian leaders to engage with the North African mission field by promoting awareness of the need to evangelize North Africa. We call it the South to North African Partnership (S2NAP).
- Mobilizing and equipping Sub-Saharan African students for ministry in North Africa. This includes taking small groups for short-term mission trips to meet with key partners in these countries. Under God, it is hoped that they will then be called to long term mission work in these areas.
- Lastly, encouraging the leaders in North African Church by fellowship, prayer and some practical assistance. These faithful leaders often operate in insecure environments and various levels of persecution. Yet as locals they are the most effective in proclaiming the gospel in the long run.
While the pandemic has interrupted some of the formal training at the moment, will you support this work by praying for Muslims in Africa?
Please pray
- That Muslim-background believers will be protected and preserved in their faith. As in many other parts of the world, those who leave Islam are often persecuted.
- Pray for Christian leaders in North Africa to be strengthened in their faith and be given reminders of God’s sustaining them (Isaiah 46:4)
- The most important night of Ramadan is the Night of Power (Tues 19 May this year) where worshipping God has more merit than the rest of the year put together. Many Muslims hope and expect to see visions.
- Pray that they would experience Jesus during this time.
- Pray for African church leaders not to respond to Muslims with fear, but rather with confidence because apart from Jesus “there is no other name under heaven by which people may be saved” (Acts 4:12). Pray they may encourage their flock to be ambassadors for the gospel to their Muslim neighbours.
- For the work of S2NAP to be effective in making the gospel known, and for those who have received training to pursue their studies even in lockdown.