Oct
22
Seven Themes of Fruitfulness in Muslim Contexts
Filed Under Communicating with those of other faiths, Great Commission, Islam, Muslim, missiology
In the latest issues of International Journal of Frontier Missions (26:2), Eric Adams, Don Allen, and Bob Fish discuss the characteristics of effective field practitioners in Muslim contexts in their article Seven Themes of Fruitfulness (pdf). They identified the seven themes of fruitfulness after surveying and interviewing 300 missionaries from 34 different agencies which work among Muslim peoples. The seven themes they found among those who saw substantial and long-lasting fruit are:
1. Fluency: The worker communicates the gospel in the peoples’ heart language (the language they speak at home), rather than their trade language.
2. Storying: The majority of Muslim peoples live in functionally oral societies, so the workers communicate biblical truth through culturally-appropriate storying methods.
3. Christ-like Character: The workers have a good reputation among the people. They are seen as respectful of the host culture. They are seen as spiritual people who love and serve others. They also are known for sharing meals and being hospitable.
4. Social Networks: They seek to reach “networks among whom trust-relationships already exist,” like families and other natural social groups, instead of just reaching individuals.
5. Scripture: They use the Bible as “their primary means of sharing the gospel, training new believers and developing leaders.”
6. Intentional Reproduction: From the very start they teach seekers and new believers to teach others what they are learning. They plant churches and train leaders who can spiritually reproduce.
7. Prayer: Workers are people of prayer, individually and corporately. They also take the time to establish extensive prayer networks in support of their work.
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