His house was burned. He was shot more than once and beaten so many times that his face was permanently disfigured. But Hassan, whose name has been changed for security, has survived every attempt on his life. No matter how much hatred he encounters because of his Christian faith, he refuses to renounce Jesus.
In a country where less than 1 percent of the population is Christian, his testimony is proof that following Christ in a predominantly Muslim place can kill you. But attempts on his life have only made Hassan more determined than ever to stay true to the cross.
With the support of his wife and daughter—both of whom he led to Jesus—he seeks ways to evangelize the lost. And with the help of a local ministry that you support, his efforts are transforming the spiritual landscape of his community.
Food for the Body and the Soul
One year ago, a local ministry helped Hassan begin a small income-producing project. With their help, he rented a house with windows overlooking a street in a religiously strict area of his community, and he made the home into a restaurant to sell falafel, a common Middle Eastern dish of deep-fried, spiced balls of ground chickpeas or fava beans.
The restaurant became a success, with people coming every day at dawn on their way to work to enjoy the food and atmosphere. But that atmosphere—that sense of peace that people recognized when they entered—was not accidental. Hassan had a spiritual purpose in mind.
“Every day people entered and listened to the songs. And they begin to ask about the quality of these songs that are soothing to the ear and with beautiful words.”
Hassan planned to evangelize the lost through his food. To do that, he played music every day, and his customers began to notice. “Every day people entered and listened to the songs,” the ministry leader said. “And they began to ask about the quality of these songs that are soothing to the ear and with beautiful words.”
When they asked questions about those songs, Hassan was ready to answer. “That music points you toward Jesus,” he said. Then, at great risk to his own safety, he would share the gospel with those customers and gift them with Bibles.
Bibles Change Everything
As a result of his courage, a group of Sunni Muslims chose to follow Jesus. One of those new believers is a man named Bashar, whose name has also been changed for security. Bashar knew of Jesus through his readings of the Quran, but he believed him to be nothing more than a prophet.
“The words of Christ ring every day in my ears.”
As Bashar read the stories of Jesus in the Bible, his heart was opened to the power of the gospel. “The words of Christ ring in my ears every day at work,” he said. “How can someone say, ‘Love your enemies,’ when I am accustomed to the words of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, to kill my enemies?”
Because Hassan gave Bashar a Bible, Bashar gave his life to Christ. Later, he brought his wife and children to Hassan’s restaurant, gave them his testimony, and led his entire family to Jesus too. Now, Bashar joins with other believers each morning in Hassan’s restaurant—believers who were once strict followers of Islam—to pray together before they go to work.
Your Support Helped Transform These Lives
Your gifts and prayers are powerful and community changing. But the cost to follow Jesus and to evangelize in the Middle East can be heavy. “Please pray for protection for all our ministry workers who are laboring in this difficult field,” the ministry leader requests. “So that the Lord continues to work and use us powerfully for the glory of His name and the expanding of His kingdom.”
And please consider a donation today. With your help, local ministries such as this one can continue to assist believers like Hassan—believers who daily struggle against persecution and stigma. Your generosity not only gives them new opportunities to support themselves, but it also enables them to reach out to the lost in places of intense spiritual darkness and usher them into Jesus’ ever-faithful arms.
