Bridges Conference

Hey ya'll! As I shared with you last Saturday, I went to a Bridges conference that was taught by Foaud Masri, the founder of the Crescent Project. The conference was amazing & I learned so much about being an authentic witness & showing the love of Christ to my Muslim friends. Many Christians in America seem to be missing the opportunity that they have to share Christ with the Muslims that are right here in America. I was definitely ignoring that opportunity up until a short time ago. There is a community of over 400 Somali Muslims in the town where I work & I had gone years without reaching out to them. Much to my shame, I honestly didn't really think about it too much up until last year. Since surrendering my life to the Lord in the summer of 2009, God has been showing me that there is a whole mission field in the USA that is being ignored by the majority of American Christians. Most of us don't know very much about Islam, we aren't sure where to start with the gospel, or we may just be afraid after seeing all of the images that the media displays of radical Islam, so we don't feel confident about sharing our faith. That is what Foaud & the Crescent Project are trying to overcome. He teaches the basics of Islam, shares many testimonies of Muslims who have come to Christ, & teaches practical ways of building bridges between the gospel & the Qur'an. Not to compare the two, or equivocate them, but rather, to make your Muslim friend think & consider what he or she really believes on grounds that you can both understand & discuss. Consider a few of the beliefs we have in common: Muslims believe there is one god. They believe that Jesus lived the perfect life, is alive, & returning some day. They believe that the Injeel (New Testament) is a good book that Muhammad instructed them to read. We have some common ground to begin sharing the gospel, but you can't just stay on the common ground, you must "build bridges" to bring them to the gospel. The Bridges study is amazing & so helpful in learning to share Christ with your Muslim friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. After taking part in the study I understand how I can begin to share the gospel with my Muslim friends. We have such a fantastic opportunity to witness to Muslims without leaving our homes, so would encourage you to take that first step & start showing the love of Christ =) Here is a trailer for the bridges study if you are interested. If anyone has any questions, or if you would like to start your own bridges study, please feel free to email me or find me on facebook. I would love to talk with you!
 

Romans 1:16-17
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'"