An example of inviting Muslim friends to church - an excerpt from the booklet ‘Inviting Muslims to Church’.
In 2016 when the Eid of the Sacrifice fell in September, we decided to hold a guest service advertised as being about Abraham and the Great Sacrifice. The service was on the first Sunday following the Eid. We had several aims. It was to be an opportunity to invite Muslim friends to church. Even if they were not able to come, making the invitation was going to be a first for many people. It was to be an opportunity for Muslims who might be curious about Christians but needed a good excuse. It was also an educational experience for church members, a practical example of how we can all address Muslims on matters of Christian faith. And, of course, it was an opportunity to present the Gospel to Muslim people who might not otherwise ever hear it.
We printed invitations that stated that our friends were invited to join us for a Christian worship service remembering Abraham and the Sacrifice. We wanted to make it clear that it was not an exercise in interfaith worship nor a debate nor a discussion. The invitations were to be given to personal contacts, not randomly distributed to strangers.
The service was conducted more or less as normal. There was an extra word of welcome at the beginning and there was more food than usual at the end. The song content was checked for being solidly Christian but not to assess whether it was ‘acceptable to Muslims.’
That day, we had eight Muslim guests, four men, two women and two children. One of the men was an imam and another was there because his Muslim friend invited him. They did not come as a group nor did they all attend the same mosque. In the worship time, the ladies were moved to tears. The men commented on how clear the message was, so unlike what they were used to. They wondered out loud if the speaker might be invited into their mosques – not that anything has come of that yet.
From: Inviting Muslims to Church by Colin Bearup, Grove Publications. Click here for details.
See also: My Muslims Friends at Eid ul Adha.