It takes time but it’s worth it!

Mingling with Ahmadiyyas, attending their community outreach events, taking literature from their book tables in town, writing to the local imams asking to explain the ‘true’ teachings of Islam - all lead them to ask for your phone number and an opportunity to get to know them better. 

Make the most of it! It has led me to give short talks in an Ahmadiyya mosque, give Bibles away as gifts to congregation members, and have one-to-one conversations in homes. 

Last Ramadan, on the final day of fasting, I was invited to have iftaar with a family who had got to know me well over several years. Their 25-year-old daughter had been brought to tears when I had spoken in the mosque on ‘Hearing the Voice of God’ years previously. It was something she had so desired. Over the meal table with the rest of the family present, she told me that her aunt had converted to Christianity. She also told me that she was having a crisis of faith - and didn’t believe in Islam anymore. She wanted to know my story - how I came to know Jesus, and why I converted. And what were the real teachings of Christianity? As the rest of the family drifted away from the meal table, she continued to ask questions. A real truth seeker.

Another experience I had was being invited to the house of an Ahmadiyya imam who I had been getting to know well. His wife said to me that she no longer wished to convert Christians. She had seen God alive in my life in my attitudes, actions, and answers to my prayers. Why did I need converting? She went on to say that she had watched a documentary on the lives of monks and their prayer lives and depth of spiritual discipline - and was totally blown away. They made her feel she had nothing to offer them.

An Ahmadiyya doctor friend regularly invited me to his home with the extended family. After being served excellent food, he would bombard me with wonderful questions about Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity. He was never interested in the answers, but he introduced me to his brother who was! We are now meeting up for meals and discussion.

 But an interesting thing happened to my doctor friend. He moved abroad, and his life fell apart. But instead of contacting anyone of the 10-20 million Ahmadiyya community of which he was part, he came to me asking for help and prayer. He knew he could trust me.

 One more story. I was sat on a bus when the face of an Ahmadiyya friend came into my mind. I texted my friend (who was over 200 miles away) straightaway and said I was praying for him ‘right now’, and what I was praying. He texted back, saying “How can you possibly know what I am going through? The content and timing of your prayer is perfect.”

 Before I could answer, he sent another text. “Yes, I do know how you know. You have a real connection with God. You have the Holy Spirit.”

 He is the father of the daughter who later opened up to me about having a crisis of faith.