How do I build ministry to Muslims in my church?

Colin Chapman, Bruce Hall and Moussa Ghazal give their suggestions for creating and boosting ministry to Muslims in Sydney churches.

* Encourage people to grow existing relationships with Muslims, in the workplace or neighbourhood.

* Make the effort to meet up with your Muslim contacts. "The majority of people who would find it easy to meet up with a Muslim get to a point where they can be friendly and are often surprised at how similar they are," says Mr Ghazal.

* Encourage prayer for Muslims and ministry to Muslims among the congregations.

* If necessary, encourage repentance for previously-held attitudes towards Muslims.

* Encourage your minister to make ministry to Muslims an official part of church ministry. "It takes the minister of a church to give direction and say we need to address this, then there's a far greater chance of getting people behind it," says Mr Ghazal

* Especially during times of discouragement, remember the success stories. "There are Muslims who have converted to Christ in Sydney and they are amazingly thankful to God, so it can happen and it does happen and let's pray to God that more of it will," says Mr Ghazal.

* Consider ministry to Muslims even if your local community does not contain a high percentage of Muslims. Often, such areas are an ideal place to start such a ministry because it allows members to be more ‘anonymous’. "Muslim ministry can't readily be done from a church base in a Muslim area," says Mr Hall, pointing towards Carlingford (not a high-Muslim area) as an example.

* If your church is in a highly Muslim area, consider inviting Muslim friends to your home or to a non-church venue.

* Visit your Muslim friends in their homes. "If we go out of our way to understand them and their culture, in the context of genuine relationships and friendship and trust, we will be able to share what we believe" at the end of the day, our personal testimony about what Jesus means to us may be much more powerful than arguments about the Trinity and the deity of Christ," says Mr Chapman. Mr Chapman adds that this could be especially meaningful around the time of Muslim festivals such as Ramadan. "They have festivals which are as important for them as Christmas and Easter are to us, and as a gesture, the clergy and other church leaders could go and visit the Muslim leaders and wish them a happy feast," he says."This kind of thing builds bridges, it shows respect, and it's extending a hand of friendship."

* Run a course in your church. Cross & Crescent, a course written by Colin Chapman is recommended to help Christians to understand Islamic belief and practice " “it's really a confidence-building exercise for the church," says Mr Chapman. The course will be launched on DVD at CMS Summer School 2008.

* Increase your awareness of issues overseas which affect Muslims in Sydney. "Christians do have to face up to the big political issues of the day and have some view about these big issues, because in the world of globalisation, Muslims in Sydney are affected by what is happening on the West Bank and Gaza, what is happening in Baghdad and Basrah and Afghanistan," says Mr Chapman.

* Increase your knowledge of the history of Christian/Muslim relations, especially of Western imperial rule over Muslim lands. "That has left a big scar in the minds of Muslims and they still feel they are suffering and humiliated almost because of continuing Western imperialism in new forms," says Mr Chapman.

* Read literature produced by Muslim organisations in Sydney that aim to explain Islam in their words.

* Visit a local mosque with a group of Christian friends.

* Keep reading the gospels. "Immersing ourselves in the gospel and reminding ourselves of the love of Christ ought to compel us that Christ is in control, and give us a right and proper understanding of how God operates in the world," says Mr Ghazal.