Source: Arab World Media, October 1, 2017
Charles has been in ministry to Muslims for thirty years, many of those with Arab World Media. As he approaches retirement, we asked him to reflect on how things have changed in that time.
“Today a Muslim enquirer in the Arab world can find a phone number on a Christian website or a satellite TV programme, make a call at minimal or no cost (if they have an internet connection), and speak to an Arab believer. This is a truly amazing development!
“When I first visited Morocco in the early 1980s, there was only one TV channel and the news focused mainly on the king’s activities. In order to make an international phone call, I had to go to the main post office, and it was quite expensive. If Moroccans were interested in the gospel, their best chance of hearing it would probably have been on the radio—one or two hours of broadcasting each evening on Trans World Radio. After that they could correspond with a media organization and do a simple Bible correspondence course. Later, it might be possible to arrange for them to meet with a believer—often an expatriate visitor.
“Today our response workers are able to send an electronic copy of the Bible to their contacts via WhatsApp. It is true that many also ask for a hard copy, because reading from a phone screen is tiresome. Nevertheless, the opportunity to find out about the gospel has mushroomed through satellite TV, the internet and, most recently, social media. What will come next?”
» Full story also goes into the ways ministry in these contexts hasn’t changed: the challenges have not gone away. Hope you’ll read it.