In Depth:  new life

Nasser, who was born and raised on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, longed to die for Allah by waging jihad, and thus improving his chances of making it into Paradise. But along the way he converted to Christ, website Godreports has revealed.

At the outbreak of the war in Kuwait in 1990, Nasser was in the USA. ‘I was surrounded by infidels. You either make a war against them or you try to bring them into Islam another way. I thought Allah brought me here to evangelise them.’ He saw some people converted to Islam and renounce Jesus.

‘Let the world see that I love the Lord Jesus. He said whoever is ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of him in front of my Father. So why would I be ashamed of Him? He is my refuge and the shelter of my children!’ (Nisreen, Qamishli, Syria)

These are the powerful words of Nisreen, a believer from a Muslim background. She is clearly filled with the love of Christ and Jesus has clearly been calling her since she was young: ‘The love of Christ was planted in me since I was little,’ she says. ‘I used to see how Christians’ behaviour is better than ours. I’ve always liked Christians and I used to say to my parents: “There is something connecting me and Christians”.’

The Zhouguang Church has held a baptism for 60 people from the west pastoral area in Longgang City, Wenzhou, China’s eastern coastal Zhejiang Province.

Those baptised came from six different churches. After they passed a test demonstrating their faith, local pastors baptised them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

An English evangelical led a German man and his Bolivian wife to Christ after he met them by seeming chance in the very highest point of St Peter’s Roman Catholic basilica in the Vatican.

Greg Downes, Director of Ministerial Training, and Dean of The Wesley Centre for Missional Engagement at the evangelical training college, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, says:

Approaching 30 years after the Ukraine left the Soviet Union and gained its independence, scores of Jewish people are reported to be turning to Jesus as they reject decades of communist teaching when they were raised as atheists and forced to deny the existence of God.

Over the last several years missionaries have recorded increasing numbers of Jewish people coming to faith and many of these have been from Ukraine or from a Russian-speaking background. Misha, a Christian Witness to Israel missionary (and Russian-speaking Ukrainian Jewish person himself), highlighted the story of Kayla, a Jewish woman who approached him when she saw he was reading an article from a Christian magazine. Misha took time to share his faith and after they had met many times for Bible study, Kayla gave her life to Jesus.