Islam Posts Rapid Growth in US—Are Christians Ready?

10/23/2013 MISSION NETWORK NEWS, charismanews

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The Crescent Project is helping Christians learn how to reach out to Muslims. (Facebook)

According to the United States Census Bureau, the number of mosques in the U.S. soared 74 percent between 2000 and 2010. The report also found there are now 2.6 million Muslims living in the U.S.—an increase of 66 percent.

What are Christians doing to reach out to them? According to the Crescent Project, they're not doing enough.

Fouad Masri, founder and president of the Crescent Project, says Christians need to listen to Jesus.

"Jesus says, 'You are the light of the world,'" Masri says. "Jesus is asking us to shine our light. Today, more than ever, Muslims see that they are in darkness. Muslims, for the first time, are asking questions."

Unfortunately, Christians don't know how to be a light to Muslims today. Masri says that's why the Crescent Project is holding its Oasis Conference in the Dallas area next week.

"We're asking Christians to come to the conference," he says. "Join us in praying for Muslims. Join us and learn how to share the gospel with Muslims."

According to Masri, you probably have Muslims in your hometown.

"It could be someone who's a student, an immigrant, somebody who's a refugee," he says. "We're asking Christians to lock arms with us and [share] this beautiful message about Jesus with our Muslim neighbors."

The Oasis Conference is being held at 121 Community Church in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Masri says the training is highly effective.

"Three out of four [people] who come to our training have never shared the gospel with Muslims," he says. "However, after they go through the training, 74 percent of them get involved in reaching Muslims."

The training does even more than that.

"Four out of five [alumni] become mobilizers," Masri says. "They start talking to churches [and] friends about the issues of Islam in America, about the issues of Islam overseas and about how to build bridges with Muslims."

According to Masri, because many Muslims are searching for truth, many are surprised when they hear Jesus is still alive. He references two Afghan women who watched the story of Jesus on video and began to cry. Was it because of the crucifixion scene?

Masri explains, "They said, 'No. We're crying because Jesus rose from the dead, and nobody has told us for 2,000 years. For 2,000 years, we never heard that the end of the story was resurrection.'"

This article originally appeared on mnnonline.org.