“The work for the Lord continues in the face of intense emotional, spiritual, and physical  blessed World Witness is to have such capable and committed leaders with pastoral hearts.” ALEX PETTETT, WORLD WITNESS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR


CONNECTING DIASPORA PEOPLES


By Rev. Erik Meberg, WW Bridge Europe Field Leader


I met Metin in language school. He  his country because of his political views. Although he was a successful pharmacist, he now was starting over with his wife and two young kids. Through some mutual cultural connections, Metin and I developed a friendship. We visited his family, met often for tea, and had many opportunities to share the Gospel. During Ramadan, he texted me asking for prayer for an upcoming asylum hearing. He knew it would take a miracle, and he was asking me to pray to Jesus on his behalf.


Interactions like these are made possible because World Witness recognized the need to reach out to the over 20 million Muslims living in Europe. This represents a 10:1 ratio of Muslims to evangelical Christians. In light of this, the World Witness Board approved the  stated desire to reach out to the growing Muslim populations in 


worldwitness.org


became “Bridge Europe (BE).” Our vision for Bridge Europe is to see Muslims in Europe come to faith in Jesus Christ and be established in healthy, Gospel-centered churches.


Currently, Bridge Europe has people serving in France, Germany, and the UK. Our works include refugee ministry, church planting,  ethnic-focused outreach, friendship evangelism, and leadership training. All of this is done openly in the name of Christ with the hope to see Muslims come to faith and become mature disciples. The activities we do are merely the context for wanting to see Gospel transformation in lives and communities.


What does this mean practically? One woman on our team has befriended a young Persian international student, and they have begun reading the Gospel of John together. Another family regularly prays for the Muslims they meet


in their neighborhood of “Little Istanbul.” One family has been faithfully caring for a Syrian refugee family over the past several years, regularly bringing them to church. Our other teammate spends time teaching language classes in the local mosque to help new arrivals integrate better into the community. All Bridge Europe teammates are taking amazing steps of faith despite risk, hardship, and rejection!


Please continue to pray for Bridge Europe, as we face ongoing transitions and challenges in this season of Covid restrictions and rising tensions among Muslim communities in Europe. Pray for increased trust and favor in the community, as well as wisdom on how to move forward in God-given vision.


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