Like you, I’ve been bombarded with news reports and articles about the religion of Islam. The secular media are intrigued with a religion that would, even if only in its extreme interpretation, so motivate and engage people that they would be able to plan their own suicides, along with the murder of many strangers, years in advance.

The Christian media are focused elsewhere. Christians understand that following a religion does not make a person good. They know that a religion is only as good as it is true. And they are quite sensitive to the fact that many of those who claim to follow a religion don’t understand their own religion. After all, a lot of the newsmakers who call themselves Christians are either poor examples of the faith they profess, or are examples of blatant hypocrisy.

The Christian press, therefore, has covered the rise of Islam, has sought to help Christians understand their Muslim neighbors and the people in Muslim countries who need to be reached with the good news of the real and risen Jesus Christ. We commend those articles to you, but for this issue we will narrow the focus even further.

Because the Reformed Presbyterian Church’s official mission fields have been limited to several countries (and logically so, given the denomination’s size), many people are not aware of Reformed Presbyterian missionaries who serve in other places. They usually do so under the auspices of other denominations’ mission agencies or private mission agencies, but the fact is that Reformed Presbyterians have labored in Muslim countries and among Muslim people. In this issue we will hear the personal accounts and reflections of two such missionaries.

To protect them and to preserve their witnessing opportunities, we won’t identify them by their real names. Given the tremendous amount of persecution of Christians taking place in Muslim areas, that should be no surprise. But providing this forum for them is important. Precisely because Islam is such a large religion, it influences the lives of many people in the mission fields of the world as well as many people in our towns and neighborhoods.

Can’t think of even a single Muslim you can witness to? Perhaps you need to make it a point to get to know one. Or perhaps you need to get to know someone trapped by another of the world’s great religions, such as secular humanism or materialism or narcissism. Don’t let the outward trappings of a religion, the strange dress, or even the intimidating raising of angry fists on TV, prevent you from answering Christ’s call to all the nations, including Muslim peoples. Don’t let such things deter you from taking hold of Christ’s assurances to His witnesses, including you.

I am no expert on being a friend and a witness to Muslims. But read the articles in this issue from Reformed Presbyterians who know whereof they speak.

We’re going to provide some more practical material for reaching Muslims in an upcoming issue. May God bless your witness.

Drew Gordon,

editor