Pioneers UK Blog

As a sending organisation, Pioneers is committed to church planting initiatives and partnership with the local church wherever possible. This might sound like an obvious plan for a mission organisation: plant churches where they don’t exist and work with churches where they do. But it may not be as straightforward a plan as it seems.

The reality of church can vary enormously from one cultural context to another. In some places it may be a gathering of hundreds of believers in a purpose built building, whereas in other places there may be just a handful of people meeting in a home. Styles of worship, Bible teaching, baptism, communion practice, and outreach methods into the community often reflect the culture and nuances of the majority of church members gathered. This church culture may be completely different to the culture of the unreached people who Pioneers members are seeking to reach with the gospel.

So, does the local expression of church help or hinder outreach efforts to unreached people groups around them?

In this series, we will explore how Pioneers members interact with local churches where they live and serve, and seek to answer this question. This series will draw on the experiences of Pioneers members around the world, learning from the joys and challenges of disciple making and church planting in culturally complex situations, and perhaps challenge some assumptions about what church should be.

Approaching the tin-roofed church in a northern Cameroonian village, the sound of the drums and beads on calabash gradually get louder, along with the lively song bursting out of the crammed building. As you enter, the dust rises as every foot in the building is moving in time with the rhythm, bodies sway and hands clap; no one seems to be bothered by the stifling heat. Local church here is a joyous, sociable occasion, and Sundays are crammed with worship services, prayer meetings, Bible studies and often sharing food together.

The Evangelical church in this part of Cameroon began around 70 years ago with various denominations established by European and American missionaries, each one with their own seminary for training pastors, schools and hospitals. Due to the ‘comity agreement’ of the time, each denomination was allocated to work in a specific part of the region; consequently, there are dominant ethnic groups connected to most denominations.

For example, the Union of Evangelical Churches of Cameroon has many members from Mafa and Guiziga backgrounds, while the Lutheran Brethren Church has many Mousgum and Mundang people. This inevitably leads to a certain cultural dominance of the majority people groups in each church, although there is often a multilingual representation in worship services. Sung worship is a central part of the gatherings and each language group will be given the opportunity to sing a worship song in their language. The Sunday services can therefore last 3 hours or more, but no one seems to mind the length. Rather, there is a joy in being together, no matter what your ethnic background may be.

But there are some people groups who are not found or represented in these local churches – these are the people from Muslim backgrounds, particularly Fulbe/Fulani, Mandara, Kanuri, Kotoko and Hausa to name a few. When the gospel first came to this region decades ago, it was the people of non-Muslim affiliation who were open to hear and receive the message of Christ. Most of these people came from traditional local religious beliefs and had a difficult history with their Muslim neighbours. Through warfare of the past, those who refused to convert to Islam were often enslaved and dominated by invading Muslims. This has left a lingering legacy of mistrust and division, even though on the surface there seems to be a peaceful coexistence.

Whilst most villages and towns in the north have churches, there tend to be more mosques and Muslims, so numerically Christians are fewer. There is a degree of segregation at a social level although Muslims and Christians attend school, work, hospitals and markets together. An air of indifference is therefore not surprising with regards to how Christians and Muslims view each other. Local church members generally view Muslims as uninterested in the gospel and content to let them lead their lives and follow their religion, even though they are without Christ; Muslims view the local church as irrelevant, verging on pagan-style practice with their worship style using drums and songs and certainly not a place they would consider going.

So, what happens when someone from a Muslim background goes against all expectations and comes to faith in Jesus?

When I and my team worked in northern Cameroon until 2023, there was a constant struggle to know how to help these new believers belong to the body of Christ. Some believers choose to attend local churches and are initially welcomed into the congregation, but this often leads to them becoming estranged from their families and Muslim communities. They also struggle to identify with the culture found in church; unable to relate to the ethnic identities that dominate, they then begin to feel marginalised.

Others choose to stay away from local churches but seek contact with individual believers from congregations. Small groups are often a preferred form of gathering with other followers of Christ, and there are now a few communities of Fulbe who openly meet as Christians, or ‘followers of Jesus’ as they prefer to say. The very word ‘Christian’ for them can be an unhelpful term as to many Muslims this may mean ‘someone who is impure’ or ‘a drinker of alcohol’, neither of which is helpful if one wants to share the gospel!

I discovered through recent research among followers of Jesus from Muslim backgrounds in northern Cameroon that the local church may not always be a helpful setting in which to disciple new believers. That they do not find others of their cultural background and consequently struggle to belong and identify with other church members creates a feeling of isolation and loneliness for many. 73% (22 out of 30) therefore did not recommend local church attendance for new believers, but to seek community with other Muslim background believers elsewhere.

Another reason for choosing Christian community outside of church is that some of these followers of Christ want to stay connected to their families and communities in order to share the gospel with their people. Being associated with local churches often leads to them becoming cut off from their people and therefore unable to be a witness for Christ among them. This intentional choosing to stay with their people, however, does not mean they are protected from persecution; I found that 90% are persecuted in one way or another whether they attend church or not. The difference is that non-church attenders are able to reconcile with their people sooner and heal the breakdown of relationships.

It seems that small group style gatherings can be a helpful way forward for many of the believers in Christ from Muslim backgrounds in this region of Cameroon. Whilst they want to be connected to the wider body of Christ and have contact with local church-based believers, they also want to reach their people with the gospel. It is a delicate balance for many of them as they seek to grow in their faith as Christians.

Finding meaningful fellowship with other believers via smaller groups has proven to be a helpful form of community and provides an environment in which to invite others from a similar background. This has been a particularly useful model of ‘doing church’ for people who live in more homogenous-type communities in Cameroon and neighbouring Chad, where Fulbe-only gatherings meet under trees or in homes, sitting on mats on the ground. This is a much more familiar and appealing environment for them, as opposed to sitting in a church building in rows on benches. Some have also used their background from Sufi Islam to create sung worship songs in line with their new faith in Christ.

Something I have noticed, however, is that the healthy sign of an outward-looking, missional body of Christ can become lost or not even started when there is a self-sufficient community not seeking or needing contact with others. This can also be true of local churches that meet in buildings and display diversity though! Having, keeping and intentionally acting upon a vision of taking the good news of Jesus to those who do not yet know him has to be a sign of ‘healthy church’.

That Muslims are coming to faith in Jesus in northern Cameroon is undisputed. Whether they can go on to thrive as members of the body of Christ in the local church and as multiplying disciple-making communities into the future remains to be seen. I and my team have been blessed to see God at work in this part of the world, but our committed prayers are still needed that Jesus will continue to build his church here.

Having observed and researched the relationship between followers of Jesus from Muslim backgrounds and the local church in northern Cameroon, I was also interested to see if similar struggles are found in other contexts where Pioneers members are serving. As Pioneers is committed to working with the local church if it exists, it is important that we understand how local church is viewed by the unreached people our teams are aiming to reach with the good news of Jesus. Is the local church perceived to be a help or a hinderance to our missional efforts?

To find out more, I interviewed several Pioneers members who have experience of working with the local church and sharing the gospel with unreached people, to find out their views from their contexts. From South America, to Asia and Europe, I discovered some of my experiences in Cameroon are indeed shared but there are also nuances that each context brings. Read on to discover the joys and challenges of working with the local church around the world...

It has been nearly five years since Andrew and Allie made the long physical journey from Central Asia to the UK with their young family. As non-Brits, it was also a cultural journey that continues to this day. They had already been working among Muslims, sharing the good news of Jesus and discipling new believers to follow him. They came to the UK with this same vision, consequently taking up residence in a highly Muslim populated city in UK. The city as a whole has nearly a 10% Muslim population with people from East Asian, Arabic and African heritage, but the neighbourhoods where Andrew and Allie live are as high as 50% Muslim.

Being invited to this city by friends, Andrew and Allie became connected with people who attended the local church so they also went along. They liked it and have now become members themselves. It is a non-denominational church, not being part of the traditional denominations found in the UK, but is part of a network of churches. Meeting in a leisure centre in the neighbourhood where Andrew and Allie live means they are part of a church that is situated among the people they have come to serve.

Initially, Allie struggled to feel at home in this church as it was so different culturally from the church family she had left behind in Central Asia. A British church picnic where everyone brought their own food to eat felt so different compared to what she was used to where everyone shared the food they brought and ate together! But in time, their family settled in and have found it particularly helpful to be part of a church community that also has many other young families like theirs.

With a missional focus on reaching out to Muslims with the gospel, Andrew and Allie spend a lot of time making contact with people in their community, getting alongside them, making friends and helping out in times of need. In doing this they are also searching for people who want to know and learn more about Jesus and the Bible. They are excited now to be engaged in Bible studies with several people from the community. It is their hope that as people come to faith in Jesus from Muslim backgrounds, these new believers will then share the good news of Jesus they have found with their own families and people. Andrew and Allie aspire to see groups of followers of Jesus from each Muslim community gathering together to worship and read the Bible, ‘doing church’ together in culturally relevant ways for them.

But why do Andrew and Allie not plan to bring new believers in Jesus from Muslim backgrounds to their local church?

Surely this would be the best thing for these fledgling disciples, and other church members would surely welcome them, wouldn’t they?

Andrew explains that these new believers would indeed be welcomed but it may not be the most helpful environment in which to be discipled. Firstly, the culture of the church itself reflects the culture of the majority of its members which is white ‘middle class’ British culture, in contrast to the surrounding community. Considering their own experience of coming from Central Asia, Andrew and Allie recognise that for new believers originating from a completely different background, coming into the local church would require learning the culture of the church. With a vision to see these new believers go on to share the good news of Jesus with their own families and people, Andrew and Allie don’t want to make it difficult for them. It may be possible for one person to get used to the church culture but it would be unlikely for whole families and groups from these communities to step over the threshold.

Additionally, Andrew explains how many Muslims view the local church as confusing, even offensive, based on their understanding that church represents the message ‘Jesus has replaced God’ and ‘Jesus is the son of God’. When they enter churches and find signs and banners on the walls describing Jesus as God’s son it immediately creates a barrier to them as they can only understand these words in a physical sense, which is abhorrent to them.

To illustrate, he tells of an incident when his church held an outreach event and invited people from the neighbourhood to join them. The church members were so pleased to see a group of East Asian women arrive with their children. They seemed to be enjoying themselves until the leader of the event described Jesus as the Son of God in his talk. At this, one woman got up and left, followed by all the others and their children. They were upset by what the speaker had said because, according to their understanding, the speaker had just said that God had relations with Mary and Jesus was their son. The speaker was confused as to why the women had got up and left, wondering what had offended them.

There are deep cultural chasms regarding what the local church represents and how it communicates the gospel, and the world view and assumptions about Christianity by Muslims. For Andrew and Allie’s context it means that at least 10% of the overall population of their city, and up to 50 % of their neighbourhood, is not attracted to the local church in any way at all.

From their experience in Central Asia, Andrew and Allie are able to recognise similar challenges here in the UK. Being associated with the local church, particularly a church building, was not a helpful situation for Central Asian followers of Jesus from Muslim backgrounds; consequently they learned to be the body of Christ in culturally relevant ways that would be contextually understood for their not-yet believing family and friends. This meant gathering in small home-based groups or in neutral venues that were not difficult for seekers of Jesus to enter.

Andrew and Allie anticipate and pray for similar groups of Jesus followers to emerge from the communities they are reaching out to now in the UK. A particular nuance to their current location is that Muslims do not all come from the same cultural heritage and do not naturally mix together. Each community has their own world view and way of doing life, meaning emerging groups of followers of Jesus from each Muslim background would probably be more effective at reaching their own people with the gospel by remaining within their cultural groups.

Andrew explains, ‘It is important to remember that not all Muslims are the same. In order to do incarnational mission, this has to happen in every culture, which is a huge diversity of cultures where we are. Outreach needs to be targeted and contextual to specific groups. To do this we need to understand each specific group’s needs and be intentional to bring Jesus and the gospel into these needs. There has to be a paradigm shift of the local church where we are to become ‘missional’. The people in the local churches have to learn about how to relate to people of other cultures, to learn about other people’s world views and be intentional to carry the gospel into these situations. There is a lot to learn.’

So what do Andrew and Allie’s local church leaders think about this plan? Is the local church ready to accept alternative forms of church for followers of Jesus from Muslim backgrounds?

Andrew states that in theory, his church is in agreement with this plan and recognises it has value as a disciple making strategy. But the old reflex is always there. As soon as a Muslim shows any interest in learning about the gospel, the instinct of many church members is to bring them to church on Sundays, without thinking of the consequences that it may not be helpful for them initially to do this. There is a gap in understanding of the local church that attendance of British church culture may not be helpful for their growth as a believer in Jesus from a Muslim background, nor help him to reach his people with the gospel. Personal discipleship would be a more constructive practice to start with. Andrew and Allie see that they have an important role in coming alongside their fellow church members, to show another way of reaching out to Muslim neighbours. Instead of a ‘come and join us in church’ strategy, they model a ‘go and meet people where they are’ method.

Although it is still early stages with Andrew and Allie’s ministry in the UK regarding gatherings of followers of Jesus from Muslim backgrounds, they are encouraged by their church’s desire to reach Muslims. They have found it is most helpful to bring people from the local church along with them in their outreach, ministry visits and Bible studies with Muslims, to show them and include them. In this way it serves to teach members of the local church how they can come alongside Muslims and help them hear the gospel in a more culturally relevant and understandable way.

Some elders in the church are particularly taking the time and making effort to learn how to come alongside Muslims; these are the ones who Andrew and Allie are keen to encourage and include in their ministry whenever possible. The busy British way of life does not help when trying to make genuine relationships with neighbours, but if there is real willingness and a desire to learn to do things in a different way, Andrew and Allie are always ready to be there for the local church to move forwards into more fruitful ways of reaching out to Muslims with the gospel.

Photo by Rodney Burton / High Street from Bridge Foot, Boston, Lincs

What comes to your mind when you think of a missionary? An intrepid explorer perhaps, a disheveled medical worker, or a young enthusiastic world-changer heading off to the edge of the world? If so, Hector may not fit your assumptions. Hector is a Pioneers worker in rural East Bolivia, where is runs a cattle ranch. Although he, his wife Helen and their children are resident in the UK now, Hector frequently spends time in his home region doing life together with other cattle ranchers in this sparsely populated part of his country. The reason Hector is investing time in this community is because there are people here who don’t know Jesus yet.

The fact that there are still some people groups in Bolivia who have not been touched by the gospel yet is perhaps surprising, considering Christianity has existed here for generations. The current Christian population of Bolivia is officially around 90%, of which 20% would be classified as Evangelical Christians (Source ‘Joshua Project’: https://joshuaproject.net/countries/bl). But Hector explains that a lot of Bolivians would only follow the Christian faith at a nominal level, especially in the Catholic church. Animism and adherence to cultural traditions are often mixed in with the practice of Catholicism. The Evangelical church in Bolivia therefore generally views many followers of Catholicism and traditional religions as the same and in need of hearing the gospel.

Alongside this majority population, there are also still a few ‘difficult to reach’ indigenous people groups in the Bolivian region bordering Amazonian Brazil, but it saddens Hector that the Evangelical church in his country has little vision to reach these people. Lack of resources and people willing to go to these remote areas are the main factors, but also an underlying attitude of many Christians that these indigenous people groups are somehow ‘inferior’ and not worth bothering about.

Hector explains that the Evangelical Church was born in his area when missionaries first came in the 1940s, becoming established with Bolivian leaders in the 1960s-70s. They began as home-based gatherings which grew and became church-building based. There was a gradual handover to Bolivian pastors with Bible seminary training, but Hector views that the current church leadership lacks quality in training and experience as seminaries hand over leadership to local people before they are equipped.

Hector’s aim in ministry is therefore twofold — to reach non-Evangelicals with the gospel and to train local people from the Evangelical church in disciple making. His vision and practice is to go with and send people from the local church, mentoring and training them in faith sharing and Biblical discipleship principles. Training others from the local church and helping them put into practice what they learn in order to lead others to Jesus motivates Hector and has given him enthusiasm to persevere for 30 years so far.

If you step into a Bolivian Evangelical church you will find a very friendly, sociable atmosphere; relationships and doing life together are of utmost importance here. Hector remarks that his experience of attending church in the UK is very different, with far less chatter and interaction. But despite this very Bolivian atmosphere, the style of church services there has changed very little over the last 50 years since it was planted by foreign missionaries from the US, Europe and Australia. Hymns are sung that have been translated from English into Spanish, pastors wear suits and ties to church even though they never wear them at other times, and the order of service is always the same whether it is a Sunday service or a midweek prayer meeting. Bible teaching is always given by the pastor and there is very little interaction encouraged. Hector explains that Bolivians are used to being told what to do and think by leaders, as in the education system. They are not taught to think for themselves, despite the literacy level being reasonable among the under 60s.

Hector finds this way of thinking can be challenging when presenting new ideas with regard to mission. He himself has come from this culture and recognises the legalistic tendency present in the local church. He says, ‘I used to have the same legalistic view as I grew up in this Bolivian church culture, but now I have changed. I got to know other Christians and have seen how church is done in other cultures so this has changed me. I have seen that church can be different and this has shaped my beliefs. I can also read well in English, this has therefore exposed me to a lot of other contextual ideas regarding church’.
 

So, how do people outside of the local church in Bolivia view church?

Generally unreached people outside of the church view it as a foreign culture and would not feel welcomed there. Hector explains this is because of the attitude of church people towards them. There is friction between town dwellers and rural dwellers which is related to the history of the Spanish conquerors centuries ago. The Spanish rated people by ‘level’ creating a hierarchy; if you have two Spanish-descendent parents, you are considered of the highest level, if mixed Spanish and indigenous parentage then viewed as lower, if two indigenous parents then you are the lowest level. This hierarchy has an economic impact as it affects who can become landowners.

Even in the churches there is still a sense of hierarchy because there are differences in wealth. For example, returning to Hector’s cattle rancher friends, they regard themselves as quite wealthy but members of the Bolivian Evangelical church are generally viewed as being poor and therefore ‘inferior’ people. This mindset creates a barrier for people outside the Evangelical church to come into the church community. More wealthy and powerful people prefer adherence to the Catholic Church.

Hector sees the solution to this kind of mindset as clear teaching that all are created equally before God and there is no difference in status when we are in Christ. To address what has essentially become racism, Hector intentionally builds relationships with the ranchers, to show the gospel to them in a different way. He gives examples of how to love their enemies, demonstrates how we are all equal and tries to establish connections with them to help remove barriers that racism has created.

Legalism in the Evangelical church in Bolivia also creates a barrier to outsiders. Sermons in church tend to be about repentance and speaking against sin but not much else; the main message heard is ‘stop drinking alcohol’ and this keeps people away. There is little communication of the Good News or understanding of Christ being the Saviour and legalism prevents this from being heard or understood.

There are some encouraging signs though, in the local church. In the past there has been a lot of pressure on new believers and not-yet believers to attend church services which they find difficult to relate to. But now some local churches organise more social events to invite outsiders to without pressurising them to come to church, which is less threatening for them.

For Hector, the ideal church setting for the people he’s trying to reach would be intentionally welcoming and informal. He would love to see people inviting others to their homes on Sundays to continue talking about how God has challenged them in the service in a relaxed environment of talking and eating. He would also like to see churches in which  pastors prepare their sermons well and teach with integrity and cultural relevance.
 

What are the greatest challenges and greatest joys of working with the local church in Bolivia?

After working with the local church in Bolivia over three decades, Hector has had many highs and lows in his ministry. What he still finds challenging is the lack of involvement of local pastors in mission, and some even oppose what Hector is doing. He explains local pastors sometimes feel threatened by the training he is giving to other believers. What saddens Hector is that these men being trained could become a help to local pastors but the pastors don’t always accept this. It is possible there are feelings of jealousy that Hector is providing training to these men ‘for free’, consequently they don’t have to ‘suffer’ and go to seminary like the pastors did!

Because of these tensions, Hector finds his ministry is misunderstood by some pastors. Generally, Hector’s relationship with local church members in Bolivia is good, open and very hospitable, but this is not always the case with church leaders. Hector regards another challenge being the fact that he is not a ‘foreign missionary’. According to the local power dynamics view, pastors ask ‘who is Hector to come and tell us what to do? He is just one of us’. This makes it hard to have relationships and work towards shared missional goals.

Despite these challenges though, Hector is able to rejoice as he sees God at work.

Over time he is seeing the commitment of local believers to Jesus and the gospel grow, as they apply the Bible to their lives. These are the people Hector is investing his time and energy in through intentional discipleship.

After Covid, he decided to particularly focus on rebuilding relationships with 6 men from 6 different villages from his area of Bolivia and continues working with these men in ministry. It is a delight to Hector as he sees these men growing in maturity as followers of Jesus; for example, they can now recognise their failures and struggles, and can talk about it. This would have been a very difficult thing for them to do a few years ago. Hector visits these men in Bolivia three times each year, spending a month with them each time, and stays in touch with them by phone when he is in the UK. This commitment to disciple these 6 men from the local church over a long period of time is one of Hector’s mission strategies to ensure that the gospel continues to spread in his home area of Bolivia. While there are people still outside of the Kingdom of God and far from Jesus, Hector will continue to serve Jesus and equip the local church to welcome them into the Kingdom.

When your Muslim friend states ‘you have a connection with God’, then you know something is going in the right direction with your gospel-sharing efforts among them. Rob has lived among Pakistani and Bengali Muslims in northern England for many years and dedicated the last four years to serving them full time, sharing the good news of Jesus with them.

Being very much a ‘people person’ there’s nothing Rob enjoys more than visiting his friends either in homes, or in coffee shops for a lengthy chat. Rob has become so loved and respected by Muslims in his area that he is even invited to go into local mosques to teach about God. Muslim men in his community even trust him enough to talk to their wives and daughters about matters of faith. People know that Rob is a spiritual man and a good advert for Jesus Christ.

Sadly, the local church in the area where Rob lives is not generally seen in such a positive light by the Muslim community. Several church buildings have closed over recent years and become mosques, consequently local Muslims consider the church to be dead and irrelevant to modern society. The church is regarded as a ‘has been’.

Added to this is their view of Christianity seen through the experience of many who have attended Catholic schools; by the time they leave school they have not understood about the Christian faith and the gospel. Either they have not listened to the explanations in school, or they have not had it explained to them. Most Muslims who Rob meets will conclude that Christians believe in three gods, as they view Christianity through the filter of the Qur’an which misrepresents the trinity. The gospel is a foreign concept to them and so is church.

Rob therefore spends a lot of time talking to his friends, helping them to see an alternative view. He responds to the ‘dead church’ allegation by explaining there are different kinds of Christians: some are engaged in the faith and some are not; some share Jesus with others and some do not. The result is often positive, as Rob explains, ‘They see that I am different to other Christians because I talk about my faith. They see that I present the ‘real’ Jesus and I can answer their questions about faith, but they recognise that the local church may not be full of people like this’.

Not all local churches, however, are dying in this area. Rob has been attending a local church for many years which is well attended. He describes the congregation as being roughly 70% white British and 30% African and Asian members - but no one from a Muslim background. If Rob has a Muslim friend who is interested to learn more about Jesus, he usually chooses not to bring them to his church. Rob explains that they would not understand what is going on during a church service and would even sense that it feels like an irreverent atmosphere with so much noise, people drinking coffee and chatting when they have come to worship God. Such a contrasting experience for them compared to worshiping in the mosque and the informality found in church would not be understood. The local church, therefore, can be an unhelpful environment for local Muslims to discover more about Jesus.

There is also the conundrum of trying to find community and belonging in the local church. There are a few followers of Jesus from Muslim backgrounds in Rob’s area who do manage to assimilate into local church culture but Rob sees this as an exception rather than a common experience. Coming from a very relational and strong community experience, if someone does come to faith in Jesus, they are often disappointed by what they find in the local church. Having been rejected by their families, these new believers are seeking new community and a place to belong. Sadly, what they often experience in church does not meet their need and they will return to Islam and their communities as they miss the sense of belonging.

So, what does Rob do with his Muslim friends who are interested in following Jesus?

Ever since Rob was a young man and new believer in Jesus, he has studied the Bible in such a way that he can go on to share it with others. He describes this as his DNA; Rob exists to share the treasure he has found in the Bible with others. So whenever Rob has a Muslim friend who wants to learn more about Jesus, he goes straight to the Bible and spends a lot of time studying with them. Mostly this is with individuals, although Rob would love to do more studies with family groups.

Rob has had the privilege of leading several of his friends to faith in Jesus and this gives him the greatest joy. But alongside this, there is a genuine fear among Rob’s friends when they come to faith in Jesus. When their families find out, they will be cut off from the community and rejected by their families. These Pakistani and Bengali communities are very family orientated, with several generations of family members living together in the same house, on the same street or just around the corner. Many of Rob’s friends have been in the UK a long time and their children are increasingly British-born, but most stay very much within their cultural communities. Rob himself experienced conflict and rejection from his family when he came to faith in Jesus as a teenager, so he now empathises with his friends when they anticipate a similar rejection, but with possibly more risks. It would not be far-fetched to say there is a risk of physical violence and even death as these Muslim communities would consider one of their members turning to Christ as bringing shame on the whole community. To remove the shame and restore honour would be the motivation for rejection and even taking a life. Rob states, ‘Disciple making is very challenging among this community in the UK…I also think about myself. There is a risk in what I am doing but I consider it a risk worth taking for the sake of the gospel’.

Representing Jesus to the Muslim community and being a ‘seed dropper’ of the gospel is just one aspect of Rob’s role with Pioneers in the UK. He also uses his many years of experience working among Muslims to train and equip the local church to become more effective in their outreach to Muslim communities, using a course called ‘Stepping Stones’. He longs to see the local church become less inward looking by simply enjoying the grace of God for themselves, to regaining the cutting edge of mission focus, carrying out the task Jesus has called his church to in being witnesses and good news message bearers. Rob explains, ‘Grace has paralysed the church and the church has become a cruise ship and not a battle ship as far as mission is concerned’. We are not followers of Jesus for our own benefit and enjoyment, but are called to invite those who don’t know Jesus yet to follow him too. 

What are Rob’s hopes and dreams for the future, regarding the Muslim community where he lives?

Rob states, ‘My hope rests on what I read in the Bible regarding God’s vision for all people. Pakistanis and Bengalis will be with us at the end of time; this is God’s promise’. Rob calls himself ‘a failed church planter’ because he hasn’t actually planted a church of followers of Jesus from Muslim backgrounds, but he is faithfully persevering in planting those seeds of the gospel wherever he goes.

Following up with people who have shown interest in Jesus is a complicated task as so many of Rob’s contacts live chaotic lives. For example, those who are taxi drivers work all hours of the day and night; providing hospitality for visitors and family members is a constant task for everyone in the community; and many are away for months at a time when they return to visit family in Pakistan and Bengal. But Rob is encouraged by the fruit he sees among individuals who come to faith, and the opportunities he gets to be a witness for Jesus.

When asked what an ideal church setting would look like for the people he’s reaching for Jesus, Rob’s reply was quick, ‘Meet in their homes! Lots of little gatherings, rather than a traditional gathering in a church building. Simplicity is genius!’

Rob takes encouragement from what is happening among the Iranian community, with so many coming to faith in Jesus these days. He believes that a similar thing could happen for Pakistanis and Bengalis in the UK one day, when the ones and twos following Jesus will gradually grow and it will reach a critical mass which will cause an explosion of people turning to Christ.

But Rob reminds us that this kind of growth only comes out of suffering and martyrdom. When believers of Jesus from Muslim backgrounds in the UK are willing to declare their faith in Christ, then the same thing that is happening among Iranians could happen among other ethnicities. Just one or two believers will not make this happen though.

Rob sees himself as part of the ground work for the future and feels it is still the beginning of this work, but he knows Muslims see Jesus in him and even describe him as ‘being from a different planet’ when he prays for them! This is all seed sowing. Equipping the local church to join in the seed sowing and preparing for what is to come is also a vital part of what Rob is doing. Let us continue to remember ‘nothing is impossible with God’ (Luke 1:37).

A people who describe themselves as ‘good at being assimilated’ into whatever or whoever is in power suggests they have a history of war and experience of conflict. This is exactly the case for the people Adrian and his team work among in the Balkans. The recent war in the region of the 1990s has left its scars, but there is also a 500-year legacy of invasions from the Ottoman Empire.

Adrian explains the Muslim culture where he has lived and worked for the past 10 years actually has a strong Roman Catholic history. The general feeling among his neighbours now is ‘we used to be Catholic or Orthodox Christians but became overrun by Islam’. Despite this reflex to assimilate to imposed influence, there is still a strong cultural identity and unity around the national flag, traditional costumes, music and a common history. But there is also a strong identity embedded in Islam at all levels of life from birth to death. People of all ages use Islamic phrases constantly in speech like ‘Inshallah’ (if God wills) and ‘Bismillah’ (in the name of God), almost using them like charms for luck.

Islam touches all of life but is expressed as a secular form here as most people do not understand or read the Qur’an. The details of Islam may be lacking, but when Adrian and his team begin to talk about Jesus they are often met with a defensive response to Islam. Although only 5% of Muslims here attend the mosque for daily prayers, most people will obey their local Imam. Homogenous community reactions and behaviour are the norm, with common responses given to any challenge of Islamic beliefs. Alongside this, Adrian states that being part of a shame and honour culture prevents individual investigation of Christianity. Sharing the community way of thinking is expected.

As a Pioneers team, Adrian and his colleagues have a purpose to plant churches among unreached Muslim people in this small town setting, using technology and education as a way of serving the community. They do not hide the fact that they are Christians or have church affiliation, explaining they are here as Christians to ‘show people the glory of God’. But they have to be sensitive to how their presence is understood by their friends and neighbours. Consequently, they do not do public evangelism as this would undermine the team’s integrity in the eyes of local people; the assumption would be ’you are just here because you want to convert us’. Their evangelism work is therefore less public and more relationship based.

The Balkan people group where Adrian works are 95% Muslim. The remaining 5% of the population are Christian, but only 0.05% of these belong to the Evangelical church. In reality, this represents just 1,000 people; a recent survey in the region showed that only 360 of them attend church regularly. The local church Adrian is working with is therefore very small. The local Evangelical church only really began to grow in the 2000s after the war in the Balkans, when the western church poured in resources to meet the vast post-war humanitarian needs. Adrian describes how this created a ‘church without roots’. There was huge curiosity and interest in these previously unseen westerners which drew huge crowds with thousands of people showing interest in Christianity. Some had genuine interest but for many it waned along with the aid. Some believers from this time are now pastors here, from Islamic and Roman Catholic backgrounds, and have a strong faith and good Biblical literacy and training.

So, what is the local church like here?

The small local church still has a strong connection with western missionaries who founded the church, and consequently does not display a particular representation of their own cultural identity. Adrian explains that Evangelical Christianity is only known here through western church planters, therefore worship style, church building style, sermons and prayer are all on the western model. Church services themselves are mostly conducted in the local language though, and there are a few songs being written by local Christians in Adrian’s church. There is also a group in the capital city seeking to write locally relevant worship music for local churches. But mostly imported worship songs are used that have been translated from English so there is still a heavy western influence on the local church.

Despite this ‘foreign form’ of church, Adrian describes it as being a wonderfully vibrant church. Its small size, however, renders it fragile, added to the fact that a lot of young people just want to leave the country in search of better educational and economic opportunities elsewhere. A particular challenge for Adrian in working with the local church here is that forgiveness plays almost no role in traditional society and grudges can be held for generations. As a result, church leaders and planters must endeavour to teach and show love within fellowships, to prevent seeds of disunity from taking root.

How do unreached people of this area view the local church?

A frank reply from Adrian paints the picture, ‘Honestly, Muslims barely know the Evangelical church exists here’. There is little publicly visible presence of the Evangelical church in Adrian’s town, only the small church gathering started over twenty years ago by Adrian’s colleagues, meeting in a purposefully bought apartment on a second floor. A handful of local believers gathers here, led by a pastor from this people group. In many ways it is unseen by the local population. There are bigger more visible Evangelical churches meeting in recognisable church-designated buildings in the capital city and these still have missionary staff, but not where Adrian lives. Muslims therefore generally have no view of the local Evangelical church because to them it doesn’t exist.

The Muslim view of the Roman Catholic church, however, is more developed and is generally positive, especially regarding their humanitarian work which is well appreciated. But in Adrian’s area there is not even much contact with the Roman Catholic church as only one small church exists in the town. People will talk about their forefathers of seven generations ago who were Catholics, so they know this is part of their history and that they were forced to convert to Islam, but that is as far as it goes.

In some other Muslim contexts, church planters have found the ‘house church network’ strategy to be a helpful model to pursue, rather than meeting in publicly recognised church buildings. But Adrian explains that for his context the house church model can be complicated due to the culture’s hospitality rules and understanding regarding the home. ‘When you walk into someone’s house, you are walking into their family’. Outside of the home is a neutral place, but to go into the house is to become connected with the family living there. Combined with a culture where history between families is long remembered and there are often suspicions between families, this makes things complicated.

Therefore, use of the house church model in Adrian’s context can and does create barriers rather than using a third space as a local church gathering. Adrian’s team also takes great care regarding gospel-sharing in homes because this could overstep the mark of hospitality. There is an unwritten rule of hospitality that values conversation being deep and warm, and not opposing one another’s views. Consequently, there is limited freedom to question beliefs in this setting. If you share the gospel in someone’s home, the host or visitor may feel pressurised into agreeing with you at a superficial level as they do not want to offend you.

When someone from a Muslim background comes to faith in Jesus in Adrian’s town, there is the temptation for the believer to stay silent about their faith because of the shame it brings on the family name. There has to be a deliberate counting of the cost to follow Christ. Adrian describes the local culture as being harsh at times, meaning that physical persecution and violence towards people leaving Islam to follow Jesus is a real possibility. Although the government is secular and supports legal freedom of religion, and there is no religious education in schools, the pressure comes from communities and families to maintain the status quo by conformity. To go against the tide of public and family opinion is seen to be subversive and shameful, and not to be encouraged.

When someone comes to faith in Jesus, the public declaration of baptism is the big point to show a change of allegiance in religion. For Adrian and his team, this real counting of the cost to follow Christ and publicly getting baptised is important if the church is ever to grow where they are. Their vision is to see a local church formed and led by local believers, where locals take the leadership roles and missionaries limit their cultural influence; in this way the church will begin to reflect the local culture and become more relevant to local people.

Over these last 10 years, Adrian and his family have experienced a range of emotions as they have learned to live and work in this part of the world. One of their greatest joys has been learning to worship God and study the Bible in a different language to their own. It is perhaps their closest friends who have helped them to do this with enjoyment; these special friends are the local pastor and his family. A common faith and love for Jesus has united these two families together as friends and as co-workers with Christ as they seek to share the gospel with Muslims in their town.

But their efforts alone will not bear fruit. Adrian reminds us that it is only the work of the Holy Spirit who ultimately brings people to faith in Jesus. He now has a strong basis of 10 years’ work among these people, but it is not bringing people to faith in Jesus Christ yet. He has had the privilege of leading two people to faith in Jesus during this time, but both have now left the country. There is a great need for real time devoted to pray for a work of the Holy Spirit here. Adrian knows that he can’t just pray though; he also needs to be faithful and ready with the gospel and serve the community that has welcomed him and his family. But we can stand with him and this little church in the Balkans in prayer, asking God to build his church in greater measure.

India’s relationship with Christian missionaries goes back a long way. It is well known that Thomas the Apostle brought the gospel to southern India a few years after Christ’s resurrection. The most well known UK missionary to India in more recent years is probably William Carey who established the Baptist church in India over 200 years ago. When Abi arrived in West Bengal, India in 2016, it was therefore unsurprising to find a well established local church. In most Indian cities you will now find churches of every denomination — Baptist, Assemblies of God, Presbyterian, Evangelical and Catholic churches to name a few. The Christian population of West Bengal is 0.7%, so a small minority compared to the majority Hindu and Muslim populations, but Abi discovered the local church had a strong missional vision, and a particular focus on needs caused by poverty.

Abi was part of a Pioneers team until she left India in 2023, participating in a local business project in a rural setting that aimed to reduce human trafficking among women. Her closest colleagues were Indians from the local church; they were the people she worked with each day, providing skills training such as sewing to mostly Hindu and some Muslim women, and lessons in life and health issues. These colleagues were from West Bengal but from more urban cultures; they travelled into these rural settings to minister to these women who were at risk of exploitation. For Abi, this was a very positive experience of joining the local Indian church in mission to the unreached people around them. They had a shared vision and were able to partner together. Their work was also very well received by the communities they served.

But a positive view of local church is not generally the case for people coming from Hindu backgrounds. Abi explains that the history of Christianity in India still casts a shadow over the relationship between Hindu communities and the local church today. That Hindus were forced or coerced to convert to Christianity in the past still taints how many understand what Christianity represents. Church life is therefore viewed at a distance, seen as a foreign religion and culture, particularly in rural areas; some would even describe being a Christian as an anti-national act towards India. People are also very community minded, so nobody exists as an individual; choosing to become a Christian, which is against the communal practice, is not part of people’s worldview.

So, what happens when someone from a Hindu background does choose to follow Christ in West Bengal?

Abi found a lot of women were willing to come to church community events even if they didn’t attend the church on Sundays or were not followers of Jesus yet, because of the shared value of doing life in community. So for new believers in Jesus who feel able to attend church it is not so difficult to assimilate into church life because of the shared community mindedness and aspect of life. The hard concept, however, is when they display ‘Jesus is the only one to worship’ and not one of many gods as in Hinduism. Baptism is a clear marker in the community’s understanding that someone has turned to Christ and rejected Hinduism, and is often hard to accept by the Hindu community. The legal implications of being baptised mean you have to change your religious status on your national identity card too, and Abi explains ‘secret’ baptisms are often carried out by local churches in order to protect new believers. Another consequence of being baptised is rejection by families and becoming disinherited because of testifying, ‘I only follow Jesus’.

Communities are more flexible if new followers of Jesus attend church but continue Hindu worship rituals at home, traditionally the role of women, such as looking after the family shrine. If the woman stops doing this when she becomes a Christian this causes problems as her people believe she is disrupting the spiritual atmosphere and way of life of the community. When new believers in Christ, especially women, don’t continue Hindu festival rituals, this creates problems for the new believer and those discipling them, such as Abi’s colleagues.

Because of this community pressure to conform and the severe consequences of being rejected by families, some new believers in Christ choose to remain outside of the local church. Abi explains that, in her experience in a rural area, it is the legalism of the church and pressure to be baptised publicly that leads people to stay away from the churches. Legalism that leads to judgement on individuals causes them to feel shame, and this marginalises people. Some new believers in Christ do choose to join a local church, but for some women this is very difficult if their husband has strong Hindu values.

So, how did Abi cope as a foreigner working with the local church in India?

Abi describes a generally positive experience in India with the local church, but explains that this is not always the case for other missionaries. Others have struggles with the local church often because of mistrust between foreigners and Indian Christians. This mistrust goes both ways, and often with good reason. What may seem ‘wrong’ to missionaries is seen as ‘the way it is done’ to Indian Christians and this creates a lot of heartache on both sides. Being a member of a mixed cultural mission team can be a challenging experience both for visiting mission workers and the mission workers from the host country.

The positive experience of church for Abi has been in a Bengali-speaking house church in India, rather than a large congregation in a western-style building, the pattern often followed by denominational churches. She chose to attend this church as the business she was involved with was connected to this local house church. She was very welcomed and it wasn’t long before the leaders called her ‘daughter’ and other members called her ‘niece’ or ‘sister’ depending on their relationship to the leaders.

Abi discovered people doing life together in community so naturally with a balance in being a church that was equally inwardly and outwardly focussed, with healthy discipleship, mission and community life. It is a good example of how church should be — doing life together in a missional way.

For Abi, this seemed in contrast to her church experience in the UK; community does not happen so naturally in the UK where people are so busy and consequently Christian life together is less all encompassing. In India, they pray together all the time and talk about what they read in the Bible, just as normal conversation. Intentional prayer is a way of life. There is much more space to be community for Indian Christians, so much so that this house church community really became like family to Abi too. Although the church has been in India for two centuries, the church Abi attended was mostly first generation believers and led by first generation believers. This young house church began in 2007 but lived out a dynamic witness for Christ among unreached people around them.

The best thing for Abi about working with the local church members in India was experiencing their love and passion for God. It energised her in their work together to see how they live out their faith, but also their honesty about their life struggles. That this vibrant missional community produced prolific disciple makers was especially encouraging for Abi as she describes how her friends were natural and encouraging in the way they got alongside people. They were never too busy for others and this has left a lasting impression on Abi.

This is not to say that it was always easy for Abi to work alongside the local church in India. The inevitable cultural differences are always present and at times created challenges to overcome. Abi describes how planning events with her Indian colleagues often demonstrated their differences in communication and planning style with Indian culture being so much more spontaneous and open to rapidly changing plans compared to her home culture. She says, ‘I use the comparison that Indian culture with regard to planning, is like ‘instant coffee’ but I am more of the ‘French press’ style which takes time to brew!’

Going as a learner, growing in patience and serving with grace has been an essential part of Abi’s partnership with the local church. By serving together and sharing the gospel with Hindus and Muslims in their community, Abi and the local church in India have been a dynamic partnership that has touched many lives at a physical and spiritual level. ‘Better together’ would certainly describe how God made this team function for his glory in a hard place

Pioneers has the local church at its heart – workers going to the mission field are sent by local churches and, when on the field, Pioneers teams seek to partner with local churches to share the gospel with those who have not yet heard the good news. But what happens when Pioneers workers are sent to regions where there is no local church? Who do they partner with then? Alex’s story helps us to understand the context of where there is no established local church.

The Arab world has been home to Alex for 9 years, but he holds on to his life here lightly, knowing he may have to leave at any moment. Being a church planter in a country that does not allow existence of church buildings, nor the publicising of any Christian gathering is no easy task. And yet Alex is excited to see the body of Christ becoming established, even if behind closed doors. Being situated in an urban setting adds a degree of anonymity, which Alex recognises as a gift when it comes to sharing the gospel with national Muslims here. His city is alive with a majority young population and is rapidly growing more diverse with expatriates arriving from all corners of the globe. Some are westerners working as professionals and many others are from surrounding Muslim nations as lower paid labourers seeking money to send home to their distant families.

Although Alex has a ‘day job’, much of his time is taken up with discipling followers of Jesus. He planted a small congregation of around 30 English-speaking Christians of various nationalities 2 years ago, which has recently gone on to plant an Arabic-speaking congregation 7 months ago where around 10 believers gather. These are busy days for Alex as he mentors, trains, encourages and invests time in his ‘team’ – the members of his church – in order that they become disciples of Jesus who go on to make other disciples.

Although the law allows foreigners to practice their faith privately, gathering in larger groups as church, even for them, must be done in secret moving from house to house in 5 or 6 locations. This is possible as houses are large in this part of the world and helps the gatherings stay under the radar and be sensitive to neighbours who may not appreciate the noisy folk next door with their corporate singing every Friday, which is the rest day here.
 

So, what does an average Friday ‘church’ gathering look like?

Alex describes what would possibly look rather like gatherings of Jesus followers during the New Testament era. For the English-speaking congregation, it is an all-day occasion, beginning with a shared meal and time to socialise together. This meal ends with the Lord’s Supper, leading into a more structured time of word ministry with Bible reading, teaching, prayer and worship. The expectation is that every member speaks the truth in love to each other, taking part in ministry by serving the body, which Alex suggests is more doable in this smaller group setting. The end of their fellowship time is marked by reciting the Great Commission together, demonstrating this group of believers is committed to sharing the gospel with lost people around them and bringing them to Jesus. This church gathering is not just an inward-looking community of believers doing life together; they long for others to join them. Some members have especially come to this part of the world because they share Alex’s vision to see Muslims come to faith in Jesus.

The Arabic congregation is smaller in number and, as some members work every day, they can only get together to meet in the evenings. They also eat together and share the Lord’s Supper, sing, pray and read the Bible. All the elements are the same but there is a different flavour to meetings as the believers’ Arab culture is expressed throughout. One difference Alex noted is with the Bible teaching where the local leaders are much more adept at keeping lessons succinct and practical.

Whichever congregation, every member is responsible for the church, its members and ministry. The younger Arabic congregation is gradually developing its identity and is a work in progress, but Alex is delighted to see the gifted Arabic leaders growing in confidence and boldness. The worship songs used are accessed via YouTube which is an unfiltered source, so sometimes discernment is necessary to help these leaders select what they use. Unsurprisingly, they enjoy worshipping using Arabic music styles, and the way they host and choose food is according to their cultural preference.
 

So, how does a hidden church grow in number?

Being a church planter and leading churches of disciples who want to make other disciples means Alex longs to see others join them. But how can this happen when they are not allowed to publicise their gatherings? Alex explains that seekers of the gospel are invited to attend gatherings, but only if they are serious seekers. Discipleship of not-yet and new believers in Jesus is begun outside the group, as the person is met where they are. Sometimes one on one, other times two or more believers will visit, then gradually they are introduced to other group members to build rapport and trust before finally being invited to the whole gathering.

Alex and a couple of other westerners gather with this Arabic church in a supporting role but are not members of it. The church is made up of solely Arab men and women. The women have taken the decision not to cover their hair. Mixing the genders, and nationalities, and a relaxed dress code may have caused the meeting to feel a bit unfamiliar to a new member just 5 years ago, but all of these things have become more common in the ever more progressive city they live in. This means the greatest barrier to meeting is not mixing the sexes or questions of modesty, but the risk of being identified as a follower of Jesus.

Instilling a desire to gather with other Christians is important from first contact so when Alex hears new believers say, ‘I’m the only believer in Jesus in the city,’ he challenges this concept, explaining it is not true and that there is a church to belong to. This drives away fear and builds hope. Community with other believers is the normal Christian life presented and expected, but this is pursued with care and wisdom because of security risks. Connecting a new believer from a Muslim background is based on trust and confidence and that’s why a network of relationships helps smooth the process for all involved. Some people are naturally bolder, while others are more timid; Alex sees his role as helping encourage away from either extreme. Whatever the process, Alex does not want individuals to be isolated in their faith and being part of a community of believers is the answer to this.

Alex’s aim is to plant churches that will plant churches, not just English speakers reaching English speakers and Arabic speakers reaching Arabic speakers, but everyone reaching the nations. His goal is to increase the numbers of Christian communities throughout the Arab world. As the team leader, Alex seeks to invest in all people groups where he lives, therefore being intentional to reach all. Alex’s passion is to equip all church members to be disciple makers and church planters. While his heart is primarily to reach Arabs with the gospel, he also wants to reach anyone else who doesn’t know Jesus yet. This is perhaps what makes Alex’s church distinctive from other Christian house church networks in his part of the world – they go beyond just caring for each other to intentionally seeking to draw others to faith in Jesus too.

Alex has a high view of church; he loves the church and wants to see more churches forming where he lives. A healthy church to Alex is one that loves God, the church, and the world boldly. A healthy church has church planting DNA, being able to reproduce itself. Raising elders to lead new church plants is vital because, for Alex, the engine of church planting is leadership development. Training believers of godly character in the skill of teaching God’s word opens the way for God to lead the congregation by his word and not a person or their personality.

Alex’s greatest joy in ministry is when other believers are added to their number, especially when local believers lead members of their family to faith in Christ, whether it is a husband bringing his wife, or a sister bringing her sister. He is excited that boldness and a burden for the lost is growing among the Arabic believers – he loves seeing disciples make other disciples of Jesus.

Despite the challenge that Islam and the cultural and family pressures bring upon new believers, Alex is seeing his disciples grow in faith. Tensions with family are inevitable and the cost of following Jesus may be high for some, but Alex sees they are ready for persecution now. That national believers are meeting to worship together is a strength and there is no limit to the networking among them online. All of this makes Alex excited about the future of the church of Jesus Christ among the Arabic people here.