 Across the Muslim-majority world, a growing number of young adults are questioning—if not outright rejecting—the traditional Islamic authority structures that shape faith and life. Increasingly, members of Gen-Z in Muslim contexts identify as “Ex-Muslim,” often describing themselves as atheist or agnostic, or simply stating they are no longer Muslim. When Richard Dawkins translated his atheist manifesto, The God Delusion, into Arabic and made it available as a free PDF, it was downloaded over 30 million times. In Tunisia, 47% of youth now view themselves as non-religious. In the United States, 24% of Muslims born into Muslim families have left Islam.(1) In Turkey, nearly 30% of Gen-Z identifies as non-religious.(2) This trend mirrors the global rise of the so-called “nones”—those who claim no religious affiliation—and can likely be attributed to many of the same generational forces: globalization, the rise of digital technology, smartphones, and social media. Scholar, writer, and television host Reza Aslan observes, “What the printing press is to Christianity in the 16th Century, that’s what the Internet is doing to Islam now. It has opened up the monopoly over interpretation of Islam that used to solely belong to the religious class.”(3) Today, a young adult in a Muslim-majority country can encounter more Islam-critical content on their smartphone in a single day than their parents encountered in the first twenty years of their lives. As Dr. Tim Orr explains, Gen-Z Muslims “are digitally immersed, globally aware, and justice-oriented. However, they also navigate a unique tension: balancing inherited Islamic traditions with postmodern skepticism and the digital age’s flood of competing worldviews. While many still identify strongly with Islam, their engagement is increasingly shaped by personal exploration, social dynamics, and the pressure to reconcile their faith with contemporary values.”(4) Like many of their global peers, Gen-Z Muslims are walking away from institutional religion, crafting for themselves untested and often unarticulated spiritual frameworks. These new systems of belief tend to be shaped more by instinct than tradition—“a gut feeling that it's right.” In this post-truth world, “a kind of watered-down post modern existentialism challenges us to invent ourselves, and many Muslims take up the invitation.”(5) If this is indeed the trajectory of Gen Z—and likely Gen-Alpha behind them—then it is vital that we reconsider our missiological assumptions, both in face-to-face interactions and in our increasingly digital outreach. While the influence of Islam will undoubtedly continue to mark the worldview of many Ex-Muslim Gen-Zs, we can no longer rely on the same assumptions that guided our engagement with previous generations. There is a growing need for deep, generational research to understand this group more fully. We must listen to the voices of Gen-Z across the globe. As the most globally connected generation yet, they navigate cross-cultural spaces with an intuitive fluency born from lifelong immersion in a digital world. As Gen-Z Muslims search for meaning in a world of shifting identities and spiritual uncertainty, the Church has an opportunity to meet them with the love, truth, and hope of Jesus. May we be ready to listen, engage, and share the gospel with clarity and compassion in this digital age. Did you find this helpful? Share it with a friend 1. Aaron Sarver, “Secularism: Muslims Leaving Islam,” Zwemer Center, January 18, 2019, https://www.zwemercenter.com/secularism-muslims-leaving-islam/.
2. Murat Gezici, “Gezici Araştırma Merkezi Başkanı Murat Gezici Sözcü’ye Açıkladı: Türkiye'nin Kaderi Z Kuşağının Elinde,” Sözcü, May 9, 2023, https://www.sozcu.com.tr/gezici-arastirma-merkezi-baskani-murat-gezici-sozcuye-acikladi-turkiyenin-kaderi-z-kusaginin-elinde-wp5867771. 3. Aslan, Reza. “Religion Gone Global.” The Immanent Frame, May 27, 2010. Social Science Research Council. https://tif.ssrc.org/2010/05/27/religion-gone-global/ 4. 4TImorr. “Reaching Gen Z Muslims: A Gospel-Centered Vision for a Searching Generation.” 4TImorr, accessed May 2, 2025. https://www.4timorr.org/reaching-gen-z-muslims-a-gospel-centered-vision-for-a-searching-generation/. 5. Adam, Ben. Encountering the World of Post-Islam. Regnum Practitioner Series. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2025.
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 Globalization and rapid technological advancements have created a world where people can move across the globe more easily than ever before. The apostle Paul spoke to this reality in Acts 17:26-27: “From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us”(CSB). The least reached people of the world are now our neighbors, and this is no accident. The God of the universe has brought them to this place at this time for His purposes—so that they might seek Him. There are five primary ways people from unreached groups come to North America, each presenting unique challenges and opportunities. Understanding how and why they have arrived helps believers better demonstrate the love of Jesus and engage in meaningful gospel conversations. 1. Immigrants and Professionals Many people arrive through legal immigration channels. Some are professionals—doctors, engineers, and business leaders—filling essential roles. Others come through marriage to a citizen or through family sponsorship. These immigrants often choose to relocate and have the means to do so. They are our co-workers and doctors, frequently highly educated and financially stable. 2. International Students International students come to North America seeking education. Some participate in high school exchange programs, while many more attend universities, often staying for several years to complete degrees. Although many desire to remain in the country after graduation, fewer than half are able to do so. Those who stay typically enter the workforce, particularly in science and technology fields. Most, however, return to their home countries, carrying with them the experiences and relationships they formed while studying. Will they take the gospel with them? 3. Refugee Resettlement The U.S. refugee resettlement program, formally established in 1980, has welcomed over 3 million refugees. To receive refugee status, individuals must have a well-founded fear of persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Refugees do not choose to leave their homes but flee for safety. Many have endured persecution, trauma, and hardship. They often arrive with little and face socio-economic challenges, including language barriers and cultural adjustments. 4. Tourism and Seasonal Work Some people from unreached groups visit North America for a short time as tourists or seasonal workers. Tourists explore national landmarks, theme parks, and major cities. Others, particularly young people, arrive on temporary work visas to staff hotels, restaurants, and amusement parks during peak travel seasons. These individuals present a unique, time-sensitive opportunity for gospel engagement. 5. Undocumented Immigrants Some individuals from unreached groups arrive without legal status. Many come with temporary visas and overstay, while others cross borders seeking safety or economic opportunity. Though immigration policies are complex and often controversial, these individuals are now our neighbors. Many are fleeing difficult situations, seeking better lives for their families, or pursuing the American dream. Our Response Each of these groups has distinct cultural, economic, and educational realities. Some may need English classes and financial assistance, while others drive luxury cars and send their children to private schools. As believers, we must be discerning and intentional in learning about the people God has brought into our cities. We are called to serve, love, and share the gospel with them in ways that are relevant to their circumstances. Our Partners While God is bringing the unreached to North America, He is also sending Christian brothers and sisters through these same immigration pathways. Believers from around the world are relocating for work, education, or refuge. They have a unique ability to connect with and influence the unreached in ways that local believers may not. Partnering with these Christians can enhance outreach efforts and provide cultural insights for effective ministry. For Such a Time as This When Esther was taken into the king’s palace, Mordecai recognized that God was working through her situation. He told her: “If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14) Immigration, especially undocumented immigration, is a complex and often contentious issue. Yet, the reality remains: people from unreached groups are moving into our cities and neighborhoods. Many come from places with little or no gospel witness. In their home countries, they may have lived hours away from the nearest Christian, but now they are surrounded by churches and believers. The church's lack of awareness of these realities is perhaps the greatest barrier to abundant harvest - a barrier I hope to disrupt with all that I write here at the Everywhere to Everywhere blog. Could it be that God has brought you to this moment to recognize the opportunity before you? Look around. The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few. Resources Did you find this helpful? Share it with a friend  Last week, I introduced Google Maps as a tool for discovering the unreached people living in your city or region. However, finding the unreached around you is just the first step. We need to find ways to engage these communities with love and gospel witness. Today, I’d like to introduce four principles that will lead to loving engagement as you go out into the harvest—the places you’ve discovered using Google Maps. Four Principles for Gospel Engagement:
Learning As you go out into the community, be intentional about adopting a posture of learning. One of the greatest kindnesses we can show to new Americans—whether refugees, immigrants, or international students—is to take a genuine interest in their lives and cultures. To do this, you’ll need to reflect on your own preconceived stereotypes and be careful not to make assumptions about the people you meet. In Acts 17, the Apostle Paul spent time exploring Athens, learning about its people and beliefs. He discovered an altar to the “unknown god” and used that cultural reference as a bridge to share the gospel in a way the Athenians would understand. In the same way, we should become cultural detectives, searching for the fingerprints of God in different cultures to understand the deep beliefs, desires, and needs of those we encounter. Action Steps for Learning:
Love As you enter the community, approach every interaction with an attitude of love. Everyone you meet is an image bearer, known by God before they were born. Their differences do not change this truth. One of the top reasons former Muslims cite for leaving Islam and following Christ is the tangible love of a Christian in their lives. If you are wondering how to love well in cross-cultural relationships, consider 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." This passage serves as a rubric for love. When unsure how to act or think in a relationship, return to this list and ask the Lord to help you embody these attitudes and actions. Action Steps for Loving:
Listening One of the best ways to both learn and love is to listen to people’s stories. Everyone has a story, and most long to be heard. I remember taking a pastor into a Somali-owned restaurant one day. After a wonderful meal and two cups of Somali tea, I asked the owner how he liked living in America. He lifted his shirt to reveal a scar on his belly—a gunshot wound. He then showed us another scar on his leg. He told us how Al-Shabab soldiers attacked his village, killing the adults and taking the young boys and men. He was shot twice and left for dead. But someone found him, cared for him, and helped him get to the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. Years later, he was granted refugee status and brought to the U.S. That had happened over twenty years ago. He went on to tell us about his oldest children, twins, who were in university, and about his businesses—a restaurant and a car dealership. With great emphasis, he told us, “I love America.” His story was far more powerful than I had anticipated when I asked, but it was his story to tell, and I was honored to hear it. Action Steps for Listening:
Discernment I once heard it said that evangelicals are often so eager to share the good news that we rarely take the time to hear a person's bad news first. Yet, when we listen, love well, and learn, we prepare ourselves to partner with the Holy Spirit in discerning how best to plant seeds and share the gospel. When we invest this time, we often find that when a person does come to faith, their discipleship journey has already begun organically. A friend once told me that in cross-cultural relationships, "It's not until the fifth tea that anything significant happens." He didn’t mean the fifth glass of tea but the fifth occasion of sitting down together over tea and conversation—the fifth time of listening, loving, and learning. The more we listen, love, and learn, the more we will see our prayers answered as natural opportunities to share the gospel arise. If we prayerfully persist in being present, God will show up. Action Steps for Discernment:
Crescent Project founder Fouad Masri once said, "90% of Muslim ministry is just showing up." So much of reaching the unreached in our cities is simply a ministry of presence. Step through the door. Say hello. Ask good questions. And then do it again and again and again. Resources Did you find this helpful? Share it with a friend  One of the simplest ways to discover the unreached in your area is by using Google Maps, along with resources like the Joshua Project, Unreached People Groups of North America and the Jesus Film App. These tools can help you identify the ethnic communities living in your region and understand their cultural and spiritual backgrounds. How to Get Started
Suggested Search Terms
By intentionally seeking out and engaging with these communities, you can build relationships and share the love of Christ with those who have never heard the gospel. Let’s step out in faith and embrace this incredible mission opportunity—right in our own backyard. Resources Did you find this helpful? Share it with a friend  In the first few chapters of John an interesting pattern emerges. The numbers of those following Jesus begins to grow as his followers simply invite their friends, family or, in the case of the woman at the well, entire village to "come and see."
To be sure, none of those activities are wrong and God uses all of them to help people come to faith - they are simply not the example of Jesus' first followers in the first four chapters of John (John 1:39; 1:41-42; 1:45-46; 4:28-30). For them, "come and see" was enough. It seems they knew that if they could just get their friend to spend some time with Jesus - even a cynic like Nathanael - that would be enough. And Jesus is still enough today. Like his first followers, we can ask our friends to come and see Jesus by sharing the stories of Jesus from the gospels and by inviting them to read these stories. We can do this by inviting them read through one of the gospels with us or we can invite them to into a discovery Bible study using one of several story sets:
My default has been to invite people to church or to open up deep philosophical conversations with my far from God friends. God has of course used both of these tactics, but increasingly I'm learning (and trying to learn) to default to simply asking them to come and see Jesus for themselves by inviting them to read the gospels with me. How about you? How have you been inviting people to Jesus lately? Did you find this post helpful? Share it with a friend.  What is the person of peace? It's a term that is increasingly used both in the church and in the mission field. Practitioners of disciple making movements (DMM) often talk of searching for the person of peace and yet different groups use the term in different ways. All are correct but for those just beginning to explore the idea of the Person of Peace, a clarification might be in order. Some define the Person of Peace (PoP) as anyone who welcomes and opens up their relational network to to the messenger - be that a missionary or a local lay believer crossing the street in their neighborhood. In this use, the PoP doesn't necessarily need to be someone who initially accepts the message, but rather gives permission to the messenger to share with the group. They are often a gatekeeper of sorts - an elder of the village or the patriarch of a family. God is using them to open the door for the message to go forward in their context. This is also sometimes referred to as a House of Peace. A second way the idea of the Person of Peace is used is to simply indicate someone whom God has prepared to receive the gospel. They are a seeker, a God prepared person. Perhaps they've had a dream or a vision or have had a crisis in life that caused them to do some deep soul searching. Their heart is prepared to respond to the gospel. They are ready to receive the messenger and the message. A final way I often hear to idea of the Person of Peace discussed is that they not only are prepared to receive the gospel, but they are also ready and able to reproduce and share the good news with other. They receive the message and the messenger but they also readily receive the mission. When the woman at the well believes Jesus in John 4 she immediately takes that message back to he village where she tells everyone the good news and brings them to Jesus. Many would also refer to this person as a "Fourth Soil Person" who reproduces 30, 60 or 100 times from the Parable of the Sower. All of these definitions work but as you are reading the literature or listening to interviews with practitioners, it is helpful to understand how they are using the term. It was a bit confusing for me the first time I ran into the different ways it was being used. Perhaps there are other ways to think about the Person of Peace. If so, let me know your thoughts in the comments. Until then, I'd encourage you to download this discovery tool to help you learn about the Person of Peace from Jesus' ministry in the gospels. Trainer's notes are included on page three.  As we immerse ourselves in the story of the scriptures, we allow the Holy Spirit to use them to shape our view of the world, of ministry and of ourselves. Scripture hammer trainings allow a trainer to step out of the way and allow the Bible to do the heavy lifting of the training. They require little charism on the part of the trainer, are hard to argue with and place a tool in the hands of those we are training that is immediately reproducible.
The basic idea is to create a list of scriptures that all point toward the basic Biblical principle or lesson you are wanting your trainees to grasp. A scripture hammer study is best done in groups of 2-5 and then debriefed as a group. You can create your own for any topic you'd like to train on. I've created a one page handout with six scripture hammer studies that I've learned from others and that I've been using to train. The focus of these particular studies are:
[CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE SIX STUDIES] I've written previously about a few of these topic and you can check those out at the links below:   One of the number one reasons former Muslims give for leaving Islam and coming to faith in Christ is that they met a true follower of Jesus. The challenge is that the vast majority of the 1.8 billion Muslims in our world today live in places where there are no followers of Jesus. In Turkey for example, a nation of over 80 million, fewer than 10,000 have left Islam to follow Christ and eighteen of the country’s 81 provinces have no known churches. Most Turks will not hear a clear presentation of the gospel this year - perhaps not in their lifetime. They won’t have a friend who is a follower of Jesus. It is much the same for Hindus, Buddhists and the followers of the world's many other religions who live in what missiologists call the 10/40 window. 95% of the world's unreached people groups live in the 10/40 window. Globalization is bringing the people of the world to countries where there are churches in every neighborhood and Christians all around them. Technology is opening up the world to communicate with one another in ways never before imagined. English is the new lingua franca and it is easier than ever to connect with a unreached peoples - and their families - and to be the first true follower of Jesus they have ever met. Covid-19 is a terrible disease that is bringing and will continue to bring great loss to our world. But it is also bringing opportunity. Children across the globe have been sent home from school. They are isolated and oftentimes alone and are spending their time online. Your children are home. Muslim children are home. Hindu children are home. Buddhist children are home. What would it take to help your child be the first real Christian one of these children has ever met? What would it look like if you could help your child build a friendship with a child their same age and gender from another country? There are dozens of online communities working to connect children with other children and adults with other adults through the age old practice of pen pals. Some help you connect through traditional mail. Many more are helping make connections through email. I want to invite you to consider praying as a family about becoming pen pals with new friends in the Muslim world. Imagine if each member of your family were connecting with people in a Muslim majority country. Imagine how much you would learn about the world. Imagine the encouragement you could bring to an individual who is also living through this current world crisis. Imagine the conversations about Jesus that just may happen as you hear the story of your new friend’s life and they hear yours. Getting Started I want to first and foremost, encourage you to do this as a family. Your kids are going to make easy connections as they share about what they do for fun but depending on their age, they’ll probably need some coaching. And you, mom and dad, are going to need your kids to keep you accountable to continue to reach out and connect through email or regular letters with new friends. Be a family on mission together! When I first helped my son with pen pals in Turkey and Indonesia he was twelve. We went onto the website Pen Pal World together and I helped him set up his profile. We prayed about what countries to look into and then searched together for boys age 12 that he could connect with. He reached out to two and they both responded. Soon they were exchanging emails. They were super simple. At one point the thread of emails was over 70 replies between the two of them. One would ask a single question - “Who’s your favorite soccer team? - and the other would respond “Real Madrid,” and then send off a single question of their own, “What’s your favorite movie?” It felt a little ridiculous but they were two twelve year old boys getting to know one another. This boy happened to live in Indonesia. I monitored and checked in with my son regularly, encouraging him and helping him know how to proceed. Below are three sites through which you can find pen pals in the Muslim world. All three have their users create profiles which include the user’s gender, age and country. Be sure and help your children find friends who are the same age and gender - and that goes for you too! And then pray about what countries in which you would like to make connections. It’s a great reason to explore and learn about countries within the 10/40 window. A great resource to tune up your heart for these nations is Prayercast where you can learn about every country in the world. https://www.prayercast.com/ And a great resource to help you and your family learn more about Islam and how to share the love of Jesus with Muslims is the Bridges study. https://www.crescentproject.org/bridges Interpals Interpals started in 1998 and has been helping people make new friends across the globe ever since! You can sign up for free. You’ll need to create a profile and then you can search the profiles of others to find someone to write to. You can start by messaging on the Interpals website. This will all happen on their on-site inbox, which means you won’t need to give out personal information at first. Take some time to get to know the person you are connecting with. You will want to switch over to email though so that your conversations can happen more naturally. https://www.interpals.net/ PenPal World Like Interpals, PenPal World has also been active since 1998. Like Interpals, you will sign up, build a profile and search the profiles of others, then communicate within a PenPal World inbox. They also have some helpful safety features. They manually verify every single profile photo, and they enable minors to block all adults. http://www.penpalworld.com/ Global Penfriends Global Penfriends was established in 1995, and is a safe platform that runs in a very similar way to Interpals and PenPal World. It is completely free, and you set up a profile, search for others, and have a secure inbox. Unique to Global Penfriends is their My Post service, which enables members to send snail mail to each other via the internet! You can use this service to send any written correspondence: letters, postcards, birthday cards, invitations, etc. https://www.globalpenfriends.com/ Parents, you will want to look at each and see which suits your needs best. Please remember that these sites are secular sites open to anyone with an email address. They are for profit and so it is in their very best interest to make the sites as safe as possible. That said, it is up to you to stay safe and remain vigilant. You and your children have an opportunity to build real friendships and to be Christ’s ambassadors in a lost and broken world. And you can do it together! Learn more about unreached people groups and the 10/40 window in the short video below.  Did Jesus give the Apostle Paul a strategy for reaching the nations? Yes, he did and it is a strategy for our day as well. Steve Addison often quips that we need to stop asking 'What would Jesus do?' and start asking another question: What did Jesus do? Luke 10:1-23 offers us a window into one of the things Jesus did and it is a window into both his methods of discipling his followers as well as a strategy he uses to reach into new areas with the gospel. It is a strategy that the Apostle Paul employs throughout his ministry and is especially visible on his second missionary journey as recorded in Acts chapters 16 - 18. This is of course not the only strategy that Jesus gives his followers nor is it the only strategy for reaching into new harvest fields that the Apostle Paul uses, but within Luke 10 are a number of examples and principles that we, like Paul, would do well to pay attention to and at the very least, try out. They are not the way we in the west usually go about things but they are the way that Jesus taught his first followers to take the gospel into new regions. Let's look at a few of the examples and principles from Luke 10. Pray for Harvesters In Luke 10:2 Jesus tells the 72 to pray for more workers. This is interesting because as sent ones, they are the workers. The implication seems to be that there are workers in the harvest! As Paul worked through Macedonia and Greece, the leaders of all of the churches that emerge in Acts 16 - 18 are new believers who came out of the harvest. Paul did not lead these churches. There is no mention of him even planting churches. Paul made disciples (Matthew 28:18-20) and churches emerged as new disciples were raised up and began to share the gospel and make disciples. Find the Person of Peace Jesus instructs the 72 to find a peaceful person, someone who welcomes them into their home. He gives them further instruction that, if a peaceful person cannot be found, they should brush the dust off of their feet and move on. It seems that there will be a God prepared person who welcomes them, or their won't be. The presence of that person or lack their of is out of their hands. It is a work of the Father who draws people to Jesus. Paul trusts Jesus' strategy. For Paul it looks like this: Enter a new town or context. Find the place where people gather - usually a synagogue. Preach the Gospel. Get kicked out. Discover that there are a handful of people who want to follow Jesus. When Paul proclaims the gospel there are always three responses as clearly articulated in Athens in Acts 17:32-33. When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Paul knew that there would be three response:
Stay with the Person of Peace As part of Jesus' instructions, he also tells the 72 to not move around from house to house but rather to stay with the person of peace. Jesus does not tell us why we should stay, but in the example of Paul we see the fruit of staying in place. Paul is not the local who will establish the movement in each town. The local person - the cultural insider - will be the one to stay. Lydia, the Philippian Jailer, Jason in Thessalonica, the elders in Berea, Dionysius and Damaris in Athens, Aquilla and Priscilla in Corinth as well as Crispus the synagogue ruler and his entire household! These are the people who become the leaders of the gospel movements in each of their respective regions. Paul has stayed with them, he's shared meals with them and invested in raising them up to be disciples of Jesus! This is perhaps most clearly seen in Thessolonica where Paul spent just three Sabbaths [learn more]. Everywhere Paul goes he finds a person of peace, a God prepared person whom God is going to use to establish the local expression of faith. Paul has no plan to leave a “church planter” behind to lead the new church for a time. It seems that from the very beginning the plan is to have a new believer lead the church. These are just three of the principles from Luke 10 that Paul applies as he works to obey Jesus and make disciples. A deeper study of the sending out of the 12 in Luke 9, Matthew 10 and Mark 6 would be be helpful to further compare how Paul took the example of Jesus and applied it to his efforts to take the gospel to the very ends of the earth. If Jesus' example and the principles of Luke 10 were good enough for Paul, it seems we ought to at least look at these passages and explore what applying them to our current context might look like. A sermon given at Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church on the strategies and disciple making process of Jesus in Luke 10:1-24.
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