- Published on
How a late-night message on a language app can become the first time a young Muslim meets a follower of Jesus
By Aaron Myers
It was 1:30 am and Serdar was lying on his bed, scrolling through endless Tik Tok videos. The noise of another Istanbul night drifted in through his open window. He’d been at it for over an hour and like most nights, he was slowly beginning to feel empty. Finally, after one more swipe down and one more video that had no bearing on his life, he tossed the phone to the foot of his bed, threw his arm over his eyes and let out a long slow sigh. What was he doing?
He’d graduated six months ago with a degree in mechanical engineering and hadn’t yet found a job. The economy just didn’t have much hope for his generation. He had begun to think more seriously about going to grad school in Europe or maybe America. He was bored and discouraged and living with his parents gave him the freedom to do very little about it. But he needed to do something, to find some purpose in life, some opportunity to move forward with his life.
That’s when he remembered his friend’s advice about continuing to improve his English. All of his studies had been in English so it was actually pretty good. Free-flowing conversations with native speakers were a bit of a challenge though and so, sitting up to retrieve his phone, he logged into HelloTalk, a language exchange app where he could connect with native English speakers who were wanting to learn Turkish. It was a bit like a dating app – hundreds of thousands of people using it all create a profile sharing what languages they speak and what languages they want to learn and then, the algorithm leads to lists of those who fit their profile, in Serdar’s case, a long list of native English speakers who were wanting to connect with Turkish speakers. He had used the app on and off for the past few years.
As he was scrolling down the list of hundreds of native English speakers who were looking to connect with Turks, his phone suddenly pinged, and a message popped up on his screen. Tom, an American, had waved at him. Serdar clicked on Tom’s profile. He read it:
Hi, I’m Tom. I live in Kansas, right in the middle of the United States. I’m happily married with three kids and work as an engineer. I enjoy running, swimming and generally being outdoors. I read a book about Turkey a few years ago and wanted to learn more so here I am. I’d like to learn a little Turkish, but I’m more interested in just talking with Turkish guys about life in Turkey. I’m a Chritian and more than anything want to live a life of purpose and integrity and faith. I’m open for texting or setting up a time for a video call.
Serdar re-read the profile. Something about it intrigued him. Tom was probably 20 years older than him but seemed to have purpose and a good life, something he was hoping to have for himself. It might be a fun conversation. Serdar didn’t realize it, but Tom would be the first true follower of Jesus he had ever met. He started typing.
Hi Tom. I’m Serdar. How are you?
He hit send and waited. The little bubbles that indicate the other person is typing appeared on his screen. Suddenly Tom’s reply popped up.
Hey Serdar. I'm great. I was just scrolling through the profiles and saw you were online and so waved at you. I’m glad you reached out. Man, it must be late there. I don’t want to keep you up.
Serdar smiled. Tom obviously didn’t know what it was like to be a 22-year-old Turkish guy. He quickly typed out a reply.
No problem. I usually stay up until three or four in the morning. Most of my friends do. I was just bored and so thought I would look at Hello Talk. Your profile says you are from Kansas. Are you from Kansas City?
Tom replied pretty quickly.
No, not Kansas City. I’m from a small town about an hour from Kansas City. Where do you live in Turkey? I want to visit Turkey someday. And are you a student or working? Your profile says you are an engineer? What field of engineering?
Serdar typed out his reply.
I live in Istanbul. I’m a mechanical engineer but I don’t have a job yet. I graduated six months ago but the economy is not very good so I am still looking for a job. You are an engineer too? What kind?
Serdar was about to hit send but before doing so added one more question.
Do you have any advice for me as I look for a job?
Serdar didn’t have a lot of options these days and so thought he’d take whatever advice he could get. What Serdar didn’t know was that Tom had joined HelloTalk with his online outreach team at his local church. Together they were prayerfully working to build friendships with young men and women in Turkey. A few minutes later Tom’s reply came through.
I really don’t know what it’s like in Turkey to get a job or what the process is there. When I graduated, I sent a few dozen resumes out to different companies all around our region and some a bit further away. I graduated in 2008 and was looking for construction engineering jobs. 2008 was a bad year to be looking for an engineering job because of the financial crisis that hit that year, especially in construction. I suppose the main thing I did was to pray and to ask others to pray for me. I still had to wait a few months, but I got a job and I’ve been working here ever since. God answered my prayers. So I guess that would be my best piece of advice. Pray.
Serdar read the reply with interest but was also confused. He’d left Islam before college—he couldn’t stand the thought of being a part of the religious system of the ruling autocrats in the government—so he left. He supposed he was an atheist or perhaps a Deist now though he wasn’t sure what he believed or didn’t believe. He just knew he was no longer Muslim. And as he thought about Tom’s advice, he also knew that he didn’t know how to pray or even who he would pray to. He wondered if Christians had a different way of praying. Serdar was deep in thought, reflecting on all of this when another message from Tom appeared.
Hey Serdar. I hope I didn’t say something wrong there. I’m not wanting to offend. I do have to go now – my wife and kids are waiting for me to eat dinner. I really would like to continue to talk with you. Maybe next time we can talk about soccer - or should I say futbol? I decided to be a fan of a Turkish team called Galatasaray. I found them in a Google search.Do you know about them? Anyway, talk to you soon.
Serdar looked up from the phone to the red and yellow lion on the poster adorning the back of his bedroom door. Serdar smiled. Did he know about Galatasaray? He was a huge fan and despite his confusion about prayer and what he thought about that, he looked forward to chatting again with Tom. He quickly typed out one last message.
I wasn’t offended. Galatasaray is the best team in Turkey so you picked a good team. They are my team too. Thanks for talking with me. I’d like to chat again. Maybe next time we can have a call. Do you use WhatsApp? It’s a calling app I use and we could even have a video call if you want. Just let me know.
He set his phone on the table beside his bed and sat staring at the poster on his door. He liked Tom and he wondered how prayer had helped him find a job nearly 20 years ago. And how crazy that Tom picked Galatasaray, his team, to follow in Turkish futbol. It all seemed crazy but Serdar was certain of one thing – he was looking forward to talking with Tom again. He had never met an American who was a Galatasaray fan. He’d never met an American who was a Chritian or one who prayed. As he thought about it he realized that Tom was the first Christian he had ever met.
What you just read isn't unusual. Every evening hundreds of thousands of young adults from unreached nations open apps looking for friendship. One wave. One conversation. One friendship. That's how God often begins His work.
Notice what Tom did. He didn’t push a message or a tract. He shared his life, asked about Serdar’s, and answered an honest question honestly. His team’s prayer and patience put him in the right place at time.
You may be wondering whether your church could do something like this. It can.
Take the Next Step
1. Let Speak Truth Cafe help you.
If you’re ready to start conversations with spiritual seekers online but don’t know where to begin, Speak Truth Cafe is ready to help you.
2. Get coaching to form a church-based online outreach team.
Tom wasn’t doing this alone. He was part of a team from his local church, praying and building friendships together. E2E offers coaching and training to help churches in North America form online outreach team and reach people like Serdar.
Somewhere tonight, another Serdar is scrolling and wondering what he’s doing. Will a Christ-follower be there to connect with him?
Subscribe to Get Six Free Discipleship Lessons and
New Articles in Your Inbox
