“Are good works enough to go to heaven?” the social media post read. Some believers in Southeast Asia posted the question on a Christian social media page they ran at the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims.
In their predominately Muslim area, they knew many people would have more free time to use social media due to the holiday.
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They hoped to generate conversations with people that would lead to sharing the gospel, and they weren’t disappointed. Messages began to flood in over the following days, sometimes as many as 80 per day or more.
Jacob Stanley, who helped the local believers plan their social media outreach, said they were overwhelmed by the interest and response.
“People are online more [during Ramadan] and have a heightened sensitivity to spiritual matters,” Stanley said. “So, we praise the Lord for that, and for the opportunity to expose them to the gospel.”
Stanley, who also lives in Southeast Asia, has been helping local churches develop evangelism strategies that include social media outreach for the last few years. A key part of the strategy is having local believers available to talk to anyone who responds to advertisements wanting to have a deeper conversation.
In communities where most people are devout Muslims, often the conversations are challenging. Sometimes, people who message are rude and unkind. As a result, what began primarily as an evangelism strategy has also become an opportunity for Stanley to disciple the local believers in how to respond to people who are critical and skeptical of their faith.
“These conversations have brought up a lot of good questions, and we’ve had a lot of good Bible discussions,” Stanley said. “I just continue to encourage them to be kind and humble.”
Challenging conversations
God has been at work through social media outreach in Stanley’s area. Though there are challenging conversations, there are also many encouraging ones where believers can share the gospel and connect people with Christian community.
In addition, Stanley has seen the faith of the local believers grow and deepen as they practice sharing what they believe.
“They learned a lot about the Bible and how to articulate their faith by being part of social media outreach,” Stanley said.
Pray for churches and believers all across the Asia Pacific Rim who are working to develop strategies for using social media outreach. Pray for the Lord to give them discernment and that He opens many doors to share the gospel.
Names have been changed for security.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Stella McMillan and originally published by the International Mission Board.
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