Articles

Ambassadors for the King to the Muslim world must be equipped to give an answer for the hope that lies within (1 Peter 3:15). We are taught that we must contend for the faith (Jude 3), and that we must take every thought against the knowledge of God captive under Christ’s authority (2 Corinthians 10:5). Every missionary to the Muslim world wrestles with how to approach their Muslim friend when confronted with objections that strike at the very authority and core message of Christianity.

The Holistic Worldview Analysis (HWVA) strategy is a holistic development strategy that engages closely with a community to understand its survival strategy and then works towards strengthening it so that the community is able to solve most of its own problems. While this concept should excite most people by the way in which it engages with the community, building on the ownership and capability they already have; it often doesn’t find common ground with those that believe development is a top down process.

Wearing her hijab, “Mounia” from Yemen heard the gospel and felt the love of God in our international church because of her Rwandan classmate’s invitation and her husband’s permission. Without Arabic or visa for Yemen, instead of flying to Sana’a, we walked two meters to welcome her. From a country with 0.03% evangelicals, could she take the gospel back home?

I believe a cultural blindness exists at the core worldview level of the western missionary and Quichua student that limits the clear teaching and the student’s comprehension and learning in the area of international theological education.