Seven ways to change the world through practical mobilization, reposted from Missions Catalyst, a free, weekly digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry.

More Muslims have converted to the Way of Jesus Christ in the last four decades than in all the other years since the advent of Islam in the 7th Century. Something is certainly happening among Muslims and there is an openness in their society that was not there before.

Churches and ministries approach me with questions about ministry to Muslims and ask for our advice and help quite often. It is a part of our ministry I really enjoy. One of the most common questions is, how do we meet Muslims?

In just a few short decades, the global landscape has dramatically changed. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity, an academic research center that monitors worldwide demographic trends in Christianity, estimates that between the years 2005 and 2015, 900,000 Christians were martyred - an average of 90,000 Christians each year.

Last April I attended the New Wineskins for Global Mission Conference in Ridgecrest, NC. As I was passing through the lobby one day, I happened to see a small group of photographs on a table. Among the photos was one entitled, "God is Calling Artists To...", listing ways in which an artist can serve God. This one photograph by artist Beverley Roehr touched my heart and led me over the next ten months to paint a series of paintings on the journeys of refugees.

Applause broke out the Sunday morning when it was announced that Ajay* had become a Christian. Ajay is just one of over one million foreign students that study in the U.S., and one of over 50 students who visited St. Matthew’s Parish, Ft. Motte, SC as part of our International Student Weekends. He opened his heart to Jesus after our church family opened their hearts, lives, homes, and church doors to him. BUT, what were students from China, India, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Brazil, Japan, and Russia doing in the “mythical village” of Ft. Motte? How did a church in the middle of a cotton field launch a ministry that is having a global impact?

The flight home from a conference is always a mixed bag. A number of years ago, I returned from Plano, Texas, where we held our Anglican 1000 gathering affirming our commitment to new churches. I was full of vision and energy. Scribbling in a notepad on my seat-back tray, I wrote notes of new friends and old, ideas and vision, challenges and goals. Could there be a more exciting time for a minister of the gospel? We were planting churches!

I’m sitting on our plane, flying back to North Carolina from Chicago, still reeling and absorbing all that ACNA Assembly 2017: Mission on our Doorstep was and offered to me.…

When I was eleven, my dad picked me to go with him to church where a missionary would be sharing about her experiences serving in Africa. I remember being mesmerized by the photos and the stories she shared. After just an hour of being exposed to the world of foreign missions, I said to my dad on the way home, “I want to be a missionary when I grow up!”