For security reasons, we cannot show a photo of our founder.
The Lord has generously blessed our ministry with 21 years of serving Him. But our founders, Mike and his wife Samya, have actually been sharing the Gospel with Muslims for over thirty-five years during which they have accumulated so much wisdom and experience. Today we will hear from Mike to learn about his journey and where he feels the Lord is leading the ministry in the next five years!
How did you come to know Christ?
I was blessed to be born in a Christian family in upper Egypt. There are around 110 million people in Egypt today, of which 20-25 million are Christians. Most of these Christians were born and raised as Christians, they are mostly not people who have converted from Islam.
There were three major incidents in my life that eventually led me to accept Christ as my Savior. The first was when I was young; I was a very active and talkative boy always getting myself in trouble. One day, my older brother sat me down and told me how important it is to accept Jesus. He emphasized that this would protect me from so much trouble. His speech affected me, but I still did not decide to follow Christ.
The second time I felt the Lord pull on my heart was when I was at a large Christian conference and the gospel singer Najib Labib was leading worship. He sang a beautiful and emotional song about the cross, and even though I felt the Lord speaking to me, I did not make the decision to commit my life to Him.
Every year, my family used to attend the church celebration on New Year’s eve. It was New Year’s Eve in 1974 and during the meal and break time, as everyone was chatting I sat alone listening to a song played on a tape recorder of Najib Labib again.
“Every word of this song was talking to me.” I knew that it was time to accept Jesus into my heart so that He could be the cover for my sins in front of God the Father. Ever since, there have been valleys and mountains, but I am always grateful to be a follower of Christ.
What is the greatest change you have seen God make in your life?
The Lord truly changed my heart and pulled me away from a secular lifestyle that might have ruined me. He blessed me with a good and unique voice. I could have easily been a secular singer and my career and lifestyle would have lead to a selfish sinful life and even dying young.
But the Lord used my voice to worship Him and lead His people to praise His name. And through my ministry as worship leader and gospel singer, the Lord increased my territory and gave me an evangelistic heart. He also made me a visionary where I provide big visions for Kingdom work.
At the same time the Lord never failed to keep me close to Him. Every time I try to wander away, He brings me back– sometimes in a loving and gentle way and other times through tough situations . The result is always good, He keeps me close to Him!
What has been the hardest part of working in ministry over the past 35+ years?
For me, a big ministry vision that is confirmed by the Lord is less challenging than having a clear insight for the detailed daily decisions that you need to make. I often worry about making a wrong decision that will affect the ministry, the team, the outcome, and most importantly, the people we are trying to reach and serve.
I know this ministry is not my kingdom, it is the Lord’s and He chooses to use me to make it happen. That’s why I always pray for God’s wisdom and direction in my life. Any person who is serving the Lord knows how this feels.
We all measure success differently. Businesses measure it by their success in the market and their profits, scientists measure it by their discoveries. For us Christians, no matter what our profession, our measure of success should be, “How much of God’s will can I achieve in my life?” This can be the biggest challenge in a Christian’s life.
What do you wish the western church knew about Islam and Muslims?
I wish the church knew the truth about Islam– that it is a religion entirely separate from Christianity. Some Muslims try to call their mosques “the Muslim church” to mislead Christians and the western world.
I hope and pray that the church in the West can see the truth. Part of our mission as a ministry is to open the eyes of our brothers and sisters to see Muslims through the eyes of Jesus. Often, Muslims are victims to a religion they were born into and never thought they could leave.
We need to have both discernment and love. We should actively try to share the love of Christ with our Muslim neighbors and build bridges of friendship with them AND if they do anything that seems suspicious, just like you would with any other neighbor, do report it. I believe that 90% of the Muslim population are truly seeking to worship the true God, they just need to be introduced to Him and His Son. But even for the 10% who are extremists, we need to pray for them so they would turn away from their ways and seek the true God who loves them!
Do you have a favorite story from your time in ministry?
While I lived in Egypt and worked as an underground evangelist, I had to serve in the military, which is required of all Egyptian men. I was stationed in the Red Sea area for three months. I was not anywhere close to the beautiful beaches. Instead, I was in the mountains, where the rooms were holes in the ground infested with mice. It was very difficult and strenuous.
The Lord started to guide me to speak to the Christians soldiers and gather them together so that we could have fellowship at the end of every day. In my heart the Lord’s voice affirmed to me that after I deliver a clear salvation message to each of these 15 soldiers, He would move me to Cairo. For three months, I spoke to all fifteen of them and established a network of Christian men to study the Bible and pray together. The Lord was faithful! He did move me back to Cairo just as he promised!
Where do you see the ministry going in the next 5 years?
I believe that the Lord is going to expand our reach in the U.S. and the Middle East through people who are called to serve among Muslims. There is very little investment from true Christians in the Muslim World; often the Church focuses on non-Muslim places and groups. However, I see many who are being called to minister to Muslims that will join the team.
Our initial focus has been on reaching the 450 million Arabic-speaking Muslims, but there are almost 2 billion Muslims in the world today. At least 400 million speak English as their second language, most of whom are under the age of thirty. We want to reach them, and be the first ministry to establish a satellite TV station that can broadcast English programming 24/7 geared towards sharing the Gospel with young Muslims.
What's the biggest financial need of the ministry?
The Lord has provided us with a building that is mortgage-free. We want this building to last as a ministry center for generations. However, this will require a lot of work! Transforming this building into a multi-functional space to meet the ministry needs will be a difficult task.
We need both financial support as well as human resources to help complete the task. I pray that everyone who reads this, if you have a calling in your life to serve Muslim people and if you are gifted in ministry, media, IT, management, contact center skills, or any way that could help, please contact us.
What is the biggest ministry challenge to pray about?
Almost every ministry goes through financial challenges, so I will not talk about this. We trust our Heavenly Father who always shows up and provides through His obedient people!
The biggest challenge is finding the right people to serve. We are looking for servants who are professional in their field but have a heart for missions, especially young Muslims. Finding such called workers, especially bi-lingual (English-Arabic) people is like looking for a needle in a haystack! We are constantly praying for God to bring us the right people.
We believe that the Lord will provide. Our God is able.
“Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.” Psalm 37:3-5
