The unfinished task of evangelizing the Muslim world

In this issue we focus upon gospel witness among Muslim both in Canada and globally. I am unable to regard this topic as glibly as I once did. I have faced some facts and I am ashamed. A conference convened by American missionary statesman, Samuel M. Zwemer and held in Cairo in 1906 marked the beginning of a new era in Christian mission to Muslims. That was followed by a similar conference Zwemer convened in Lucknow in 1911. Why then, in 2007, do we tolerate among ourselves such limited knowledge of Islam and Muslim people? Our combined involvement in the Muslim world is marginal.

We should be appalled that relatively few Muslims have entered into life through faith in Jesus Christ. Why isn’t the Muslim world better evangelized? Why is barely two percent of North American Protestant missionaries involved in this work? Why are so many of us critical of Islamic culture? Why do we cultivate an antipathy toward Muslims? Why have we loved them so little? They deserve a Christian presence in their midst which vigorously testifies to the Gospel of Christ.

Unlike social workers and diplomats we, as Evangelicals, refuse to confine our mission to the development of better Christian-Muslim relations or to involvement in social service on their behalf. Our agenda is defined by Jesus Christ and because we love Him we are compelled to embrace the mandate to evangelize the Muslim world.

We have known for centuries that Muslims exist in strength around the world. We are now becoming aware that Muslims are here. The first recorded presence of Muslims in Canada was the 1871 census which found 13 Muslims among the population. The first Canadian mosque was constructed in Edmonton in 1938, when there were only about 700 Muslims in the country. This building is now part of the museum at Fort Edmonton. The years after World War II saw a swift increase in the Muslim population, but in the 1981 census the population was still below 100,000. Islam is steadily inundating Canada’s large cities until, according to 2001 census, there were 579,640 Muslims in Canada, just under 2% of the population. Muslim population in 2007 is closer to 790,000 or about 2.5%.

The Canadian Muslim population is diverse, combined with people born in the Muslim world, Canadian-born Muslims as well as Western converts, all making up the Canadian Muslim mosaic. The community is also divided into many linguistic, cultural and intellectual groups. Muslim immigrants come here either for a better standard of living or as refugees. The relatively relaxed and accepted role of Islam in Canada in the 21st century is represented by the success of the television sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie.

The majority of Canadian Muslims live in the province of Ontario with Toronto’s Scarborough being the chief residential region for Somali Muslims. Mississauga has a large concentration of Pakistani Muslims. Many Bosnian and Albanian Muslims live in Waterloo. Ottawa has one of Ontario's oldest Muslim communities and is an especially important area for Lebanese and Somali Muslims. Other Canadian metropolitan areas also known to have substantial number of Muslims include Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax.

Effective mission among Muslims will require transparency in conversation, love, truthfulness with sensitivity about the Gospel, compassion, prayer and fasting, courage and patience, persistence and a tough skin, and unwavering faith and joy.

Proposed Revision of the Statement of Faith
In May all of our churches received both hard copy and electronic copy of several documents related to the proposed Statement of Faith revision. The Board of Directors has enthusiastically endorsed and promoted this initiative with the desire that it will be presented at the EFCC Conference in July 2008. It has received high commendation from the Ministerial Standing Committee. It is very important that pastors, leadership teams and congregations engage in the discussion of the ten articles that comprise this statement. This should be done as soon as possible. Opportunities are going to be given within district conferences, this autumn, for questions and answers. As important as the Statement is, it is also important to be familiar with the implementation recommendations should the Statement be approved. I remind you as well that opportunity is ongoing for any individual to state a question or a recommendation via a dedicated email address or on our dedicated blog site http://efccsoff.blogspot.com

EFCC Conference 2008
Of course we are still months away from this conference, but I am reminding you now how important this time will be for the Evangelical Free Church of Canada. We will be electing a new president, a new executive director of EFCCM and possibly voting on a Revised Statement of Faith. All this will be done in an attitude of worship led by Graeme Rattray and a Conference Team. Speakers will be Dr. Bill Hamel, Dr. Jonathan Raymond, Dr. Ron Unruh and the new president. We are going to meet at the King’s University College in Edmonton. It will be a marvelous campus setting with generous space in new buildings.

by Dr. Ron Unruh, EFCC President