“I didn’t know there was any church in our province.”
Ayda pressed the buzzer at the building entrance, gazing up at the church sign. She had found the church on Google Maps, surprised to discover a Christian gathering not only in her city but in her neighborhood.
Her search began when she, a soft-spoken introvert who doubted the veracity of Islam, felt alone and rejected by her devout Muslim family and society. While exploring the Bible online, she read Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:7: “[S]eek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Ayda sensed that Jesus was inviting her personally to come to him.
This is what I’m looking for, she thought. I need to find a church; I need to talk with a Christian.
In her unreached province of 1.5 million people, however, only two evangelical churches exist—despite the region’s prominence in early church history. After locating one online, Ayda arrived at the door one Sunday with the service already in progress. Pastor’s wife and ABWE missionary Christina hurried to welcome her inside the building. Eager to find spiritual hope, Ayda joined a Bible study with Christina and another female believer. After several months, she placed her faith in Christ and was baptized in September 2024.
Ayda later expressed her gratitude to Christina: “The first time I ever came to church, you opened the door for me. If I am ever able to open the door for others, it is because of you.”
A Bold Conviction
When Ayda discovered the church online, the small congregation had only recently agreed to assume the risk of publicly displaying its location.
At the time of the church’s founding by ABWE missionaries in 2015, only one national believer joined the small gathering. Discovering that their ground-floor location in a downtown business district deterred seekers afraid of being recognized with Christians, they moved to a less-trafficked area. COVID-19 restrictions soon forced another relocation—a long, difficult process due to Muslim landlords refusing to rent to Christians.
The church’s persistence soon bore fruit. “As the church began to grow through these different moves, we started having more nationals come,” shared ABWE missionary Jonathan, the church’s pastor. “People came to Christ, were baptized, and joined the congregation.”
Each new attendee made the same comment: before meeting someone from the church, they hadn’t realized there was any church in their region. Repeatedly hearing this, a national believer became concerned.
“This is a problem. People are trying to find a church, but they can’t find us,” he urged the congregation. “We need to be brave; we need to be bold. Why don’t we have a sign?”
Jonathan had been waiting for the national believers to initiate this step. With full congregational approval, and after instituting security measures, the church posted a sign outside their building and listed their location online at the end of 2023.
“By putting out a sign, we widen the net. And that’s the step of faith these brothers in Christ are taking, knowing that they may face persecution because of this.”
Jonathan, ABWE missionary
“By putting out a sign, we widen the net,” Jonathan explained. “And that’s the step of faith these brothers in Christ are taking, knowing that they may face persecution because of this.”
Since then, several locals like Ayda have visited the church and chosen to follow Christ. In addition, the church offers its contact information through an online Bible distribution ministry and encourages its members to share the gospel within their spheres of influence. They regularly hold evangelistic Bible studies, recognizing that nearly all who agree to begin a Bible study eventually place their faith in Christ.
“In 2024, eight people came to faith, three were baptized, and we just baptized four more,” said Jonathan.
With Sunday attendance averaging 20 people, God is using the small congregation’s decision to boldly follow Christ to open the door of salvation to others.
Editor’s Note: Names have been changed for security.
