The following is an interview with a Jordanian ministry leader and ChangeMaker, Fadi, who is on staff at Zarka Baptist Church:
It was at the end of my engineering studies, at the age of 20, that a close friend came to Christ, and I noticed a great change in his life that touched my life. At that point, I had never read the Bible and didn’t know about the four Gospels or anything else. I had been raised in Christian schools, but the Islamic faith was taught to us there.
Because of my friend, I began to study the Bible. Six months later, I was completely obsessed with the character of Christ and the Savior who came and gave His life for me. I asked God to change my life to serve Him, but my family did not accept it. They believed I had been brainwashed — especially my Father, who was an atheist.
After receiving my university degree and beginning my professional career as an engineer, I took seminary classes as my job allowed. During that time, I met my wife, Mervat and we have four children.
I finished my seminary degree in 2003 then my Ph.D. and dissertation, which was a comparison of Jihad and Islam and the conquest of Canaan. It addresses the issue of whether the war was ordered by God and the ethics behind this war issue, which is a very troubling thing in the Middle East with the Arab/Israeli conflict. Most believe the God of the Old Testament is aggressive and desires wars. If he’s a loving God, people ask, why did He order the wars?
For almost 20 years, I have taught an online course on how to share the love of Christ with Muslims in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and online. I received training from godly men who went into the streets and put their teaching into practice until it became a completed course.
My involvement in attending the Zarka church is an amazing story. I was without a church for a long time. I had been working as an engineer in Aqaba, but decided to leave and take early retirement. We moved back to Jordan and began attending Zarka Church. I had met Pastor Sam when he was one of my students.
Along with Pastor Samer, we have now created online bachelor’s and master’s degree courses for Arabic-speaking believers who want to speak into the lives of non-believers from Muslim backgrounds. Called Arabic Center for Biblical Studies, it will soon go through accreditation. Because of security issues, most students cannot go to the West and study at world-class seminaries, so the courses will quench their desire to both study the Bible and be trained to reach Muslims. Today there are 60 students, not all of them Muslim, so please pray for these men and women with a strong calling to reach the lost.
The church has recently had a surge in attendees. Six months ago, there were only 25 to 30 people. It has now just exploded, and we have a larger group, so we need to move. Nothing different was done, except with continued prayers people have been coming and the Holy Spirit has been leading them to Zarka Baptist Church.
We’re enjoying the ride. There have been many salvations and baptisms, and people coming back to church who haven’t been there in several years. Without planning or any human effort, we now have a congregation of around 130, including children. We found favor in God’s eyes. Please pray that those we’re training will take the lead for the church in the Middle East.
