SOMALIS MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANITY..Give this topic a priority

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VISION OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES FOR ALL MUSLIM REFUGEES ACROSS THE GLOBE..

 

http://talbinson.tripod.com/msp.htm

http://www.2001pray.org/Africa.htm

http://endor.hsutx.edu/~obiwan/profiles/somalikenya.html

 

To engage in compassionate evangelism and discipleship among immigrants and up-rooted people in all corners of the world.

 

Christian missionaries must seek to lead refugees/migrants to a hope-giving, life-changing and ongoing relationship with Jesus and enable them to effectively reach others, while facilitating churches & other believers to do the same.

 

In the past 2-3 years, many churches in Minnesota and environs have begun to recognize their need to reach out to these new arrivals and are asking for help. Team priorities is to help these churches develop effective cross cultural ministries.

 

Please don't forget to also read the following websites and the way they are doing to convert so many SOMALIS to christianity..

 

http://talbinson.tripod.com/msp.htm

http://www.2001pray.org/Africa.htm

http://endor.hsutx.edu/~obiwan/profiles/somalikenya.html

 

Where are we now..and How many have gone with the wind of Going to Europe and America... ...

 

SOMALI PROFILE QUESTIONNAIRE

 

1. HAVE THEY HEARD THE GOSPEL?

Ratio of pastors/evangelists to population:

0 pastor/evangelist for every ??? persons

total pastor/evangelists - 0

Ratio of missionaries to population:

1 missionary for every 25,000 persons

total missionaries - 20 (In Kenya)

Who is Jesus Christ to them?

0.5% Believe Jesus is the Son of God and name themselves Christian.

0.01% Believe he is the Son of God and see him as their savior

99.49% Believe Jesus is a prophet, teacher, a good man, but not God's Son

0 % Believe in local, traditional religion rather than in Jesus

0% Have not heard who Jesus really is

 

2. HAVE THEY RESPONDED TO THE GOSPEL?

 

Christian witness to the Somali is very difficult and response to the Gospel has been very limited. The number of Somali Christians in Kenya are very few (30-40 maximum).

 

3. DO THEY HAVE A CHURCH?

Ratio of churches to population:

There is one fellowship in Kenya, but not an institutional church..

There are Somali expatriate churches in Canada.

Total number of communities (cities, towns, villages): Unknown

 

4 THEY HAVE THE BIBLE TRANSLATED INTO THEIR MOTHER TONGUE?

 

The Somali New Testament was first printed in 1968 and more than 40,000 copies have been printed, but only about 3,000 distributed throughout the Horn of Africa. Most are still in storage.

 

The entire Somali Bible was printed, about 2,000 copies in 1979, and 4200 copies in 1992. Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Psalms, Proverbs, Luke, John and Acts are also produced individually. SIM now handles orders for a Somali-language Bible correspondence course printed by the Eastern Mennonite Mission.

 

Portable Recording Ministries provides the New Testament, Genesis and Exodus on audio cassette. The Jesus film is available and Language Recordings has produced a cassette and poster series.

 

5. ANY HINDRANCES TO USE OF THE SCRIPTURE? Literacy Rate: ?%

 

Ministry to the devout Muslim Somali of North Eastern Province is a very difficult task. Any attempt at open Christian witness is either ignored or met with violence, thus forcing Christian ministries among the Somali to concentrate on service as a means of building good will so that Christian dialogue may take place. Banditry and insecurity are the major hindrances living among them. Most Somali raised and educated in Kenya do not read or write in Somali without instruction. However, refugees or residents who lived in Somalia often are literate in Somali.

 

6. WHAT OTHER FORMS OF GOSPEL PRESENTATIONS ARE AVAILABLE

Recordings: Yes

Literature: Yes

Audio-Visual: Yes

Radio Yes

Films/Video: Yes (Jesus Film)

 

7. ARE THEY RECEPTIVE TO CHANGE AND CHRISTIANITY?

 

The Somali are very restrictively Muslim. They are very proud and self-sufficient people and somewhat warlike. Christianity will be strongly opposed by Muslim leaders.

 

8. IS OUTSIDE (CROSS-CULTURAL) ASSISTANCE REQUIRED FROM MISSIONARIES?

 

Yes, anyone working among the Somali should be well versed in Islam and be sensitive to their Muslim culture and religion. Acceptance by the Somali will be difficult to earn but important in reaching them with the Gospel. The Somali language will be indispensable to effective work.

 

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Special Prayer Requests To Somalis in Kenya.

 

1. Pray for the Kenyan Somalis to accept Christ and carry the message to the Somalis in Somalia and Ethiopia.

 

2. As cultural change challenges the Somalis' traditional way of life, pray they will embrace the truth of Jesus.

 

3. Pray that Somali refugees would see God's true hope in affliction through repentance and salvation.

 

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My research and with this Bibliographies..

 

Ahmed, Ali Jimale, ed. The Invention of Somalia. New Jersey: The Red Sea Press, Inc., 1995.

 

Cassanelli, Lee V. The Shaping of Somali Society: Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People, 1600-1900. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992.

 

Hanley, G. Warriors and Strangers. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1971.

 

Kjaerland, Gunnar. Culture Change Among the Nomadic Borana of South Ethiopia. California: Fuller Theological Seminary (unpublished dissertation), June 1977.

 

Lawrence, M. New Wind in a Dry Land (Prophet's Camel Bell). NY: A. A. Knopf, 1964.

 

Lewis, I. M. Peoples of the Horn of Africa. London: Int'l African Institute, 1969 (reprinted, Haan Press, 1995).

 

Menkhaus, Kenneth J. Rural Transformation and the Roots of Under Development in Somalia's Lower Jubba Valley. Columbia: University of South Carolina (unpublished dissertation), 1989.

 

Schlee, Günther. Identities on the Move: Clanship and Pastoralism in Northern Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya: Gideon S. Were Press, 1994.

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Christian Ministries

 

Teams are like a track-and-field team, in which members are serving in ways best suited to them, not necessarily together. We meet regularly for encouragement, support, and prayer.

 

Team leader invests the majority of his/her time in leading an ESL ministry at his/her local church, which involves teaching classes and coordinating and leading volunteer tutors. In addition, he/she spends time with refugees regularly, sharing Christ in the context of relationships.

 

As the others serving with the team are relatively new to the area, they are exploring how to best be involved locally. Some of the ways volunteers are serving include

 

befriending refugees

tutoring English

mentoring refugees in job skills

 

and sharing ministry opportunities with local churches

 

Expectations of New Arrivals

 

New teammates or christian volunteers are expected to:

 

meet regularly with the team for encouragement, support, prayer, and learning/growing together

 

take advantage of opportunities to learn about local refugees and about effective cross-cultural ministry

 

take initiative in getting involved with local refugees (the team leader and teammates can help with this)

 

pursue helping other local believers to reach out effectively to refugees..

 

Where are we...

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Australia..

 

Religion change

 

Australia is to review the cases of a group of 30 asylum seekers after some of them converted to Christianity.

 

The migrants, from Iran and Iraq, all from muslim countries are being held in detention centres after their original applications for refugee status were earlier rejected.

 

Mr Howard said there were concerns that if detainees were sent back to their homelands they could suffer persecution because they had embraced a different religion.

 

But the main opposition Labor party, however, has warned other detainees could be encouraged to adopt Christianity simply to stay in Australia.

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Eleven missions agencies are currently targeting this people group; however, there are still less than 3,000 known believers among them. Perhaps Christian teachers will be the key to reaching Somalia with the Gospel.

 

Prayer Points

 

Ask the Lord to raise up Christian teachers who will work among the Somali and share Christ's love with them.

Pray that God will raise up prayer teams to go and break up the soil through worship and intercession.

Ask God to grant favor and wisdom to the missions agencies that are targeting the Somali.

Pray for effectiveness of the Jesus film among them.

Ask God to anoint the Gospel as it goes forth via radio and television to the Somali.

Pray that God will reveal Himself to them through dreams and visions.

Ask the Holy Spirit to soften their hearts towards Christians so that they will be receptive to the Gospel.

Ask the Lord to raise up strong local churches among the Somali by the year 2000.

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Now it is the turn of Somalis to be converted to christianity..Are you ready for This?