Creative Access Ministry
Millions of Africans have never heard the gospel or met a single Christian. But many of them would welcome that encounter. God is stirring Muslim hearts with the promise of something more, something greater.
What is Creative Access?
There are places in the world where the gospel is unwelcome. Some countries prohibit their people from conversion, or even association. These nations are often referred to as “Restricted Access,” and the vast majority of them today are Islamic.
Sharing Christ within these borders is challenging, but not impossible. Creative Access ministry begins with establishing a credible presence in a land where traditional missionaries are not granted entry. But while that door may be closed, Christians can still travel and live in these countries as businessmen, professionals, students, development workers, and retirees.
The gospel is most effectively shared through relationships, and in Creative Access contexts ordinary life presents plenty of opportunities for the kinds of friendships that can safely explore spiritual things. In Islamic cultures, where misinformation and distrust have built walls against the Truth, this is often the only way to share Christ.
For Great Commission workers with a heart for people in creative access countries, much is required. It is a call to the long road, where small gains sometimes come at considerable cost – if not for you, then for a dear Muslim friend whose new faith in Christ will brand him an outcast. It’s a journey that may include moments of loneliness, suspicion, betrayal, and maybe the threat of violence. It is a spiritual battle. Real. Tangible. Formidable. And yet we go anyway – because Christ’s love compels us to love, and to do so courageously.
Islam in Africa
Over 200 million Africans live in restricted nations
In Africa, these closed nations are primarily found in the Sahara desert and northward, in a region that was once a stronghold for the Church until Islam’s spread in the seventh century. As the ancient Church slowly disappeared, Islam tightened its influence, and its grip.
As a result, these are the African nations with the greatest percentage of unreached people – people who have not heard the gospel, and have little opportunity of ever hearing it.
The 10 / 40 Window
All of North Africa and much of the Horn are within what is known as the 10/40 Window — part of the 69 nations from Africa to Asia that lie between 10 and 40 degrees North Latitude, where more than 90% of all the people have never heard the gospel and only 10% of all the global missionary forces are allocated.
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North Africa
The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
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A Prayer for North Africa
A video from prayercast.com
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Walking in Shadow
A glimpse into the Muslim mindset of coastal Africa, and the church’s responsibility to pray, learn, and engage.
Workers use skills in many areas, including business, education and healthcare. Whatever you do for your job at home, with a bit of modification you could probably do it in a creative access country. If God is leading you to work with Muslim peoples, talk to us about how you could serve through “Business as Mission” or other opportunities.
Ask questions. Talk with a Mission Mobilizer. Start an application.