MMRC: Brazil, or Saudi Arabia?

Brazil, or Saudi Arabia?
by Justin D. Long

Brazil has nearly ten times the population of Saudi Arabia. One might think that, by that measure, Saudi Arabia ought to have at least one-tenth the number of missionaries Brazil does. Yet Saudi Arabia has only a handful of people interested in evangelizing it, while more than 7,000 missionaries are at work in Brazil (half of whom are Protestants, and half Catholics).

If we could have 300 non-residential missionaries focused on the Saudi Arabs of Saudi Arabia, we could make a serious dent in bringing the Gospel to this, the heartland of Islam. Yet while more than 40,000 missionaries work in Latin America, only about 2,000 work in the Middle East in general, and most of these are in the more open countries.

Work in Saudi Arabia is not easy, but the non-residential missionary program can be one answer to minimizing (though not eliminating) the risks while maximizing the returns. There are many things that can be done to create a climate of evangelism in Saudi Arabia--but they all take people to do them.

We challenge every denominational foreign mission board to spend as much time and energy in recruiting missionaries to focus on Saudi Arabia as they spend recruiting missionaries to work in Brazil--or Latin America as a whole. Who will pick up that challenge?

We challenge every church mission pastor reading this to approach each member of their congregation who might consider missionary service, and ask them to think about serving as missionaries to the Saudi Arabs. Who will take up this challenge?

We challenge every Christian reading this to forward a copy of it to their denomination's foreign mission board along with a letter asking them to begin recruiting workers to focus on Saudi Arabia, or at least the Middle East in general. Who will pick up that challenge?

We challenge every church to get copies of the profile of the Saudi Arabs from Bethany World Prayer Center ( http://www.bethany-wpc.org ) and make them available in their church, and promote them in their church bulletin and to church intercessors. Who will pick up that challenge?

We challenge student services to identify Saudis living abroad and approach them through various avenues of ministry. Who will pick up that challenge?

Saudi Arabs bow toward Mecca 5 times daily in prayer--who will pray 5 times daily for their evangelization? Saudi Arabis is home to the Muslim World League in Mecca, which spends billions annually to propagate Islam around the world. Who will spend even thousands on the Saudis themselves?

Here we are, faced with the Saudi Arabs -- over 17 million people living in one of the most restrictive nations on the face of the planet. It is possible to reach them with the Gospel: some missionaries are proving this already. Who will step up to the plate to help them?