Finding God after losing homes: More Muslim refugees from Mideast wanting to embrace Jesus Christ in Germany
In Germany, Muslim refugees from war-torn regions in the Middle East may have lost their homes, but at least some of them have found the one true God.
More and more Christian churches in Germany are reporting increasing interests among Muslim migrants to convert to Christianity.
Pastor Michel Youssif from the German-Arab evangelical community in Hannover, the capital of Lower Saxony, for instance, recently attested that an increasing number of Middle Eastern refugees have sought to be baptised and become Christians.
"At the moment there is a lot of interest. Seven Muslims have already been baptised," Youssif, who is himself an immigrant from Egypt, said, as quoted by Sputnik News.
The same story of conversion is also happening in the nearby town of Winsen, also in Lower Saxony, where two Palestinians were baptised as Christians on Pentecost Sunday.
Modern technology has helped the refugees learn more about Jesus Christ. Evangelical and Catholic churches in the state use SMS or telephone calls to provide information to the migrants in Arabic and Persian languages. The refugees are also given preliminary courses to better understand the faith before they are baptised.
Rainer Kiefer, chairman of the evangelical church board in Hannover, said those who sought to convert to Christianity have already been familiar with its teachings even back in their home countries, and only had to have a deeper understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ.
"It is very important that the decision to convert to Christianity is well thought-out, with the help of pastoral workers," Kiefer explained.
He added that the refugees are discouraged from converting to Christianity if they only think that it is a way to have a bigger chance of being granted asylum in Germany.
Pastor Gunther Oborski meanwhile said the church in Hannover will continue reaching out to the migrants from the Middle East.
"There are more baptisms, not only in Hannover but also in the villages where the refugees are based and make contact with Christian communities there," Oborski said.
