Islam Is Growing Fast: How Should Christians Respond?
In this blog...
Understand the rapid global growth of Islam and how it is bringing Muslim neighbors directly into our local communities today.
Discover biblically grounded guidelines and practical attitudes Christians should adopt when interacting with Muslim friends, coworkers, and neighbors.
Embrace Christ's call to share His love, overcome fear, and boldly communicate the Gospel with compassion and grace.
The world around us is shifting. Islam is no longer a faith confined to distant places; it has an ever-growing presence in our daily lives.
At the grocery store, we see an increasing number of Muslim men and women. In public schools and universities, our children interact with Muslim youth. In the workplace, Muslims are our colleagues and friends. Muslims are now part of our everyday lives.
If you haven’t seen the growth of Islam in your personal circle, you may wonder why this conversation is needed. Pew Research Center puts it plainly:
“Indeed, Muslims will grow more than twice as fast as the overall world population between 2015 and 2060 and, in the second half of this century, will likely surpass Christians as the world’s largest religious group.”
(Read more about this growth here: Will Islam overtake Christianity? Population growth rates and the reality behind Christianity's numbers)
For many Christians, this has stirred a mix of emotions: uncertainty, fear, and even confusion.
So how should we respond in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and honoring to the people He loves? What is our role in these uncertain times? Here are four biblical responses to the rise of Islam around us.
1. We Distinguish Between the Person and Their Beliefs
Christians must distinguish between a person and the beliefs they hold. Before coming to Christ, each of us followed something or someone that was out of step with Scripture. In everyday life, this means genuinely loving the Muslim in front of us.
We treat them with equal dignity and respect as image-bearers of God. This truth forms the foundation of our love and our interactions with Muslims. We also recognize that we are all sinners and that only through the grace of Christ does anyone receive salvation.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
At the same time, loving someone does not mean affirming every idea they hold. We can love a person without approving their beliefs.
Likewise, a person’s kindness and good character do not mean their beliefs are correct. Many Muslims, atheists, Hindus, and Buddhists are wonderful and moral people, but truth runs deeper than a “good” person’s life choices.
2. We Educate Ourselves on What Islam Actually Teaches
Scripture tells us:
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
This statement is just as meaningful today. Knowledge based on truth is the foundation of wise action.
We can no longer afford ignorance in a world where Islam seeks to shape culture, enter the political landscape, and influence our everyday interactions. People and institutions are making important decisions right now about how to interact with the growing Islamic presence in our society. Before making those decisions, we need to take the time to understand what this religion actually teaches.
It is important to seek out the truth about Islam from trusted Christian sources, as Islamic voices today preach a watered-down version of Islam. Christian blogs, videos, and online courses can sharpen our understanding and equip us to love Muslims while also being wise and discerning. Every gain in knowledge helps us have more impactful and healthy conversations.
3. We Pray with Expectancy for Muslim Hearts
The Church needs to hold this truth close: we are not at war with Muslims, but with the spiritual forces of darkness that bring deception upon the world, and that includes the ideology and religion of Islam (Ephesians 6:10–12).
"Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. The battle we are engaged in is spiritual.
We do not fight as the world does. Scripture instructs us:
“for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”
Whether we are praying individually or together as the Church, intercession remains one of the most powerful tools for seeing Muslims come to Christ. God draws all people to Himself. Let us pray with expectancy, trusting that He wants to move greatly among the Muslim people. Prayer is our greatest weapon and our first act of love.
4. We Engage Muslims in Our Own Backyard
More Muslims have come to Christ in the last thirty years than at any other time in history. For centuries, people prayed for the days we are now living in now.
This is one of the most remarkable moments in history!
This cultural shift has come as people have shared the gospel, taught online, and reached out to their neighbors. From a kingdom perspective, the influx and spread of Muslims in the West makes this moment more important than ever.
Every Christ follower can now join the work of reaching Muslims without needing a visa, crossing an ocean, or learning a new language. Muslims, and indeed people from most of the world’s nations, now live in our own backyard.
When we shift our perspective and see this influx as a great gospel opportunity, it propels us to reach out in love for the sake of Christ.
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”
It is a great privilege to engage in evangelism at this critical hour as Islam continues to rise.
A Final Word
Christians and non-Christians alike are wrestling with the rise of Islam. For many, it has sparked great fear. But fear is not the posture of God’s people!
For the Christian, this is an incredible moment to rise. Let us continue to build upon this momentum with wisdom and love.
Prayer
Dear Lord, open my eyes to see Muslims as you see them. Open my heart to love Muslims as you love them. Protect my heart from fear, and lead me to rise. And Lord, draw the Muslim people to Yourself, so that they too can know the joy of Your salvation. Amen.
