I was standing in Oran Airport, hopefully eyeing the baggage belt with a crowd of other passengers, when a tall, narrow-faced Algerian materialized by my side. He greeted me in Arabic, and when I responded with a blank stare he grinned and switched to English. A visitor unable to speak Arabic, Berber, or even French was unusual. The fact that I was also a journalist, female, Christian, and American didn't add to my popularity rating in this part of the world. After obtaining a visa, securing the translation services of "Davy," an Algerian believer fluent in four languages, had been essential.

Over the last 20 years I have had the privilege of covering stories of God's people in 94 countries. This was my first trip to Algeria, the fabled northwest African country bordering the Mediterranean Sea. My assignment that April 2005 was to report on the fastest-growing church-planting movement in the Muslim world.

My translator was a product of this phenomenon. On the way to my accommodations, Davy shared how he had loved to listen to Christian music on Radio Monte Carlo when he was a university student. Eventually, at his request, they sent him a copy of the Gospels. Reading Jesus' Sermon on the Mount made a big impact, especially the phrase "love your enemies."

"I had never found that phrase anywhere in Islam," he explained. "There was a great difference between the Qur'an (Muslim holy book) and Injil (New Testament). In the Gospel it was like talking to God as a friend. In Islam you are a servant. I accepted Jesus because He practiced what He preached—and He gave me fellowship with God."

	One young believer exclaimed, "I didn't know it was possible for a Muslim to become a Christian!"

Unfortunately, Davy hadn't had any other fellowship, since it was 12 years before he met another Christian.

A Young Church in Action
I spent the next few days at the House of Hope, a strategic ministry center established on the west coast by an Algerian Christian leader about eight years ago. Its goal is to encourage and equip churches, providing the resources, training, and fellowship so badly needed by scattered believers.

"Ali" and "Lilly," a delightful couple on the staff, are former Muslims who have the responsibility of following up responses from Christian TV. Two years ago the channel began listing Ali's mobile phone number as a contact. It was a risk, of course, and the pair is sometimes hassled by hate calls. But they'll never forget the very first response they received, at 6 a.m. The caller said he had been following Christ since 1999 and he couldn't wait to meet Ali. Until he saw that number on the screen, he hadn't known that there was another Christian in all of Algeria!

Churches meet on Friday since this is the holy day for Muslims. I attended a three-hour service and enjoyed exuberant worship in three languages. Toward the end of the meeting, individuals stood to give testimonies. One Arab stated that he had been born again only that week, through a gospel message on TV. Another young man who had also just decided to follow Christ exclaimed, "I didn't think it was possible for a Muslim to become a Christian!"

The high cost of following Christ means there are few nominal believers. Christians commonly suffer beatings, lose their homes, jobs, and sometimes their lives. Yet they continue to put themselves on the line, even giving their testimonies on television. Algeria's young church is taking the initiative.

	For an idea of what the Kabylia awakening looks like, turn to the Book of Acts. Believers gather daily for prayer, healings, and deliverance.

Seeds of Revival
Alas, I never made it to the famous Kasbah, but an overnight stay with a young couple in Algiers left a deeper impression than the old walled citadel might have. "Dis" was from an Arab family, taught from an early age to hate Christians and Americans. "But when I learned about Jesus in the Qur'an," he explained, "I liked Him. I thought, If God gave me a choice, I would follow Jesus. He is not a man of war." The attraction grew as he listened to Christian radio. Then, one night, Dis had a vision of a heavenly being who informed him that Jesus was Lord. At that moment, his heart was transformed. Now he is full of love, not hate; dedicated to bringing reconciliation between Arabs and Kabyles.

Over 90 percent of churches in Algeria lie within the mountainous northeast area known as Kabylia. The country's 35 million population is largely made up of two people groups. The earliest, Berber-speaking residents were later conquered by Muslim Arabs, who now outnumber Berbers about five to one. The latter feel, with some justification, that they have been badly treated. Arab/Kabyle hostilities came to a head after the French left Algeria in 1962, when the new (Arab) government tried to unite the country under one language, one religion, and one culture. Kabyle Berbers had Christian roots and were not considered strong Muslims—even indulging in the eating of pork and drinking of beer. So the government moved Arabs into their midst and built more mosques. But the situation exploded in 1980 when Arabic was declared Algeria's only official language. Intellectuals who defended Berber culture were killed, and many university students died in demonstrations.

Although the national language policy was finally amended in 2002 to include Berber, Kabylia's bitterness against all things Arab paved the way for a huge revival of Christianity. Seeds patiently sown decades earlier by missionary pioneers like the Charles Marsh family—and by the distribution of thousands of Jesus film videos and gospels in the late '90s—were finally ready to bloom.

I traveled to the epicenter of the revival and found Kabylia felt like another country. Whatever I had pictured of Algeria—almost three and a half times the size of Texas and 85 percent desert—it wasn't this. Lush green mountainsides were covered with spring flowers, fig and olive trees, and grapevines. Jasmine scented the air. On the streets of Tizi Ouzo, one of the region's main cities, most men wore shirts and trousers, with relatively few sporting the long tunic and beard of fundamentalists. Some women were also heavily veiled, but the majority were colorfully clad in embroidered Kabyle dresses and Western clothes—even jeans. Fast-food restaurants and cyber-cafés abounded, and satellite dishes spread like mushrooms on the sides of high-rise apartment buildings.

For an idea of what the Kabylia awakening looks like, turn to the Book of Acts. Believers gather daily in homes for prayer and to experience dreams, visions, healings, and deliverance. Even former terrorists, Muslim leaders, and sorcerers are coming to faith. In fact, such occurrences are so much a part of church growth that they are not regarded as extraordinary. The new fellowships springing up all over Kabylia are very much New Testament churches (one very good reason being that only the New Testament is yet available in the Berber language). So far they have steered clear of denominational labels and foreign leadership. Local pastors have little formal training. But as one puts it, "The Holy Spirit is more important than a certificate. Studies are important, yes, but it takes a balance. We just want to center on Jesus. The gospel has to be practical; not just words, but actions."

Not a Lost Cause
"People here in Algeria—especially young people—are thirsty to know God," Davy, my translator, had assured me as I started listening to testimonies. But the thing that most deeply affected me about Algeria was the evidence of God's Spirit, reaching out through radio, TV—even dreams and visions—to satisfy that thirst.

The number of Christians in this land is thought to have surpassed 40,000. As one national leader asserts, "There is no doubt that this is God's time for Algeria. I am deeply convinced that if we miss this opportunity, we are making one of church history's greatest mistakes!"

But I and many others must first admit to an even greater error: swallowing the enemy's lie that Muslims are a lost cause, that they are unreachable. Once we do, the Lord will be able to use us to speed the phenomenal awakening that He's already begun.

Deborah Meroff is a London-based writer and photojournalist who covers world Christian news.

	What did you think of this story?
	Please to give us your feedback.

Read more from 'Stories of Hope'

Home  |  People of Faith  |  Stories of Hope  |  Today's Culture
Build Your Faith  |  Laughing Matters  |  Archives  |  Contact Us

				Try an Issue of Today's Christian Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Today's Christian coming, honor your invoice for just $17.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Today's Christian as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Subscribe to the Today's Christian Newsletter    RSS Feed   RSS Help