A change of heart

In many Central Asian countries, children and teenagers are generally more open to the gospel than their parents and are willing to share their faith with their families and friends.

The OM team in one country in the region has a project that builds on this openness by running camps for teens where the gospel is shared, teens are discipled and participants learn how to share what they learnt with others.

The vision of the project is to see the multiplication of disciples of Christ among the ethnic Muslim people groups throughout the Greater Caucasus region, beginning with children, teenagers and their families in the country.  

Baris’ story of change  

Azra* is one of the project workers. She shares the story of her 15-year-old neighbour Baris*.  

“Baris' father passed away soon after he was born, leaving his mother — a devout Muslim who prays five times a day — to raise him alone. I used to take Baris on outreaches with me when he was a child, and he’s participated in two of our camps,” she says.  

“He knows our faith well and joins us when we worship, but I had not invited him to be a believer. I didn’t want him to join our camp for teenagers because he wasn’t a believer, but he really wanted to come with us because he is good friends with another boy there.”  

Azra made an exception for Baris to attend the camp, but things didn’t work out as she had hoped.

She explains, “Sadly, I had to send him home halfway through the school for breaking the rules. He cried a lot and said, ‘Don’t send me away.’ Although it saddened me, I had to send him home. Once he got home, he sent me a message asking to meet with me when I got back.”  

Azra agreed to meet with the teenager and, a week later, they had a good conversation, during which Baris surprised her.  

“He told me, ‘I want to be a believer. Something happened to me that Sunday at camp, and I felt the Lord.’  

“I replied, ‘Baris, it’s amazing to hear this, but what would your mother say? You’re still a teenager.’ 

“He said, ‘I will talk to my mom about that. I want to be with you and be a part of the team.’  

“When he spoke with his mother, she wasn’t against her son believing in Jesus. We praise God for this! All of our youth love Baris.”  

Now, Baris is a light for Jesus in his home and among his friends and family.  

Taking advantage of opportunities  

In this country, children and teenagers participate in church gatherings, but as they reach the age of 15 or 16, they start focusing intensely on studying to enter university. Once they are admitted, it becomes rare to see them in church as they tend to form secular friendships and seldom share about their faith.  

In believing families, parents often do not spend time with their children around the Bible, and in small group meetings, children and teenagers are not invited to study the Bible together with their parents.  

Added to this, believing parents often raise their children according to Islamic traditions and cultural customs rather than based on Christian principles. Among Muslim ethnic groups across the North Caucasus, there is a strong sense of fear rooted in both Islam and local traditions.  

However, the younger generation — due to their extensive use of social media — tends to think more broadly and critically than their elders, making them more willing to listen to those who share the gospel with them.  

The OM team works with children, teenagers and their parents to build new groups through teenagers, help them form friendships with other believers and to equip them to live out their faith among their unbelieving friends. 

*name changed

Please pray for more workers who want to work with teenagers and support them in their walk with Jesus. Pray for teenagers like Baris, who are the only believers in their family. Pray for them to have the confidence and the words to share their faith with their relatives and friends.