Voices of Faith: The Arabic Baptist Church - not your average American church
During our 20 years of service as missionaries in the Middle East, we made many visits to Murfreesboro, my wife Carol’s hometown. As retirement grew near, we knew that Murfreesboro would provide the perfect place to continue to raise our two boys and to enjoy being closer to Carol’s family. Once we actually returned “home” in 2009, we quickly discovered that this quiet college town had gone through some major changes.
Like many towns and cities across our nation, Murfreesboro had become a growing and ethnically diverse city. Our return seemed to correspond with a lot of uproar over the building of a mosque. Having just left the “region of the mosques”, we were not sure that we wanted to be drawn into the middle of the storm, but God had other plans. We were asked to teach in many of our local churches about Islam and how to share the Christian faith with Muslims. It soon became apparent that teaching was not enough to offset the fear and hatred toward Muslims and the Arab community.
In April 2011, we began the Arabic Baptist Church, using a building offered to us by our friends at First Baptist, Murfreesboro. Our vision was clear: To be a catalyst for all the Muslims of Murfreesboro to know Christ by equipping believers to effectively share their faith with Muslims. We believe that the Arabic Baptist Church is not only a place for Arab believers to worship and grow in Christ, but also a place for American believers to grow in their walk with the Lord while learning how to “do church” with people from different backgrounds and nationalities. In being a multi-cultural church, Christians are able to more effectively analyze and tear down the cultural “trappings” of church that many times hinder visitors who come through our doors or our witness to our neighbors.
In May 2015, the Lord opened the way for us to obtain our own building, and we are now located at 6515 Scenic Drive, Murfreesboro. Everyone is welcome to visit and worship with us. Our services are in Arabic, with immediate English translation. You can visit our website at abcmboro.org or find us on Facebook to see our schedule. The Arabic Baptist Church is a place where everyone serves, from mowing the lawn, cleaning the building, teaching English or Sunday School to mentoring and just loving on those who enter our doors. No task is too small or great for the Lord to be glorified, as we serve Him together.
Dr. Raouf Ghattas is the pastor of The Arabic Baptist Church: a church for all nation.
Source: www.murfreesboropost.com