Muslims who come to Christ face momentous spiritual, psychological and social obstacles that drive many to abandon their faith. Often conversion and discipleship are framed by individualistic Western models that do not acknowledge the communal cultural forces that constrain and shape new believers. Effective discipleship requires a more relational, holistic process of Christian identity development and spiritual formation in community. In this comprehensive resource, missiologist Don Little engages the toughest theoretical and practical challenges involved in discipline believers from Muslim backgrounds. He draws on New Testament principles, historical practices and interviews with seasoned disciplers ministering in a dozen countries across the Muslim world. Addressed here are key challenges that believers from Muslim backgrounds face, from suffering and persecution to spiritual warfare and oppression. Also included are implications for the role of disciplers in church planting among Muslims.
"The discipling of Muslim-background believers is a momentous challenge of immense strategic significance for the church today. As Islamic revolutions fail throughout the world and Muslims turn to Christ in multitudes, their discipling has become urgent indeed. Effective Discipling in Muslim Communities is an insightful, well-informed and wide-ranging exploration of this challenge. This is essential reading for trainers and practitioners alike and all those God is calling to labor in the vast, ripening harvest fields of the Muslim world."
Mark Durie, pastor, author of The Third Choice
"As the number of Muslims becoming Christians worldwide is growing, we need to assure that they do not haste into a kind of Western religion, but are wisely discipled as followers of Christ to be mature and credible testimonies within their own Muslim cultures. Never before have the problems and chances been discussed as broadly as in Little's book . . . knowledge that easily might influence the future of the relation of the two largest world religions."
Thomas Schirrmacher, executive chair, Theological Commission, World Evangelical Alliance (
"A well-written, comprehensive and scholarly work. It is very much worth reading. I will recommend it to my students."
Nabeel T. Jabbour, author of The Crescent Through the Eyes of the Cross
