Storytelling suits me and my listener

Damar is a lecturer at a university, but he also shares the Bible stories to Muslims by helping villagers build a tourism center. A house group of secret believers is the result of his ministry.

When asked where his passion comes from, he answers, “It’s a long story, but I have to thank Brother Andrew for this. When he was in Indonesia in the mid-1980s, he became a spiritual mentor for my church’s pastor. Brother Andrew challenged him to reach out to Muslims, which gave birth to a missionary church.”

That very church sent Damar and four of his friends to the university so they might become full-time sharers of the good news assigned to different places. Today, Open Doors continues to influence their work.

“Open Doors has shifted the way I do ministry,” Damar continues. “Previously, I served only by doing good deeds and providing education to non-Christians. Hardly ever did I share Jesus; I lacked the knowledge and the confidence.”

Damar pauses, recalling his first encounter with Open Doors.

“That was until I came to one of your workers’ fellowships,” he says. There I met someone, now my spiritual mentor, who taught me how to communicate the gospel to Muslims through storytelling. My mental block instantly crumbled.”

Damar works on a populous island where many churches have been forcibly closed and burned down, and a number of Christian workers have been imprisoned for sharing the good news.

As a result, fear often gets in the way of sharing. But once fear is removed, the evangelistic fire bursts and spreads, as in the case of Damar. “Since then, some villagers have come to faith which has given birth to a house group,” he shares.

Shared with permission of Open Doors.