by Rita Johnson, Associate Director
Abram*, a young Afghan, is a follower of Jesus and a refugee living in South Asia. Thanks to the ministry of Afghan Refugee Academy (ARA)—a Frontier Fellowship partner—he was able to finish high school, but graduating during the pandemic made finding work difficult. With his knowledge of three languages, Abram soon came to the attention of a small social media team that responds to those curious about Jesus on platforms such as Facebook, Signal and WhatsApp.
He joined two other young men in this social media ministry. The three of them exchange messages with Afghans in Asia and beyond at least 100 times a day, five days a week. That’s 500 conversations each week—about 25,000 per year—about hope, about Jesus, about whether the Bible can be trusted. The posts they share might be a verse from one of the Gospels or a reading of a Psalm in major Afghan languages with background music. It takes time for many Afghans (and others of Muslim backgrounds) to trust the Bible, as they have often been told that it has been corrupted.
I had heard about Abram’s work, and was delighted to meet him in person during a visit to ARA in January. Both he and his father attend an Afghan fellowship that meets on Saturday in a space provided by a local church. In addition to his work in the social media ministry, Abram also serves his local congregation on the tech team, helping to project song lyrics, scripture readings and announcements.
There is a tremendous hunger for connection, truth and hope among Afghans searching for answers to their questions about spirituality and daily life. Innovative ministries like Abram’s are creatively responding to those who are curious or seeking more information about Jesus, providing them opportunities to hear the Gospel for perhaps the very first time. It can often seem that social media is a competition of who has the most followers or likes, but in places where the Good News of Jesus is not yet known, social media is an effective tool that God is using to open doors of Gospel access for entire least-reached communities!
All of Frontier Fellowship’s frontier mission partners serve their unreached neighbors in different ways, but each are faithfully sharing the Good News of Jesus in their own culture and context. In South Asia, ARA is caring for students and equipping them with the tools they need to flourish and thrive. Abram is just one example of the impact that ARA is having on Afghan refugee students in their community. We pray for multiplication of Gospel impact to continue in South Asia and beyond!
Join us in praying for the ministry of Afghan Refugee Academy. Also pray for Abram’s social media team, that God would bless them with wisdom as they respond to a myriad of different questions about faith and hope in Jesus.
*name changed for security
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