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Palestinian Muslims converting to Christianity : effective evangelistic methods in the West Bank

Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis provides the findings of an explanatory case study that utilized \nelements of ethnographic research to discover effective evangelistic methods \nbeing practiced among Palestinian Muslims in the West Bank. With the \nassistance of gatekeepers, twenty-four former Muslims were asked to explain \nhow they were evangelized, with a particular focus on evangelistic methodology, \nthe barriers to faith the respondents encountered, solutions to those barriers, and \nmotivations to consider conversion. \nThis qualitative study follows the research model of Thom Rainer (2001) by \nasking those who have actually converted to describe the things that were helpful \nin the process of their coming to faith. For a theoretical framework it utilizes a \nnuance of McKnight’s (2002) theory of conversion with an emphasis on crisis \nproviding an intersection of the natural and supernatural for the purpose of \nconversion. \nThis thesis investigates examples of effective evangelism within the context of \nthe West Bank, giving thorough consideration to Palestinian Nationalism and \nIslam as overarching cultural influences. It considers fruitful practices being \npracticed globally among Muslims, comparing those with what was found being \npracticed in the West Bank. The advocates represented in this report were \nprimarily Palestinians born and raised in the West Bank, with the exception of \nthree messianic Jewish Israelis and an American missionary. Additionally, they \nwere evangelicals who generally utilized a contextually sensitive, traditional \nmission approach rather than an Insider model. The end result is a knowledge base that can be helpful for future evangelism \nof Muslims in the West Bank or other similar contexts.
Language: English
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W190864610
Cites: 111
Cited by: 2
Related to: 10