A Simple Request That Led to So Much More

In May, a Global Gates missionary was running a Facebook ad offering free Arabic Bibles. Among the responses was a message from Nabil*, a North African man living in a major gateway city. Over Facebook Messenger, he shared that the recent death of the Pope had stirred something in his heart and prompted him to request a Bible—something he had never read before.

What Nabil didn’t expect was how quickly his request would lead to something deeper. The missionary connected him with another missionary worker who happens to live very close to Nabil. In their first meeting, they opened the Arabic Bible together and began reading John 1. As they talked, the missionary learned more of Nabil’s story: he had come to faith in Jesus while in North Africa but had never been discipled. Since moving to the U.S., he hadn’t met another Christian—until now.

That first meeting has grown into an ongoing friendship and regular Bible study. The two are continuing through the Book of John, and Nabil has now been connected with a community of other Arab Christians in the city, and just this past month, Nabil was baptized.

What started as a simple Bible request turned into something far greater: a once-disconnected believer now walking in community, growing in his faith, and eager to read God’s Word.

*Name changed for security