If you want to gain access to the hearts and minds of the Arabic-speaking world, your best opportunity will most likely be through their mobile phone.

People in North Africa and the Middle East are used to living under political systems and religious customs that restrict personal freedoms and dictate many aspects of their lives. Cultural stigmas make it difficult for them to ask questions or find help for their problems.

A mobile phone with internet access provides a way to circumvent all of that.

Users look to social media and other apps to provide a temporary escape to the outside world. Chat rooms enable them to ask questions and express themselves in anonymity, as well as provide some sense of community.

It is within this digital context that Reach Beyond and our partners have found ways to engage with the unreached, offer them real solutions to their problems, and share the hope we have through Jesus.

Our Arabic media partners have recently developed two mobile apps to help expand their existing efforts to engage the unreached and disciple new believers.

The app for seekers utilizes thought-provoking topics to engage unbelievers, spark conversations, and guide them to connect with the follow-up team.

The discipleship app is designed to help believers grow in their faith. It offers a private and secure way to access all of our partner’s content, including live and recorded programs, dramas, music, and videos, at any time they choose. They also created a detailed Frequently Asked Questions section designed specifically for new believers who have come from a Muslim background.

The app is customized to guide each person through their daily walk with Jesus and interact with Scripture. It also facilitates conversations with counselors and spiritual mentors, and sends users meeting and prayer reminders.

The discipleship path guides users through different levels of content which include quizzes and surveys to both challenge and reinforce their knowledge and understanding. Each interaction includes high-quality graphics to make the experience refreshing and relevant.

These new apps will allow our Arabic media partnership to engage and share the Gospel with even more unreached people, and better disciple the growing number of those who have decided to follow Jesus. •

Zara* is a woman from North Africa who recently found Jesus through our Arabic media ministry partnership. Her journey to hope, however, was not a short one. She started going to an Islamic school when she was 15 but became disenchanted by the words and actions of those around her.  She found that praying at the mosque brought her no peace, so she began to move away from what she had been taught and search for the true path.

One day Zara came across an online page hosted by our Arabic media partner, and she began asking them questions. Their answers were convincing to her mind, but heavy on her heart. For the next seven years, Zara wrestled with the truths she had heard.

For people living in North Africa and the Middle East, choosing to follow Jesus is rarely a quick decision—there is a tremendous spiritual battle taking place. Earlier this year, Zara contacted our partners again with more questions. God moved in her heart, and she made a life-changing choice—to ask Jesus into her life.

“At that moment, I felt something different that I had been searching for all my life—not just a change in belief but an inner peace that filled me. Today, I am learning more about Christ and I feel that I am on the right path. I am not alone because of the presence of my brothers around me.”

*Name and image changed for security reasons