Camel Training Manual

by Kevin Greeson

Seldom have I been as enthused about a book as I am about this inside peek at one of the most extraordinary acts of the Holy Spirit among Muslims ever chronicled.

WIGTake Publishers, P.O. Box 1268, Midlothian, VA 23112, 2004, 143 pages, $8.95. (www.churchplantingmovements.com/camel_training _manual.htm)

—Reviewed by Phil Parshall, SIM Philippines.

Seldom have I been as enthused about a book as I am about this inside peek at one of the most extraordinary acts of the Holy Spirit among Muslims ever chronicled.

Consider this. One church planting team claims 250,000 baptized Muslim Background Believers (MBBs) with over eight thousand churches established by the end of 2003. A February 2005 survey indicates the 250,000 has now grown to half a million. In addition, it is stated that a total of seven thousand are being baptized each month. A separate newer outreach, more foreign missionary based, has seen fifteen thousand Muslims baptized and eight hundred churches planted.

So where does this harvest come from? Kevin Greeson has spent years in a South Asian country where he has seen this dramatic growth firsthand. He outlines a few key points of the strategy which have been utilized:

1. The contextualized, Muslim-friendly Bible pioneered by Viggo Olson has been a powerful instrument in seeing Muslims come to Christ.

2. A very overt witness is encouraged. Greeson comments, “Missions who have maintained a high level of security have seen little results.” However this high profile evangelism has led to persecution from Muslims. I know of twelve MBBs who have been martyred as a direct result of this movement.

3. The Christian message spreads within families.

4. Baptisms are performed soon after one’s profession of faith. This is often done at night and/or in secluded locations.

5. Key MBBs are sought out and trained to be dynamic leaders.

6. A minimum amount of foreign funds are involved. Lay witness is stressed.

A key witness technique is asking a Muslim to read Surah Al-Imran 3:42-55 from the Quran. In this passage Jesus is presented as One who is holy and has power over death. The Quran is used as a bridge to get this inquirer to see Jesus as more than a prophet. Once this is accomplished, the conversation moves to key biblical passages that present Christ as Savior and Lord.

I would evaluate this movement as C4 in the contextualization scale.

Of course, there are variations, but it certainly doesn’t go as far as C5.

Fact or fiction? I can attest to the credibility of some of the people involved, but not to the veracity of these huge numbers. For obvious reasons, the authentic names of countries and people involved in these church planting movements are not mentioned in the book. Certainly there are doubters. This is not a widely publicized movement—at least not until this book came out. We can still rejoice if even ten percent of the numbers are accurate.

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