The Spiritual Need in North Africa

North Africa refers to the northernmost region of the African continent, commonly including countries like Morrocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt. The region is part of the 10/40 Window, which, including the Middle East, Central, and Southeast Asia, contains two-thirds of the world’s population and most of the world’s unreached people groups.

The Islamization and Arabization of North African culture began between the A.D. 600s and 1000s, when Muslim Arabs from the Middle East traversed the region in a wave of conquest. Today, Islamic beliefs and cultural identities make up 99.9% of the population in some North African countries. Most Muslims have had no opportunity to hear the truth of the gospel. Islam teaches explicitly that God has no Son (Qur’an 112:3), causing many Muslims to reject the gospel message by default without first seeking to understand it. Many assume Christians to be polytheists. In a harsh, shame-based society, North Africans desperately need Christians to live among them to demonstrate the lovingkindness and grace of our God.

Less than two percent of the population of many North African countries profess faith in Christ. Missionaries are often some of the only evangelical Christians in this region. The Traveling Team estimates that there is only one Christian missionary for every 405,500 Muslim people in the world.

Yet, anecdotal reports have poured in from throughout the Islamic world of Muslims seeking God and, through extraordinary circumstances, coming into contact with Christians, churches, and with the Bible. This often results in conversion. We believe that through faithful proclamation of the gospel, the church of Jesus Christ will be built among all the nations—including the Islamic world.

Share The Gospel In North Africa

What does it look like to meet physical needs, share Christ, and risk persecution to serve in a 99.9% Islamic country? ABWE missionaries in North Africa are tilling the soil, building trust, avoiding security risks, and praying that God gradually opens hearts to the gospel.

In this almost exclusively Muslim region, we seek to practically demonstrate the love of Christ by meeting spiritual and physical needs through services like medical care, education, teaching English, and developing small businesses. We see God working through personal relationships, hospitality, and a variety of services that demonstrate to people and their communities the reality of Jesus’s love. Through relationships founded on trust, Christian workers have opportunity to present the story of the Bible to their Muslim friends and neighbors and challenge them to follow Christ as Lord.

Our international Christian school in one North African country has been providing quality Christian education to children in grades K-12 for over 20 years. The school not only supports parents working in the country, but it serves as a training ground for the next generation of Christian workers. For qualified individuals who share our vision for the next generation, both teaching and leadership positions are open.

Christians are a small minority in these countries, and it is of utmost importance to build trust with and among national believers in the midst of persecution and turmoil in order to strengthen and advance the gospel. The need is immense for servant-leaders, fully dependent on God, willing to learn the language and culture, and work side-by-side to advance the gospel.

Will you join us in pioneer missions to unreached people groups in North Africa?