"God gave me energy and a good mind. Should I just play golf?" asked Michael Youssef,,,
Extraordinary testimonies from Muslims in the UK are all part of an ambitious vision by outreach organisation Leading The Way.
As Leading The Way’s Founder and President Dr Michael Youssef turned 70 last year, rather than making plans to retire – or at least slow down – he embarked on one of the most ambitious plans in his life: to win one million souls for Christ.
In order to achieve this, Vision 2025 was launched, a strategy with seven very specific goals to expand the global reach and impact of Leading the Way’s ministry in ways that were previously not imagined or thought possible.
Just over a year later since stepping out with this vision, Dr Youssef has already seen incredible breakthroughs in all of these seven areas of ministry.
1. Doubling our Media Footprint – 50 million new viewers in the US this year alone.
2. Reaching Muslims here at home – a growing number of Muslims being impacted for Christ in the UK.
3. Expanding the Discipleship Network in the Muslim World – three full-time field team members have been hired this year.
4. Doubling the Audience of THE KINGDOM SAT – ten-year anniversary event broadcast to 190 million homes in the Middle East from Cairo, Egypt.
5. Hosting Evangelistic Events – 22+ speaking engagements this year on secular media outlets.
6. Distributing 100,000 More Navigators – 13,708 of these solar-powered mp3 Bibles distributed this year impacting nine diverse countries.
7. Targeting A New Generation – Candid Conversations with Jonathan Youssef podcast launched this year to reach the next generation.
UNCOMPROMISING
The impact of Leading The Way in the UK continues to grow. During a recent sold-out event called Uncompromising Truth, Dr Youssef spoke to a packed St Michael’s Church in Central London. During an interview on the platform he explained why he chose to launch Vision 2025: “Well, God gave me energy. He gave me a good mind. He blessed me with resources. What would I do, go and play golf?
“We’ve been ministering here in the UK for the past 16 years and we’re believing many will come to Christ in this nation.”
In order to grow the ministry here, Leading The Way recently appointed Dr Alan Kerbey as their UK Director:
“Extraordinary testimonies – especially from Muslim communities in the UK – are beginning to emerge of individuals who are coming to faith through powerful conversion experiences and are being discipled effectively through the teaching and preaching of Dr Youssef. The momentum is increasing, and our prayer is that Leading The Way will be used by the Lord to help usher in a fresh spiritual reformation across our nation.”
Many of those testimonies are coming from a growing underground army of secret believers in the UK. They are turning to Leading The Way for support to equip them to grow in their faith through Navigators, solar-powered mp3 Bibles which also have audio messages from Dr Youssef in several languages. These ‘pocket missionaries’ are revolutionising evangelism and discipleship around the world.
FERVENT
One of those whose life was completely transformed was former Muslim cleric, Youssef*. Well known in his community for being a fervent advocate for Islam, Youssef would even make the daily call to prayer on the loud-speakers in his home town. But all that changed when he came to do some gardening work at the home of London-based evangelist Ash Kotecha, a former Hindu from Malawi.
“I knew he was a Muslim, but I didn’t know that he’d been abused and was an illegal immigrant,” recalls Ash.
“I told him I was a Christian and he asked me for a Bible in his own language. Then he came back to do some painting for me and he told me Jesus is the Son of God. He had found Christ after reading the New Testament for three days non-stop! He was even having visions of Jesus kissing him on his forehead, touching him on his shoulder and comforting him.”
Now, when he works overnight security shifts, Youssef finds comfort and strength in listening to worship songs, the Bible and podcasts from Dr Michael Youssef on his precious Navigator device.
*Name changed for security reasons
