Yousef is one of Syrian refugees who have found new life in Christ through Horizons’ ministry centers in Lebanon. Below, Yousef shares how he found faith in Christ as a teenager, but has also encountered persecution from his own family. Originally published in the December 2020 newsletter.

Hello everyone, it’s Yousef Alwani from Syria. I live in Lebanon and I’m 25 years old. I grew up Muslim, but I became a Christian 11 years ago. Growing up in a Muslim family and culture was very difficult. I was forced to accept so many teachings without thinking about them.

One day, I saw a pastor named David Jeremiah teaching on television. His preaching, and the big love I saw in Christianity, led me to accept Jesus in my heart.

I started serving with Horizons 2 years ago. I spent a lot of time in children’s ministry, and I like doing street evangelism and sharing Christ with people in the streets. I have seen God work through Horizons in every detail of what we do. Serving with Horizons has greatly increased my effectiveness in sharing the gospel with Muslims.

Many members of my family hate me for my faith, and some don’t care, but none of them are Christian. When my uncle found out, he started pushing me around and yelling at me in a restaurant, and my cousins had to pull him away. When my mother heard she kicked me out of the house, but the same day she invited me back, and admitted to me that she felt like demons inside her had told her to kick me out!

I would say to anyone who wants to share the gospel with Muslims, we need to love them first. We should convince ourselves that the person in front of us is deeply loved by Christ—so we should love them too! I do that by making friends with them and helping them in their daily lives.

Please pray for me, and thank you so much.

Yousef Alwani

Field Staff in Missions, Lebanon