Serving Undercover

Before journeying to his new country, Frank graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Intercultural Studies from Moody Bible Institute. There he learned to communicate God’s truth and interact with people across cultures, backgrounds, and barriers. After graduation, Frank earned a teaching certificate, raised support, and trained with his mission agency to begin ministry under the guise of a university teacher.

Three weeks after flying into the port city that is now his home, he found himself teaching classes to 120 freshman students.

“Because we have to come in and work professional jobs under professional identities and are invited by local institutions, most people start working shortly after they arrive,” Frank said.

“I started working right away, then after three months I went to another country for orientation training for a month and then returned to the country.”

By teaching at a university, Frank is able to fulfill his ultimate purpose—sharing the gospel in one of the world’s most unreached nations.

As a teacher he reports to the university each morning to plan lessons and meet with coworkers, then returns in the evenings to teach classes. (All activity halts in the city from noon to 4:00 p.m. so residents can rest and find shelter from the oppressive heat characteristic of the country’s climate.)

In his other job as a missionary, Frank leads an undercover team consisting of two married couples with children, a third married couple with no kids, three single women, and two single men. Two of his colleagues are also teachers, and the other team members are doctors and nurses at a local hospital. Besides Frank, one other missionary is American. The rest hail from different parts of Europe.

“Besides people who work at the port, we’re the only foreigners seen walking around the city and going to tea shops and the market,” Frank said.

Frank’s missions team has served in the country for five years and in its current port city for over two years, with intermittent changes to the team’s makeup as individuals and couples have left and joined this unique mission field.

Because Christianity and all Christian activities, including churches and evangelism, are against the law, teammates rely heavily on one another for support.

Aside from one local believer, they are the only known Christians. Team members meet three times a week for prayer, interceding for each other on a host of issues, from their walks with God and protection from persecution to open doors for sharing Jesus and receptive hearts for those they are evangelizing.

On Fridays Frank leads a team meeting to discuss strategy, needs, challenges, and evangelism opportunities. With church gatherings prohibited, the team worships together on Sundays in private, forming its own quasi-house church.

“Everything we do needs to be underground in our homes,” Frank said. “We worship very simply. We sing, pray, and read and study the Word together. Encouragement comes from being able to gather together as teammates. It’s sometimes a security risk to be closely associated in public, but it creates a special bond to be the only body and ask the King to expand it.”

Although proselytizing is officially illegal, Frank and his team openly discuss matters of faith with unbelievers. For security reasons they use code words when communicating with local residents, talking on the phone, writing emails and texts, and even conversing with one another. They are constantly aware of the need to avoid drawing attention to themselves from authorities.

To safeguard their evangelistic conversations, they refer to the Bible as “the Book,” Jesus as “the King,” and the Holy Spirit as “the HS,” as examples.

“The verse ‘Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves’ (Matthew 10:16) is applicable here,” Frank said. “In this country you’re a sheep among wolves. The people group I’m with is known for being suspicious. There’s suspicion underneath my interactions with them. I’ll tell them, ‘I’m American and teach at the local university.’ Some say that’s cool. Others are more suspicious and ignore me or get upset.”

Fortunately, in his years of employment, Frank hasn’t experienced overt persecution. “I’ve had people be very rude to me and say, ‘You’re an unbeliever’ and ‘What you believe is fake and you’re going to hell.’

“It’s just an intense culture here where people tend to communicate intensely,” Frank said.

Persecution is an even more dangerous reality for the country’s nationals. The government and culture strongly discourage residents from practicing any other religion but Islam.

“I’ve had people tell me if they changed systems, they would be killed by their parents,” Frank said. “Others have said they would be treated very badly and rejected by their families and friends. When sharing the good news, you have to be careful.”

Since the government bans Christian proselytizing, Frank and his teammates depend on discreet one-on-one conversations to spread the gospel. “In my free time I go to tea shops with friends of mine at the university, and I play basketball and work out with some guys at the university gym,” Frank said. “I also spend time with local friends practicing the language. That’s when ministry happens. All our evangelism is done through relational evangelism.”

Whenever Frank steers a discussion toward spiritual matters, he does so candidly yet also sensitively to their religious and cultural background.

“We don’t hide the fact that we follow the King,” Frank said. “As my professors taught me so well at Moody, we simply try to share in a contextualized way that draws people in and doesn’t offend immediately.

“I often will use their book (the Quran) to validate and prove that my Book (the Bible) hasn’t been changed. I also like to quote some of the King’s ‘I am’ statements from the Book to start a dialogue about the King.”

Frank often draws on what he learned during his Intercultural Studies classes at Moody.

“We talk about contextualization—how do we proclaim the gospel to folks in ways that make sense to them and yet is still faithful to the teachings of Scripture?” said Dr. Timothy Sisk, one of Frank’s professors in Intercultural Studies. “We are taking the gospel to them to point them to Christ and His Word. We want our witness to be sensitive and meaningful to their culture and faithful to the Bible.”

After years of study, Frank can speak and understand the local language deftly enough to talk with residents on a basic level.

Many nationals are fluent in English, which allows him to share biblical truth in greater depth. He meets weekly for language training with a local friend and via Zoom with a ministry colleague. He also frequents tea shops and markets for conversations with nationals.

“A lot of the locals speak English,” Frank said. “In some of my relationships with fellow teachers I’ve shared the good news plainly with them. They’ll say, ‘Why do you believe the King is the Son of God?’ or ‘Why do you believe He is God?’ or we’ll discuss what the Trinity is or why the King would die for you if you can save yourself through good works as Islam teaches.

“With people who know little English, I’ll tell them, ‘I’ve been reading a story in my Book. Would you like to read this?’ so they can read it in their language.”

In an unreached nation where Christianity is outlawed, Frank and his team have experienced significant resistance to the gospel. Most locals express a steadfast belief in Islam and an equally staunch distrust toward God’s Word.

Frank relayed a recent example: “I saw a guard at the university whom I’d had conversations about the King before. He doesn’t speak English. In his language he said, ‘You want to go to Heaven, right? Then go to the mosque and pray.’ But I said, ‘I follow the King and believe the Old and New Testament. Have you ever read the Book?’ He said, ‘No, those are from before. Now we go to the mosque.’ It breaks my heart. They tell me I have to do research of the other books but they don’t need to.”

Spiritual darkness maintains a stranglehold on the hearts of many nationals.

“We remind ourselves often that this war is not against flesh and blood but against rulers and powers and authorities,” Frank said.

“One of the main ways I see it is the 100-percent assurance that (Muslims) believe they are right and that they don’t have to do research of any other belief system. It can be very discouraging, but it reminds me that the (Holy Spirit) is the only One who can soften hearts and convict people of sin.”

Frank and his team have yet to see a national openly profess faith in Jesus. “When I came here I knew this was a hard place and the chances of seeing fruit in this country initially are low,” Frank said. “I’ve really tried to remind myself that success equals faithfulness on my end to share the good news and to obey the King and to listen and follow His voice. Having conversations with people here and sharing the King and His truth the last two years, it truly is the (Holy Spirit) who regenerates hearts.”

According to Frank’s mission agency, which has stationed undercover missionary teams in a few cities in this country and in other Muslim-majority nations, the average length of time it takes to lead a Muslim to Christ is seven years.

“It can be disheartening to often not see any fruit,” Frank said. “We remind each other that we’re long-term workers and we’ve only been in this city for two years. How we handle seeing a lack of fruit up till now at least is continuing to corporately pray and ask God to draw people to Himself and to remember that prayer is the greater work.”

Frank’s missionary service in a closed country has produced noticeable changes in his character, attitude, and maturity level.

“It’s been amazing to see how he’s grown in the years since he left,” said his mother, Beverly*. “He has become much more bold to share Jesus with others. He’s also encouraged us to grow in our faith and taught us and his siblings to share Jesus in our daily lives with those around us.”

Frank’s parents visited him in January 2021 and talk to him weekly, usually through a secure app for safety reasons.

Knowing one of their children lives in a religiously closed country can be cause for anxiety, but they believe he is resting in God’s hands.

“If fear creeps into our minds, we often find ourselves in prayer,” Beverly said. “The Lord is quick to give us a sense of peace. His dad and I are so proud of him for taking this step. He spent six weeks here in the states this year. When he went back to his city, I later asked, “How does it feel to be back?” He said, ‘It feels so good.’ This tore at my heart as a mom, and yet I am so thankful that he has followed the Lord’s calling.”

When Frank first realized God was guiding him to a country where Christianity is severely restricted, his first reaction was reluctance. Today, he views the country as his home.

“Serving in a closed country is challenging and can be dangerous. Once I knew He was calling me, He caused my heart to warm to the people,” Frank said. “My heart has really grown to love them.”

Frank prays for the day when the seeds of truth God is planting through his team come to full fruition and the gospel takes root in countless nationals’ hearts.

“As much as possible I hope to stay here,” Frank said. “I tell God, ‘I’m here, Lord, as long as You want me to be here. If You lead me elsewhere I surrender to You.’ He’s not dependent on us. We’re dependent on Him. It’s about Him and His work.”