Last April, we discussed Islam’s focus on community and how it has won numerous converts in the United States since 9/11. This week, Time Magazine has published two intriguing articles discussing Islam spreading in the West and Christianity spreading in the East.

Article #1 :: “Allah’s Recruits” highlights include:

• “I found that Islam was giving me good, solid answers to my questions,” he says. “It wasn’t difficult for me to embrace it.”
  Jamal Harwood :: Muslim Convert from London
• Although figures on conversions to Islam in Western countries are difficult to nail down, it’s safe to say that Muslim converts in the U.S. and Europe number in the hundreds of thousands, and anecdotal evidence suggests the number is on the rise.
• As with any religion, converts to Islam tend to be more devout than those born into the faith.
• The reasons converts give for making the change vary widely. But one common refrain is that in an increasingly secular world in which society’s rules get looser by the day, Islam provides a detailed moral map covering everything from friendships to protecting the environment.
• Another appeal to converting to Islam: it’s relatively easy. In Catholicism and Judaism, the conversion process can involve years of preparation and study. In Islam, the process is called reversion (because Islam literally means “submission to God,” believers hold that everyone is born Muslim), and it’s mainly a matter of uttering a two-line declaration of faith, the Shahadah. Say the Shahadah aloud in Arabic, and the conversion is complete.

Article #2 :: “The War For China’s Soul” highlights include:

• After four failed attempts over a millennium and a half by foreign missionaries to gain a foothold in China, Christianity is finally taking root and evolving into a truly Chinese religion.
• Estimates vary, but some experts say Christians make up 5% of China’s population, or 65 million believers. And thousands more are converting every day, the vast majority through unofficial “house” churches.
• Long criticized by Western governments and human-rights groups for its virulently antireligious policies, China’s central government has in recent years adopted a more lenient attitude toward religious expression.
• Although Christians tend not to see themselves as revolutionaries, house churches have become one of China’s few bulwarks against government power.
• Across the country, Christians are worshipping with a fervor once unimaginable in a communist society.

If you have time, both articles are worth the read. According to the article on Islam, converts are attracted to Islam because of a curiosity/an unknown, defined morals, and an easy conversion process. Christianity also has an easy conversion process; God handled that part. However, many Westerners are anything but curious about Christianity, and a wide range of stereotypes have left many people disgusted by their perception of Christianity. The Bible also has a defined system of morals. However, any pastor knows that “Christians” as a whole have much to improve upon in following these morals.

With that said, it is important that churches learn to take the familiarity and misconceptions out of “church” and offer their community something to be curious about and attracted by. Also, churches and their congregations must learn to practice what they preach if they expect to win converts.

Special thanks to Dave Ferguson for highlighting the two articles.