ISIS militant converts to Christianity after meeting Jesus in a dream

An Islamic State (ISIS) militant converted to Christianity after meeting Jesus in dream, according to a Youth With A Mission (YWAM) missionary in the Middle East.

Speaking on The Voice of the Martyrs Radio Network, Gina Fadely, the former director of the organisation's Frontier Missions, said that one of YWAM's workers was introduced to an ISIS fighter who had killed a number of Christians. He even admitted to having enjoyed doing so, until he met Jesus in a dream.

"He [the jihadist] told this YWAM leader that he had begun having dreams of this man in white who came to him and said, 'You are killing my people.' And he started to feel really sick and uneasy about what he was doing," Fadely said.

She added that the militant was given a Bible by a Christian man who was about to be killed, which he took and read. "In another dream, Jesus asked him to follow him and he was now asking to become a follower of Christ and to be discipled," Fadely said. "So who knows, perhaps this man will be like Saul in the Bible, who persecuted Christians and then turned from that persecution of the early church to become the Apostle Paul who led it.

"God can turn it around."

Kevin Sutter, current president of YWAM Frontier Missions, said there was a lesson to be learnt in not assuming that ISIS militants are "out of each of God's grace and out of reach of God's spirit".

He said a colleague in the Middle East told him "he has never seen spiritual hunger among Muslim people like he's seeing now."

"This is unprecedented, this has never happened in history," Sutter added. "He said there are gospel programmes going out in Arabic throughout the region, radio and TV and there is a huge response.

"Many people are now following Jesus but they keep it quiet. They haven't gone public about it. They even have church in their own home, they're watching, they'll serve Communion to one another as they're watching TV."

ISIS are now in control of huge swathes of Iraq and Syria, where they are trying to establish a Caliphate. This week, the Archbishop of Aleppo called for intervention from Western forces to stop the "monstrosities" being perpetrated by the jihadists.

"ISIS, which has already killed thousands in the region, is terrifying the faithful in Aleppo," he wrote in a message to Aid to the Church in Need.

"After [attacks on] Maloula, Mosul, Idleb and Palmyra, what is the West waiting for before it intervenes? What are the great nations waiting for before they put a halt to these monstrosities?"

related articles
Crisis in Iraq - five things you can ACTUALLY do to help
Crisis in Iraq - five things you can ACTUALLY do to help

Crisis in Iraq - five things you can ACTUALLY do to help

The hardest prayer: why it\'s time to #prayforISIS
The hardest prayer: why it's time to #prayforISIS

The hardest prayer: why it's time to #prayforISIS

Justin Welby on ISIS killings: 'The light of Christ will not be overcome'

Justin Welby on ISIS killings: 'The light of Christ will not be overcome'

The greatest weapon against ISIS? Forgiveness.

The greatest weapon against ISIS? Forgiveness.

The Christians who are defying ISIS
The Christians who are defying ISIS

The Christians who are defying ISIS

News
Active faith linked to happier marriages and lower divorce rates, study finds
Active faith linked to happier marriages and lower divorce rates, study finds

People who regularly attend church are more likely to report happy marriages, according to a new report examining the relationship between faith and family life.

Indian churches fearing anti-conversion laws tell non-Christians: enter at your own risk
Indian churches fearing anti-conversion laws tell non-Christians: enter at your own risk

Churches in Dhamtari, a town in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, have put up notices warning non-Christians that they enter at their own risk, weeks after a law against religious conversion came into force in the state.

£1k bursaries to help churches develop youth and community mentoring programmes
£1k bursaries to help churches develop youth and community mentoring programmes

Churches across the UK are being offered bursaries to help them establish mentoring programmes aimed at supporting young people and others in their communities.

World Evangelical Alliance celebrates 180th anniversary
World Evangelical Alliance celebrates 180th anniversary

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has held an online celebration to mark its 180th anniversary. Hundreds of people from more than 22 countries attended, and the event was rebroadcast to accommodate different time zones.