Without saying it, some Muslim migrants now in Germany are converting to Christianity in the hope of improving their chances of being granted refugee status and winning asylum, reports said.
Government officials and church leaders are aware of this but are still giving everybody the benefit of the doubt.
After all, the German government has been telling the thousands of Muslim migrants that they need not convert to Christianity since German Chancellor Angela Merkel herself has made it known that Islam "belongs in Germany," the Daily Mail reported.
Despite this, many Muslim migrants continue to embrace Jesus Christ to the delight of church leaders.
In Berlin, for instance, hundreds of mostly Iranian and Afghan asylum seekers have changed faiths at the evangelical Trinity Church.
Many are claiming that true realisation of the wonders of Christianity, which Islam does not have, prompted them to make move.
Silas, a 25-year-old Iranian man, is one of these converts who are now living in Berlin, according to Charisma News.
When asked what really prompted him to change religion, Silas said his spiritual transformation came after he read the Bible that a friend lent to him. "When I started to read the Bible, it changed me. ... At first, I didn't want to be a Christian, I just wanted to understand it. But the more answers I got, the more I ... realised I was finding God," he said.
He then realised that "Islam was a big lie."
Pastors in Germany are pointing out that although Christian converts have better chances of staying for good in Germany—since they can now claim that they would face persecution in their home country if they are sent back—this is not the reason why many are embracing Christ. In Afghanistan and Iran, for example, conversion to Christianity by a Muslim could be punished by death or imprisonment. Thus, the German government is unlikely to deport converted Iranian and Afghan refugees back home.
The fact is, by converting to Christianity, they also face persecution from Muslims in Germany who have decided to stick to their faith, church leaders said. The Muslim population in Germany is estimated at 4 million.
Gottfried Martens, a pastor in Berlin, told the Daily Mail that he has been interviewing migrants who have purportedly accepted Christ, adding that he only baptises those he believes are truly sincere.
Silas is among them. He said even if he were to be deported back to Iran, he would never give up his faith in Christ. Jesus changed his life, and he will pay any price to serve Him now, he vowed.
Martens said many of those whom he has baptised as Christians have been so taken by their acceptance of Jesus Christ that it changes their lives. He estimated that only about 10 percent of converts do not return to church after christening.
Many of the converts set for baptism at Martens' church would not reveal their full names since they fear for their families back home if the information gets out that they have converted to Christianity.
Martens said as a result of the conversions, churches all over Germany that used to suffer from declining membership are now seeing remarkable growth.
In his own congregation alone, Martens said he used to minister to just 150 members. But now he said the church already has more than 600 parishioners –and more new converts are joining the congregation.
Martens described the number of conversions as nothing short of a "miracle."
