By Moussa, ChangeMaker in Jordan

It was all chaos, my life, until I finally gave it to the Lord. Always running from the law, this time I broke out of jail trying not to get caught. The gang I ran with decided it would abduct the pastor of a church and take him to a remote area and kill him because I believed he insulted me in front of everyone. 

I was proud and boastful that the government couldn’t touch me or do anything to me. I was a drug addict, walking around drunk and high with this gang, and one night I saw the church and realized there were some ways to get in. I also had the idea that they were going to brainwash me, so I had a knife in my sleeve ready to use. 

I looked at the church and it was full of people. I didn’t know what was going on. I had never seen a church where everyone walked about greeting and talking, unlike orthodox churches where you had to be quiet and still. I was taught to be very obedient and polite in church and wondered why people were casual. My friends were late, so I went in to look for ways to get their money. I decided when church was finished, I would try to capture the people. 

We had just heard the songs of Jesus, and then these men said they were going to pray. I decided I would hurt them before they brainwashed me. But I was confused. Pastor Samer was such a nice little guy, and I planned to kill him. I said I was leaving, but they wanted me to come back tomorrow even though I was trying to get rid of them. I took my gun, got it ready and thought, “It’s time. Before they brainwash me I’ll kill two or three and get out of here.” 

But they were praying for me: “Please save Moussa.” I felt ashamed and put away my gun and my knife. I wondered why Pastor Samer was praying for me. Then I saw everybody in a different way. I don’t know what happened. I tried to sink down in my chair. It seemed like Pastor Samer was asking me directly, “Why do you do these things to your family, your wife, your neighbors? Raise your hand if you want this life . . . It’s yours today. Let’s pray for those who raised their hand.” 

So I stood up and everyone prayed for me. Pastor Samer was a great preacher and filled with the spirit of the Lord. He said to come over so he could pray for me. I saw my whole life like a movie and felt overwhelmed. I don’t know what happened. I saw joy and peace and understood why they were so happy.

When I went home, my wife didn’t believe it was me at the door because I always kicked it in. She said, “What’s wrong with you? Why did you come home early?” I said I was at church praying, and she asked, “At what kind of church were you praying until after 10 p.m.?” 

I told her, “A Baptist church.” 

Editor’s Note: After his salvation Moussa turned himself in to authorities and served his prison term, during which he told fellow prisoners about Jesus and shared the gospel. Receiving Bible training while also church planting, he began his ministry in a house church that eventually expanded until a new location was necessary. At the same time Anjara Baptist Church in Zarka, Jordan, was a dying church with only five members, so Bro. Charles Costa asked Moussa to relocate to Zarka. The result? Anjara became a thriving church in Zarka, a large city of 1.5 million people, and has pastored there for fourteen years.