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Winnipeg, Man.
Nickels to partner with India MB Church in Muslim ministry


Gordon and Gwen Nickel have accepted a new assignment with MBMS International. They will be leaving in July for Hyderabad, India, where they will be partnering with the India MB Church on a team sharing Christ with Muslims. Gordon is a son of Dan and Helen Nickel, former MBMSI missionaries in India; he grew up in India. Gwen grew up in Rosthern, Sask. They were missionaries with MBMSI 1986-96, including five years in Karachi, Pakistan. Gordon was associate editor of MB Herald for six years and, after returning from Pakistan, taught missions at Bethany Bible Institute, Hepburn, Sask., for four years. MB Herald editorial assistant Peter Woelk recently talked with the Nickels about their new assignment.

Amalia, Daniel, Matthew, Gwen and Gordon Nickel

MBH: What is the project you will be working with?

Gordon: The India MB Inter-faith Ministry is a project that has already been started by the India MB Church. Two years ago, MBMSI sent us to India to do some research. We found a lot of MBs had Muslim friends and were learning to speak their language, Urdu or Hindu. We also found that there was some evangelical interest that went back almost a hundred years. My dad had worked with John Nahboob, a new convert from Islam, on a Bible correspondence course for Muslims. John ran the course. When my parents left India in 1985, John continued working under the India MB Conference. He had lots of contacts with Muslims all over India who wanted to learn about the gospel anonymously. In 1997, John died. John’s daughter Rebecca said she would continue the ministry. The India MB church decided to start its own ministry to Muslims and has taken Rebecca as one of its workers. Also on the team is R.N. Peter, who has an M.A. in Islamic studies. The supervisor of the project is Menno Joel.

When MBs started their ministry in India, they were located in a Muslim village near Hyderabad. A Muslim came to the Lord and was baptized. We thought that the Pankratzes, the missionary family there at the time, were responsible for this, but when we got to India, we learned that the India MB Church had had its own evangelist working with the Pankratzes, and it was he who brought this Muslim to the Lord. The Muslim community took it very hard that someone had converted. Mizan, the Muslim ruler of the city, relocated the MBs to another area of the city, where Hindus were living. For most of this century, then, North American MB missionaries mainly worked with Hindus, who were receptive to Christianity. It wasn’t until 1984 that there was a deliberate effort to reach Muslims.

MBH: What is the relationship between between MBMSI and the India MB Church on this venture?

Gordon: It’s a true partnership. The India MB Church is putting forward its workers, and the North American church is putting forward its workers. We’re on the same level. We’re not leading the project; we’re lending resources and experience. Each team member brings his or her own gifts to the team.

MBH: What does the Inter-faith Ministry do?

Gordon: It trains people in the local churches to be witnesses to Muslims. It has started an Urdu language service at the MB Centerary Bible College in Shamshabad. It has revived the correspondence course that Nahboob had done. It also places ads in the Urdu language daily newspapers to attract Muslims. One thing that we talked about two years ago is renting a storefront to be used as a reading room. This is a traditional, tried-but-true method of evangelism among Muslims. It’s a place where people can read newspapers, magazines and Christian literature. We hope to have one of our team members staffing the place and available for conversation.

MBH: What will your roles be in India?

Gwen: I’m expecting to be involved in a Dorcas ministry. The idea comes from the Bible, where Dorcas made garments to help the poor. They want to teach tailoring to Muslim women, who mostly stay at home, so they can earn income. It will also be a meeting place where we can share the gospel. Also, I’ll be doing visitation and friendship evangelism through Bible correspondence. Exactly what I will be doing will be determined when we get there.

Gordon: I will be involved with the correspondence course. We also will be offering courses in churches on how to witness to Muslims. Because I hope to continue my research, I will need to find scholars who know Arabic and develop a relationship with them. I’ll probably be teaching a class or two at the Bible college in Shamshabad.

MBH: How many Muslims live in India?

Gordon: India has about 140 million Muslims, which is a minority of the population. However, it is more than the Muslim population of Pakistan or Bangladesh. In south Asia – Pakistan, Bangladesh, India – there are about 400 million Muslims, which is about 40% of the world total. Urdu is one of the common languages, which is an advantage for us because we used it in Pakistan.

MBH: Gordon, you recently wrote a book titled Peaceful Witness Among Muslims.

Gordon: Peaceful witness has two aspects. First is witness. This is preaching the gospel. Second, Anabaptist and Mennonite churches have an appreciation of the peace teaching of Jesus. The early church had a peaceful witness for the first two centuries. It was not a witness that came with power or coercion. Peace is at the heart of the gospel. Jesus’ teaching, His example and the peace of the gospel are attractive to Muslims.

MBH: In your book, you also talk about dialoguing with the Muslim.

Gordon: “Dialogue” is sometimes misunderstood. If we mean conversation, then it’s essential. We have to be talking and listening. There is, however, another understanding, that dialogue means we come into a conversation without any claim to truth or any presuppositions. I don’t find that helpful because that’s not being realistic to the way Muslims think. Most Muslims think in terms of right and wrong. Saying there is no truth is nonsense to them. As far as conversation goes with Muslims, we have to be great speakers and listeners.

MBH: What impresses you about Islam?

Gwen: One thing that impresses me is the faithfulness Muslims have to their rituals, especially praying. Whether they are at home or in the mosque, many Muslims pray five times a day. They get up early in the morning. That’s impressive because it’s hard for us to get up early for prayer. If only we could be that faithful in our prayer life.

Gordon: Another thing is the Islamic law. This is a sophisticated system. Islam isn’t interested in talking about who God is, but about what the obligations of humans are. For example, a Muslim in Pakistan brushes his teeth using a stick with a frayed end. When you ask him why he’s brushing like that, he’ll say because that’s how Mohammad brushed his teeth. And that’s enough. What impresses a lot of people is the discipline Muslims have in observing the obligations of Islam.

MBH: We hear about Muslims converting to Christianity. How difficult is that?

Gwen: It’s very difficult, but depends on where they live and how strict the society is. Even in the most lenient society it will create difficulties. In stricter societies, it could even have them killed. We have a Muslim friend who became a Christian and was kicked out of his home, and all his inheritance was taken away. He basically was no longer a member of the family. His family was prepared to hurt him physically, and so he left. Even after five years, they haven’t forgiven him.

MBH: Is it harder for a Muslim woman to convert to Christianity?

Gwen: A woman is confined to stay with her husband and family. If a man converted, he could probably ask his Muslim wife and children to move with him and start a new life if she was willing, whereas a woman could never do that. She is looked upon as being a traitor to Islam. She brings shame onto the family.

Gordon: We recently received a report about a convert in England who was beaten by men in her community, including her father and brothers. They do not tolerate a woman converting to Christianity even in a Western society, and she’s in hospital now. It gets very complex. There are structures of obedience. She’s not just rejecting Islam; she’s not obeying her father or mother. Culture becomes very mixed up with religion.

MBH: What kind of tensions are there between Hindus and Muslims?

Gwen: Hindu fanatical groups are getting stronger, especially in the north of India.

Gordon: There has been Muslim-Hindu tension at various points in the past. Hyderabad used to be a Muslim kingdom. In 1947, the new independent government of India took it over. Muslims are now a minority. One of the advantages for our work in India is that since both Christians and Muslims are minorities, Muslims see Christians as allies rather than enemies.

Gwen: It’s much easier to be a witness to Muslims in India than it is in Pakistan because they are not a political power.

Gordon: In Pakistan, Muslims have 97% majority; in India, maybe 17-20%. They’re used to not having their way and don’t get upset. If we say something that they don’t agree with, it’s not a matter of politics, but of conversation.

MBH: What are your children going to do?

Gwen: Daniel, our youngest, is coming with us. He’s finishing grade 10. In mid-July, he’ll start grade 11 in the same boarding school that Gordon went to. He is very excited about coming along. Our oldest, Matthew, is working in Calgary. Amalia is planning to go to Trinity Western University in September.

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Last modified July 20, 2007.

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