I just wrote out a long post about a great conversation I had with a Muslim lady today at a church-sponsored picnic/kiddie soccer event at a local subsidized housing complex.
I told her how well I was treated when I visited the mosque last December, and how impressed I was with how well the leadership provides for the congregation. Encouragement and support both secular and spiritual. I told her I followed the happenings via the mailing list. She laughed and asked, "The daily e-mails?" "Yes!" I said.
They're a huge congregation with multiple imams (the spiritual leaders) plus abundant resources to provide events for both the congregation and the community. They provide both youth and adult classes all week in their attached school--plus career fairs, day clinics in the community, annual fairs with food and rides, a guided trip to Mecca and Medina with nice accommodations during the Hajj with the main imam, and a video series on virtue and a peaceful heart during Ramadan.
Unfortunately, the only food we had was pork hot dogs and chips, so the Muslim family had slim pickings for lunch. I apologized and asked her to recommend some local take-out Halal places for next time. She texted me two links: one was a classic kabob restaurant and the other specializes in Halal Italian subs!
She is looking forward to other such events that we'll host at the apartments. We were expecting maybe ten families--it turned out to be more like 30!
It was blistering hot--our greatest "ministry" was passing out ice cold water bottles left and right!