Q&A Helps Grow Faith

On a Thursday evening in September, in a church near the north end of Toronto, Ont., a group assembled to explore questions about faith and spirituality. As part of the ministry of Spiritual Growth Ministry and Farsi Fellowship at Willowdale Christian Reformed Church (WCRC), the Q&A session dealt with questions that come up as a person’s faith grows, and more sessions are planned for the months ahead.

Many members of Spiritual Growth Ministry and Farsi Fellowship are relatively new to Christianity, having grown up in the Muslim faith or culture. 

“Many members of our community have unanswered questions about foundational Christian principles, often due to conflicting information received through Islamic teachings,” said ministry leader Nasser Zand. “And our regular Bible studies and fellowship gatherings don’t always allow enough time to address all of their questions.”

Seeing a need for an open and reflective space to ask questions, Zand, who coleads the Farsi ministry with his wife, Sylvie Charliekaram, came up with the idea of holding Q&A sessions as a way to address this need. They plan to host another session this month and to continue holding quarterly sessions through 2025. 

“By God’s grace, we also hope to invite pastors and scholars from various denominations in the future to enrich our discussions with diverse theological perspectives,” said Charliekaram.

For their September 19 Q&A session, retired pastor Syd Hielema and Rev. Greg Sinclair of Willowdale CRC helped lead the discussion and created a welcoming space for questions as part of a panel with Charliekaram, who also provided translation between Farsi and English.

“Question-driven discipleship is an inspiring gift,” said Hielema. “The questions come from a place of spiritual hunger and longing, and speaking into this place is a profound privilege. I was deeply moved and grateful that I could participate.”

Sinclair agreed, saying he appreciates the questions brought forward by attendees. “When the questions come up, it is like ‘seminary time’ because the participants ask questions that stretch me theologically and biblically. They are so eager to learn about Christianity that it inspires me to keep learning and growing in my own faith journey,” he noted.

Spiritual Growth Ministry and Farsi Fellowship has connections with other Farsi ministries, including some in Sweden, Belarus, Finland, Turkey, Australia, and the Netherlands, and it welcomed questions from those communities for the Sept. 19 Q&A as well. The session was audiorecorded so that it could be shared with these other Farsi ministries too.