Finding faith in a fast-paced city

Wesley considered himself a Christian but didn’t know who Jesus was. That all changed when he attended an Open Doors-supported programme.

The buzz of city life in Kuala Lumpur can be overwhelming. For Wesley, a 19-year-old student, the towering skyscrapers and bustling crowds are a stark contrast to the quiet life he knew growing up in a remote village.

He grew up in a longhouse (a large communal village house) in Sarawak, East Malaysia. His home is nestled within jungles and alongside several rivers, a world away from the urban sprawl of Kuala Lumpur. He came to the city (home to 8.8 million people) to attend university, a major transition for this young man.

Besides being a minority because of his rural upbringing, Wesley also finds himself a minority in another way: He’s a Christian living in a city where only 6.4% of the population follows Jesus. Most residents of Kuala Lumpur are Muslim or Buddhist, with a significant minority of Hindus. There are mosques throughout the city, sprawling Buddhist temples and massive shrines dedicated to Hindu gods.

It could be a recipe for disaster – a young Christian coming to a fast-paced city for the first time, turned from his faith by the influences around him.

But Wesley’s faith in Jesus has prepared him for the challenges of living in a massive city, as becoming a true Christian hasn’t been an easy path for him.

A Christian birth certificate, but little understanding

Wesley’s village is made up of people who identify as “Christian” on their birth certificates but lack a genuine understanding of the faith. Missionaries brought the Gospel to the region in the 20th century, but often without providing the needed discipleship to truly grasp it or live it out.

“I identified as a Christian,” Wesley recalls, “but I didn’t fully embrace or live out its principles.” The community held tightly to traditional beliefs, including reverence for animals as divine beings and ritual worship of trees, often alongside Christianity. “I followed [these beliefs] wholeheartedly,” Wesley says, “and truly believed in the culture. I was completely immersed in its beliefs and practices, finding great significance and meaning in it.”

“Truthfully, I was never introduced to the Bible or educated about it during my childhood, and I had never read it before,” he says. Wesley’s lack of exposure to the Bible and knowledge of Jesus led him into encounters with spiritual practices common in his culture. He witnessed rituals performed by a local witch doctor and his uncle, a relative he grew up with, was even susceptible to spiritual possession.

Yet, despite the beliefs around him, Wesley was curious about the faith that was written on his birth certificate. He decided to attend church and see what Christianity was all about.

That set him on a course that would change everything.

“Like being electrocuted”

As Wesley prepared for graduation, he began attending church. “Looking back, I realise God had always been with me,” he says. At 17, he had a profound experience at church. “In that service, I felt very warm, like being electrocuted,” he remembers. “I know today that I felt the presence of God.”

It made him realise how little he understood about the faith he was supposed to belong to. “I didn’t know who Jesus was, what the Bible was, or who God was.”

A life-changing programme

Everything changed when Wesley participated in a programme called Ground Zero, organised and run by local partners. Ground Zero provides foundational Biblical teaching and discipleship to young people transitioning from high school to college.

It was the first time Wesley really had the opportunity to read the Bible and understand God’s Word. It was also here that he truly met Jesus as his Saviour, saying: “I felt my life was transformed after knowing the truth about Him.”

The training wasn’t only a personal transformation. It equipped him to handle challenges, and even to stand in faith when his own family was struggling. When his uncle experienced a terrifying episode of spiritual possession, Wesley was able to confidently advise his mother and uncle not to seek help from the witch doctor but to pray for healing through Jesus. He decided he would sleep on the floor next to his uncle’s bed and pray throughout the night.

His uncle had been hysterical for three days before Wesley came, but that night, with Wesley praying, his uncle slept peacefully. “I felt very brave at that moment,” Wesley remembers. “I believed God was with me.” This conviction extended to his entire family, and his father, previously staunchly opposed to Christianity, eventually began following Christ as well.

Navigating the city’s challenges

Moving to Kuala Lumpur, Wesley has found himself immersed in a diverse religious landscape. While he appreciates the opportunity to learn from others, he acknowledges the constant need to be discerning and to stand firm in his faith. He finds strength in the Bible, using its teachings to guide his decisions and to resist outside pressures to leave the faith.

“Knowing the Bible has been incredibly helpful,” he says. “If I never knew the Word of God before coming here, I could easily be swayed.”

He has even shared his faith with friends, patiently explaining his beliefs and demonstrating the joy and peace he finds in Christ. “When I read the Bible, it always says God is with us and not to be afraid,” Wesley says. “I remember those verses wherever I go. God will never forsake me!”

An ongoing need and a bright future

Wesley’s story highlights the critical need for programmes like Ground Zero in Malaysia. These initiatives provide young people with the tools they need to understand their faith, the Word of God, resist cultural pressures and share the Gospel with others.

He hopes that Open Doors partners will continue to provide financial and prayerful support. “I hope many young people will join programmes like this,” he says. “Their lives will undergo a transformation from old to new.”

Wesley now serves in his church, and his strong faith is a testimony to a changed life. His aspirations are simple: to continue growing in his faith, serve God, and be a light to those around him. He draws strength from John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.” He says, “All I want in my life is to serve Him. My dream is to serve God.”

He asks for continued prayers for his studies, his family and for the spread of the Gospel in Malaysia. “Pray that my faith will be strengthened so that I can overcome any challenges in my life with the help of God, and I will always be on the right path toward Christ,” he says.

He is no longer a boy from a remote village, but a young man with a deep faith and a bright future.

Open Doors works through partners around the world to provide Bibles and discipleship resources to persecuted Christians who experience pressure and persecution for their faith. A gift of R180 today can help provide a persecuted believer with God’s Word and the tools to understand it.