Quiet witness

Religion: Evangelism to Muslims is hard, but slow progress is coming in New York | Alisa Harris

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HARLEM, N.Y.—Four white men from Winnsboro, Texas, wearing their Texas Longhorn T-shirts and sturdy Carhartt coats, stood by a spindly table covered with an African print and filled with CDs. One wore an African tunic over his T-shirt. Another wore an African tunic beneath his Carhartt. They struck up conversations with passersby on one of Harlem's main streets.

"We live in a small town in East Texas. Three traffic signals, one grocery store," said David Rose, pastor of First Baptist Church Winnsboro. They came to New York to distribute Christian CDs and DVDs to West African Muslims. Thanks to the efforts of a Harlem missionary with Texas Southern Baptist roots, Rose said, "We can do West African evangelism without having to leave the United States."