Henna and the Gospel: Helping Central Asian Refugees in Europe

Roya and her family are sharing the Gospel and helping Central Asian refugees hear the Good News through a unique method: telling Biblical stories with henna.

Handing out tracts.  

Street preaching.  

Friendship evangelism.  

Over the years, there have been countless ways that global ministry workers have shared the Good News of Jesus Christ. They have adapted their methods to fit the cultural context that they are in. And they have gotten creative in these methods! No longer is evangelism relegated to one means or method. Now, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ can be done in ways as unique as doing henna on the hands of your Central Asian neighbors.   

Roya* has lived in multiple different places, from the Middle East to Europe, and has experienced many ways of sharing the Gospel with those close to her. Several years ago, she and her family moved to Europe to serve Central Asian refugees who had fled there after the unrest and violence in their homeland. Roya knew that henna (temporary artwork done on hands) was an important part of Central Asian culture, but it was difficult to obtain the henna powder where they were living. So, she had a friend bring it to her from the United States. 

Roya tells her story like this: “I really had a heart to reach the Central Asian ladies. One of the things that they like to do is henna.” She adds, “Someone else has come up with all the designs, but there are a bunch of henna patterns that go with Bible stories. I started doing henna on my hand and then telling these Bible stories to the Central Asian ladies. And then I invited them to come over because they all love henna.” 

About ten to fifteen women and girls came over for their first henna party. Roya’s teen daughter Grace* also joined the henna party. Roya and Grace were able to share the Biblical accounts of creation, Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, and David through the henna art that they did on the women’s hands. The stories continued week after week at each henna party. And eventually, the stories led to sharing the Gospel. 

It amazed Roya to see how the henna parties grew from a simple tool to share Biblical stories to deep conversations about Jesus with large groups of women. The women freely asked questions about Jesus and Islam, the Quran and the Bible, digging deep into the differences between the two religions. A Christian Central Asian woman joined them in these henna parties, and she was able to take the conversations to an even deeper level, urging the Central Asian women to consider the truths of the Gospel. 

As Roya reflects on these henna parties, she remembers how careful she had to be while sharing her faith when she lived in the Middle East. However, working with the refugees in Europe is different, because of the religious freedom there. She says, “To have the opportunity every week, multiple times a week, to be able to just share so openly with Central Asians, it is such a treasure to be able to have the freedom to do that.” 

*names changed to protect privacy

TEAM workers who serve among refugee and immigrant groups seek to demonstrate Christ’s love in practical ways and offer hope. We work in and through local communities of believers to share the gospel, which immigrants often take back with them to countries that are closed to traditional missionaries. Learn more about helping Central Asian refugees and others around the world below.