— “Understanding the Koran: A Quick Christian Guide to the Muslim Holy Book,” by Dr. Mateen Elass, will be the adult study during Vacation Bible School Sunday through Wednesday at Bethany Presbyterian Church, 2000 Haskell Blvd.

Elass, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Edmond, will  speak, the final night of VBS, 6 p.m. Thursday.

What are the odds that a son born to a Muslim father, raised for more than a decade in Saudi Arabia, schooled in western philosophy and psychology, and then trained in eastern mysticism, should become a resolute Christian and a minister of the gospel?

Small odds, when counted by human probability. But the Rev. Mateen Elass sees this prelude to his pastoral ministry as witness to the power of God to find and call His children to service — regardless of the odds, according to a media release.

Elass was the second of four children born to a Syrian Muslim who had married an American while studying at the University of Wisconsin. Some years after Elass’ birth, the family moved to Saudi Arabia where his father worked as an oil company executive. During his early teens, Elass began a search for God, largely through reading. For six years he focused on eastern mysticism and meditation including a stay at an ashram in India. He questioned who God is and how could he know him?

God guided Elass toward an answer to those questions by bringing him into contact with Christians. They repeatedly pointed him to Christ and challenged him to read the four gospels of the New Testament and to get to know Jesus. He took up the challenge. After days of reading, study and prayer, at the age of 20, Elass became a follower of Christ. As is common in Middle Eastern families, he soon paid a high cost for his newfound faith: Isolation from his father for more than a decade.

A frequent speaker about Islam, Elass sees his experience on both sides of the Christian-Muslim divide as providing an  opportunity to create bridges of understanding, according to the release. His hope is that God will use him to reveal the love of Jesus to both sides. “God will provide guidance to those who seek him, and will equip his people to do his will.”

Information: 682-8683.