🔥 Warrior Spotlight: Nadalla Alrajo

From Radical Roots to Radical Redemption

At my MCOT training with Mission Go in Canada in April, I had the blessing of meeting an incredible warrior in God’s army-Nadalla Alrajo. This young man has endured unimaginable hardship, including having his own family plan his death. Yet he remains unwavering in his commitment to the calling God has placed on his life. I want to share a bit of his remarkable story with you.

Born in Syria to a devout Muslim family, Nadalla was raised under the strict discipline of Islamic law. His father-a sheikh with three wives and more than 18 children-was a tribal leader, and Nadalla was next in line for that role. By the age of three, he was attending mosque regularly. At age six, after hearing about Jesus' resurrection, he began asking questions. The result? Beatings, punishment, and exile to a rigid Islamic boarding school. The United Nations has condemned these schools. Most operate without official government approval, and include violent indoctrination, with lessons as early as age six on how to decapitate enemies. 

At thirteen, Nadalla heard a voice urging him to go to Lebanon. He obeyed-moving to Lebanon with money from his family and a fake ID. What followed was a reckless life of partying and empty pleasures. In August 2008, depressed and hopeless, he stumbled upon a discarded paper that told how Jesus changed the life of another unnamed Muslim. Between August 20–31, he descended into despair. He began planning to end his life before his fifteenth birthday.

But on August 31, everything changed.

He locked himself in a room and cried out, “If you are the god of the Muslims, I cannot believe in you because you are harsh. But if you are real, I want to know you.” In that locked room, in the middle of the night, a man surrounded by radiant light appeared, took his hand, and said:

“Nadalla, I am the way and the truth and the life.”

Fifteen seconds. This is how long his encounter with the one true God lasted, but those fifteen seconds would change the course of his life and countless others. Nadalla felt the weight on his soul lift, and peace overtook him. Plagued by insomnia his entire life, for the first time he slept for more than 12 hours. When he awoke, he wanted to fly, everything was beautiful, and he longed to share what had happened to him with others, but he didn’t understand himself what had happened. He only knew that he had met the living God and his life would never be the same. He promised God that day “whatever the cost, I am yours now.”

He connected with a Christian pastor online who urged him to begin to read the Bible. For months he studied every day, being discipled by the pastor online. When he reached John 14:6—the very words Jesus had spoken—he wept and gave his life to Christ. His online pastor told him it was time for him to find a church to attend. A task easier said than done. 

Rejection followed. Most churches feared his father's influence, and many were wary of Muslims who claimed to convert—worried it was a tactic for later violence. The family he was living with began asking where he went on Wednesdays and Sundays. When he shared his conversion, they called his father and labeled him an infidel. His father told them to finish him.

Nadalla fled to the mountains, but he continued to spread the Gospel with people on trains and out in the streets. Assassination attempts became a regular part of his life. His father even sent a kill squad-nine of his own family members and friends-to hunt him down. One of them was Nadalla’s older brother. 

His brother would call him and try to test his faith, but over time, Nadalla’s unshakable commitment and deep faith was enough to change the heart of his brother, and he too became a Christian. In 2014, when ISIS entered Syria, their father ordered his older brother to join. His brother refused, saying “The Lord says we are to love our enemies.” At 27, he was executed-martyred by their father. Nadalla’s family also killed one of his cousins who converted to Christianity. Over the years, Nadalla survived 22 assassination attempts, many leaving him hospitalized, some nearly fatal.

Like many of us might in his place, Nadalla began to plan the death of those who were hunting him. He had written the plan and was thinking about the best way to carry it out when he read Matthew 6. He cried out to God “I cannot forgive them!” For the next two days he did not sleep, he prayed and cried and begged God to show him the way forward. At the end of those two days, he burned the plans and began the long process of forgiving those who were actively trying to take his life. 

In 2018, Nadalla relocated to Canada, became a citizen, and launched Voice of Faith, an online ministry reaching those who are inaccessible by traditional means and sharing the Gospel with others who are seeking a relationship with God. Nadalla has also planted over a dozen churches since his conversion.

During my time with Nadalla, I was struck by his fire and obvious love for God as well as his deep commitment to helping others. I asked him three questions, and here’s what he said:

Tell me in a few sentences what your past life was like.

“I grew up in a strict, fear-driven environment where questioning was not allowed. I felt trapped, searching for truth in silence.”

What are your future plans?

“I want to create safe spaces for others to ask questions about Jesus.”

What advice do you have for others who may find themselves in the same situation you came out of?

“Don’t fear the truth-follow it. Life with the Lord is worth rejecting everything else.”

His additional advice to those who are unsure how to teach others about God is this:

“Before you share the gospel, be the gospel for others. Show them God in your life. And pray for them. If you cannot tell them about God, tell God about them.”

Nadalla Alraho is a true picture of what it means to be a Warrior for Christ. His bravery and radical love for the Lord is truly an inspiration. 

His website can be found at https://voicefaith.org.