Pastors looking for encouraging sermon material amid the decline in American church attendance may want to check out Joel Rosenberg’s new book, "Inside the Revolution."

A New York Times bestseller, the book reached the #3 position on June’s CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) list. Much of the attention surrounding it concerns its extensive examination of the implications of religious and political movements in Iran 30 years after the overthrow of the shah.

However, the most interesting spiritual dynamic is Rosenberg’s chronicling of Muslims coming to Christ across the Middle East. I interviewed the noted author/novelist last year for a story on this incredible movement, which he places in the millions.

"In Iraq a pastor said he didn’t know of a single person who didn’t come to Christ without a dream or vision," Rosenberg told me. "In Iran a vast majority (of conversions) are from dreams and visions.

"Almost every person who had a dream or vision had some contact or exposure with the Bible and the gospel at some other point in their life."

Rosenberg isn’t the only one who has witnessed this phenomenon. Al Janssen of Open Doors International discovered such visions propelled the spiritual search of dozens of Muslim-background believers. He interviewed many in carefully-concealed circumstances before writing the 2007 book, "Secret Believers."

"They had been threatened before they talked to me," Janssen said. "I tried to insure that my talking to them didn’t cause them any problems. There’s extensive pressure that comes from their extended family if they’re even interested in knowing about Jesus."

Yet, despite such obstacles these converts use creative means to evangelize. Many will use a series of spiritually-based questions and if they sense the other person getting hostile, resist going further.

Does it work? Janssen interviewed one former imam who had a list of 62 people he was discipling.

Considering the dedication these ex-Muslims show to the task makes me wonder if opposition instead of respectability would spark growth in the U.S. Church.

It also raises disconcerting questions about Western-style evangelism. Earlier this week Editor Rebecca Barnes wrote about the blogger who insists we should put standard evangelical outreach methods to rest.

How do we reconcile the call to evangelize when God is saving people in such miraculous ways? One answer lies in Rosenberg’s observation that almost everyone who experienced dreams or vision had prior exposure to the Bible or the gospel. Perhaps we need to be more concerned with sharing our experience with Christ and less focused on "closing the sale."

However, don’t discount the shot of optimism your congregation can gather from awareness that great movements are afoot in the Middle East—something they aren’t likely to learn watching network or cable newscasts.

"All the partner ministries we work with say this is the new revival," says Tom Doyle, the region’s director for E-3 Partners, a ministry based in Plano, Tex. E-3 has planted hundreds of churches in the Mid-East the past two years and saw more than 1,000 Muslims come to Christ last year in Syria alone.

"When God does a revival, it’s clear to anybody," Doyle says.

American churchgoers love to fantasize about increased church attendance, exciting speakers and altars filled to overflowing. But what’s happening in the Middle East shows that God isn’t restricted to a Western concept of revival.

We may also need to ask ourselves if we would welcome revival, if it meant getting shaken up and stirred out of our modern comfort zones.

In the meantime, church leaders may want to pose the question to their congregations that Rosenberg asked me, "If Jesus is willing to save a radical Muslim, what could he do in your life?"