FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — In a dimly lit church on a spring morning, the Rev. Christiana Sutton-Koroma cites the Bible’s book of Numbers — in which it says people should not have contact with corpses that could infect themselves and others — as an argument to dispense with traditional burial practices that can spread Ebola.

She and other faith leaders, both Christian and Muslim, have turned to religion to help educate people in Sierra Leone, where the virus is abating but could still be simmering.

For Kadiatu Bah Lopez, hearing sermons like these may have meant the difference between life and death for her 23-year-old nephew Amadu. It was only after her pastor started to talk about Ebola that she knew to get Amadu, who was sick, the help he needed fast.

“I thought Ebola was not real. I thought they were just injecting people with the virus to kill us,” she said. “But through the church and listening to the advice they were giving, I realized Ebola was real.”

Distrust of medical workers and the government led people, especially at the start of the outbreak that began almost a year ago, to hide sick family members at home. The value of faith leaders in a country that is very religious — and tolerant of other religions — was quickly recognized, and nongovernmental organizations and the government began encouraging churches and mosques to preach preventive measures.

The Freetown-based NGO Focus 1000, a partner with Sierra Leone’s Social Mobilization Action Consortium, which consists of various agencies working with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation to get to zero Ebola cases, came up with the idea.

In the late summer, Focus 1000 brought together the Islamic Action Group and Christian Action Group to brainstorm ways to use the Quran and the Bible to educate people about Ebola.

Mixed-faith families are common in Sierra Leone. When Amadu contracted Ebola, Lopez prayed for him at her church, and his fellow Muslim friends prayed for his recovery at their mosque.

He survived the virus, which has killed more than 11,000 people across West Africa. He believes people praying for him helped, no matter their religion.

“We are all serving one God, at the end of the day,” he said. “We are all doing service for the same God. We are unified. Religion doesn’t matter.”