From Malachi: Update from America
My time in England completed on Tuesday and I have returned safely back to the US. I don’t think that I could have anticipated how much of a blessing the last two weeks in England were despite a chaotic schedule with plenty of activity. The church in Birmingham rejoiced two weeks ago to celebrate the baptism of a young student whom they met over a year ago. He came from a primarily Muslim country, but God had already begun to do a work in his life before he arrived for university. It was a blessing to see the fruit of the church’s faithful ministry.
Many of my contacts in Birmingham concluded with encouraging hope for their future connection to the church. As I look through my journal it is obvious that I don’t have the space to detail the stories here but some of them were amazingly ordained. To summarize one of my favorites: the last evening in Liverpool I got an unplanned call and opportunity to meet up with a Somali fellow that I had met previously but wasn’t thinking I would get to see again. Not only were we able to meet up, but we ended up spending hours together and visited the local coffee shop. He then walked with me all the way to what was supposed to be my last visit with the pastor and his wife. Upon arriving we welcomed him in and continued our conversation about Christianity and Islam for about an hour. This was also the most intimate opportunity I had to see how the pastor and his wife engage in evangelism with the Somali community that they love so much. The whole time I was thinking “how did this happen?” I am thankful to God for that opportunity.
I also got to play badminton one last time with my other Somali friends and after dinner we had some conversation about who Jesus was and what happened at calvary. What is interesting is that Somalis seem generally open to share what they believe and explain it. That said, these guys did not seem very interested in answering my rebuttals. One commented that for them this matter is “unquestionable” for a Somali. They are open to talk but it is hard at times to dialogue with them and challenge them to reconsider.
My last weekend in England I visited Liverpool to spend some final time with the church there. It was encouraging to see how the church has grown. I was greatly encouraged to see our young friend from down the road who regularly walks to and attends church by herself despite just becoming a teenager. Her presence is delightful for everyone but also a bit alarming to consider how vulnerable she is. I am thankful that one of the women in the church pays especially close attention to where she is and when she leaves. It would be devastating to think of anything evil happening to her when she has come to the church with such trust. I am hopeful that she will be a “brand plucked from the fire” given the spiritual destitution of her family.
Everyone is also encouraged by the fruit in Michelle’s life. They are planning to baptize her in January, and she is boldly inviting all of her friends to come out. She really takes pleasure in the church family and just this last week began volunteering at their weekly food pantry. This is a blessing which cannot be overstated. The food pantry takes ~5 people at a minimum to operate and on those days, it is chaotic and hard to engage. Another faithful servant can almost double the opportunities for someone else to focus on spiritual conversations.
In Liverpool I also was able to connect with my Afghani friends again. I made plans to have them meet a couple from church, but those plans fell through. However, they invited me over for dinner which was a great time. We did not have much spiritual conversation, but it was great to see their language progress over the last three months. Most of them are waiting for their refugee interviews to decide whether they can stay. One thing I realized in Liverpool is that in some ways it is a condensed demographic of Birmingham. Although there is not as many immigrants, there are immigrants from all over the world and they likely have more tangible needs. Many have entered as asylum seekers. On top of that, since there is not a massive number from any one country it is possible there is less cultural pressure and more liberty to associate with Christians. While Birmingham has many mission workers from different organizations, Liverpool seems to not have as many despite there being such a diversity of nations represented. That is not to say there are few Christians. The Cornerstone Collective of churches in Liverpool has been tremendously faithful and they have seen tremendous growth. That said, many of the churches they have planted are still very young and I don’t think there has been a dedicated effort to engage the nations around them. At this point they are still in the phase of resolving what it means to be a light in their community. They have been effective at engaging Liverpudlians and multiplying churches but maybe are just beginning to reflect on broader engagement. I was hoping there would be a way to connect my Afghani friends with someone in the collective but there maybe is not the capacity at this point. Maybe there is an opportunity for one or many Christians to intentionally live there and focus on reaching them…
Hope Church Kensington (Liverpool):
- Patience and Stamina to shepherd young Christians who often relapse into sinful patterns.
- Discernment and success as they branch out into new avenues of charity in their community.
- Maturity in Christ, especially for those who are enticed from so many directions.
Hope Church Nechells (Birmingham):
- That Somalis would be open to engaging with Hope Church where formerly they have cut ties.
- Wisdom as the leadership considers how to implement eldership, membership, and discipleship.
- Greater participation/service from non-American members of the church.