From Malachi: Update from Birmingham 3
Time is nearing a close in Birmingham, I have my train back to Liverpool booked for the 30th and my flight back to the states is the 3rdof December. I am thankful that God has provided me a place to stay in the short term once I return to the states and make plans for the future.
Two weeks ago a team from the US was visiting the Hope Center to host a week of activities to increase interaction and evangelism in the community. This team has had a long history of supporting the Hope Center and it was neat to see how delighted the members of the church were to see familiar faces that have visited for the last five years.
One of our outreach activities was a bonfire on the church property with an invite for any families in the community to come. At the Hope Center a recurring struggle is that families from the community are very difficult to reach and very hesitant to come to the center. Nevertheless, the bonfire is a yearly tradition which brings out many families which would otherwise never be seen. The difficulty remains that few of the men come, and follow-up relationships are hard to come by. This has been especially true for the Somali population. However, it was encouraging that a man named Ahmed who lives in the next-door tower block saw the massive fire, assumed the worst, and came out to see if he could help extinguish it only to find out that it was an event. Through this we became acquainted, and he came to a men’s game night as well as an impromptu game of foosball and table tennis at the church. He is very interested in the Center and we are hoping and praying that we can connect more to he and his wife. He is a very friendly fellow who is somewhat open to talk about religion and enjoyed the warmth at the center. He is from Somaliland, which I did not realize is a place. If you are interested, you can look up the history. In summary, about 1/3 of Somalia is a separated state known as Somaliland but mostly unrecognized internationally.
The Hope Center has a particularly discouraging history with the Somali population. The Hope Center has been hosting a homework club for about six years. This homework group was particularly popular to Somali families, and many would come to the Center. That however was before the Hope Center became a formal church and in a sweeping move, many of them have since stopped coming and distanced themselves from the center. It seems as though this was an intentional reaction in the Muslim community at the realization that this is a church. In contrast it shows how blessed that North Evington Free Church is in Leicester, considering that many Muslim families in the community are still willing to send their children for activities. Interestingly, a Somali woman in the community has been friends of the missionary family for many years. She recently returned to the area for a short time and even she complained to her friends that none of them were coming to community events. A really encouraging development is that she is very curious about baptism and we hope she will be present to witness one soon. We are praying that God uses this in her life.
In our evangelism recently I have encountered some of the challenges of engaging with Sikhs. Many of them are of Indian descent and come from a northern region of India. Their religious beliefs seem to have roots in Hinduism but they claim to be monotheists. Their beliefs unfortunately resemble the relativism of Western culture. For them, all religions are simply different perspectives of the same God. Therefore, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, etc. all worship the same God. It is as though all of these competing religions are unknowingly grasping the same truth, and Sikhs have the key to unlocking the confusion. From the start our worldviews are so different. We may try to persuade them to consider Christ, but their response is generally indifference. In talking with them it feels laborious trying to get them to ponder that we are arguing for only one true way to God. Given there’s much polytheism in India coupled with their own beliefs I think they are a bit startled at the exclusivity which we preach. We challenge them to inquire whether their theory is correct and to consider the implications if their relativism is wrong.
Time in Birmingham is noticeably drawing to a close. My train leaves next Saturday so I am trying to bridge some of my relationships with people from the church in hopes that these connections continue to flourish after I leave. I am still in communication with the Somali fellow who invited me to badminton and we were able to meet up for a coffee last week. He is friendly and we talked openly about some spiritual things. We met at an Eritrean coffee shop. The owner is a Pentecostal Christian. Many Eritrean Christians are nominal, and their religion is a cultural identity with little discipleship. What is so unique is that Abra’am (who owns the coffee shop) has such a close relationship with the Somali community which regularly visits his café. And just at the end of his row of shops, (maybe 100’ away) is one of the local mosques that many of the Somali’s attend. I am amazed at what an incredible opportunity Abra’am has in this community to witness to his Muslim friends. I inquired about whether he had ever seen a Muslim come to follow Christ and he indicated that he never had. The Muslim community is very powerful in his eyes, and it seems he refuses to talk about religion. Again, this may be more of a cultural identity. One desire at the Hope Center is to build relationships with men like Abra’am who is welcomed into the Somali community. Maybe the Hope Center will have opportunities in the future to disciple Abra’am in hopes that he will boldly advance the gospel in relationships and encounters that many of us Americans cannot have. Also, he has demonstrated the tremendous practicality of running a small business like a coffee shop in the middle of that community.
Before I leave Birmingham I am taking some last opportunities to hear the thought process and decisions which led the team of missionaries to move to Birmingham. As I have mentioned previously, there are many members who team together at the church, and they come from different organizations and with different focuses. It is encouraging to hear the different routes which God has opened to bring them to this point. One of the fellows in the church is a professor in a university but coming to Birmingham was an intentional decision for him and his wife. Although from the outside he seems like a lay-member serving in the church he is in many ways as much a missionary as anyone else, but he chose to come through the channel of academics. This couple has been serving the church from an early point and have filled an invaluable role.
- Pray that my friends connect with members of Hope Church who can continue sharing the gospel.
- Pray that with the few opportunities I have left I boldly urge these friends to believe in Christ.
- Pray that I leave the church here and in Liverpool with encouragement to continue serving faithfully.