MMRC: Movements of thousands of Third-World peoples to Christian West

Movements of thousands of Third-World peoples to Christian west
by Justin D. Long

Scenario: Every Now and Then

Cari's street evangelism team wants their ministry to count, both immediately and in the future. To accomplish this, Cari has urged her fellow workers to target their efforts strategically. With a little bit of research, she discovers a community of Kurds; with some help from agencies specializing in ministries to Muslims, the team begins to interact with this community. After a long investment of time, they are able to introduce a Kurdish man studying in London to Jesus Christ. "Jack," as they refer to him in their literature, has an insatiable desire to learn more and more about Christ-but even more, to bring the good news back to his people in northern Iraq.

War is not the only factor that uproots people and sends them scurrying across the continents, but it is a major one. Right now, 100,000 Afghanis live as refugees in the north of their country, running from the warfare that has engulfed the nation. More have left Afghanistan entirely, and reside in Central Asia.

But most importantly, there are pockets of Afghanis all across Western Europe. They aren't the only group: Kurds can be found in London; Kazakhs in Germany; Somalis in various cities of the United States; and Chinese in great numbers in western Canada.

Some of these are refugees from war. Some are simply seeking the "good life" in the West. Others are students, or travellers, or religious pilgrims. All share a common bond: they are easily accessible to evangelists who take the time to find them.

Case studies

Guam. Want to reach the Kurds? Trans World Radio in Guam is handing out shortwave radios to several thousand Kurds who are presently residing on Anderson Air Force Base. They can hear Kurdish broadcasts of the Gospel, while receiving help from Christian ministries.

United States. Think the Somalis are one of the most impossible groups to reach? Think again. You can find Somalis in nearly every major city of the USA, and in some of the not-so-major ones, too. Friendship evangelism is a wonderful ministry for a refugee family.

Canada. So many Chinese have fled Hong Kong for western Canada that I've heard it called "Little China." "Chinatowns" can be found in many major American cities, particularly on the west coast. Again, though many have heard the Gospel, converts here can return to China to evangelize their own people.

Europe. There are plenty of Arabic students studying abroad, particularly in Spain, England and Germany. One mission agency meets every refugee coming off a boat or a plane to give them a Bible and offer aid in settling in.

Effect on World A

If you don't have the wherewithal to go to a restricted-access country (like Somalia or Sudan), look around in your own city. Make your efforts now count for something then. Who is bringing Christ to the refugees and students in your town? The student who is reclaimed for the Kingdom today may be the missionary of tomorrow-perhaps an even more effective missionary than you could ever be.

Long-term result

The net result of this could be new missionaries to World A who understand their people's culture and language; or, at the very least, World A people who will carry with them the knowledge of how wonderful Christians can be when they live out their Gospel. Remember, people from World A countries can often return for vacations to see loved ones, and they could carry with them a passive testimony of how loving Christians in the West really are.

Suggestions

Learn. Get in touch with ministries who specialize in reaching minority groups in Western cities, and learn how to do it.
Research. Find out what World A groups are living in your city, explore their communities and learn how they live and what their needs are.
Train. Develop teams to reach out to World A groups and meet their needs.
Network. Contact other churches and invite them to share in this cause.