Posted on

Building Relationships with our Muslim Neighbours

God has called us to reach the nations and tell everyone about his name, right? What if there’s hesitation due to uncertainty of how someone might respond? Let’s talk about what many of our missionaries will have some level of interaction with; meeting and befriending Muslims.

Due to war, persecution, and political unrest across the Middle East and North Africa, millions of Muslims have relocated to Europe in search of peace in a new home. Muslims account for 5% of the population across Europe, and that number continues to rise. In contrast, most countries in Europe have less than 3% of people claiming to follow Jesus and most cities have well under 2%.

We’re making an effort to serve our Muslim neighbours and equip our global workers to best meet followers of Islam with the light and love of Christ. 

Part of this equipping involves addressing stereotypes. Sadly, our western context includes inaccurate assumptions that lead to unfounded fear and hesitation. Walk with me as we learn just a little bit more together.

Because of the differences between Islam and Christianity, many Christians falsely assume it would be difficult to talk with Muslims about spiritual things. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Muslims believe in God, they believe in many of the same prophets as Christians do, they believe in Jesus and even that God inspired the Bible. With each of these commonalities, there are many connecting points for Christians to build bridges from scripture.

On the flip side, some elements of Christianity are either confusing or hard to understand when put into practice. For example, what’s going on with the trinity? Do we serve three different Gods? And is God’s grace too cheap, if all that Christians need to do is say a prayer and then they’re saved? Are Christians just free to go on living their lives as they please after that? 

Befriending our Muslim neighbours and having these spiritual discussions with them can certainly help bring clarity to these misunderstandings we each might have! Islam is a part of every aspect of a Muslim’s life; this is important in understanding your Muslim neighbour, and in opening yourself up to being understood as well.

Another interesting misconception we sometimes see among some Christians is the idea that Muslims don’t want to be friends with Christians. Through community centres, sports, kids play groups, tea parties, or any number of other connection points, Muslim people can be very easy to befriend. We all seek community. Some aspects of our social lives are drawn on religious lines, but many others are based on interests, stages of life, and geography.

And this is at the core of GEM: discipleship starts with friendship.

Inter-faith friendships lead to inter-faith discussions and chances for gospel seeds to be sown. Sadly, many Muslims have never been befriended by disciples of Jesus. “They might be surprised that you as a Christian want to hang out with them because that hasn’t been their experience,” says Luke, a global worker in Berlin, Germany. “So when they meet a real one, they are interested in your faith,” adds Forrest, a GEM worker in Stockholm, Sweden. Just like any religion or culture, no two followers of the Quran are identical. And as Luke notes, we must “be careful not to reduce people to a stereotype or a project.”

Another misunderstanding is that Muslims are antagonistic toward Christians and only want to debate. This is a common caricature people in the West have of Muslims. But as Emily, a global worker in France, emphatically remarks, “This is not true!” Depending on who you encounter, the same could be said of Christians, if your experience was limited enough! But many Muslims have genuine questions and are seeking to understand. Emily goes on to say that “the key here is loving discussion, not debate. We must avoid the temptation to want to ‘win’ debate.”

Although misconceptions abound no matter what the faith or background, I do hope this has shed some light on what our missionaries are experiencing across Europe and can help you in the relationships you’re building in your own neighbourhoods.  

Please join us in praying for open doors and opportunities for God’s workers as they build relationships with their Muslim neighbours!

References:

https://www.pewforum.org/2017/11/29/europes-growing-muslim-population/

https://joshuaproject.net/continents/EUR

https://gemission.org/five-misconceptions-in-ministry-to-muslims/

About the author:

Leanne Monge Barrera is a storyteller with Greater Europe Mission and serves out of Winnipeg, Canada.

Posted on

The World Meets in Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt is a fascinating city.

It’s one of the world’s most globally connected cities. In terms of culture, education, commerce, and transportation, the world intersects with Frankfurt daily.

With its incredible influence and interaction with so many countries, not only within Europe but also beyond, Frankfurt is a natural home to many global, continental, and national headquarters, including our international headquarters. 

A beautiful mirror of this interconnectedness can be seen in the people of Frankfurt. More than 50% of Frankfurt’s population are from a non-ethnic-German background; that percentage that goes up past 75% when referring to children under the age of 6! Perhaps even more surprising, however, is that over 25% of those living in Frankfurt hold foreign citizenship! It isn’t simply a city with an international past, but with strong, persistent international connections in its present and future.

This creates a uniquely strategic setting for not only business and industry, but also ministry. Frankfurt is among a short list of cities that we have identified as a Focus City – an intentional effort to partner with the local church and other organizations that allows us to build community and strategic ministries that will help to reach Europe by multiplying disciples and growing Christ’s church. Frankfurt is a great example of a city through which we can see our vision come to pass – God expanding His kingdom through all peoples of Europe to the world!

What may come as a surprise to some is that the German church is far from what it once was. Roughly 2% of Germans profess a personal faith in Jesus Christ; it’s into this deep-seated secular society that waves of refugees have continued to land in Germany since 2014. 

Canada has much to learn from Germany, lessons that can help equip the Canadian church in a secular society. Our paths to secularization are incomparably different, on an entirely different timeline with different causes and even different effects, and efforts to anticipate the crossroads of a shared secularity are really unnecessary exercises. 

However, what we must value in Canada is the opportunity to come alongside our brothers and sisters in Germany, to learn from their story, and then to adapt it with our God-given creativity to the unique story here in Canada.

Through our commitment to partnerships, we’re excited to see where God is leading the Canadian church in partnering with the church in Germany. We have seen remarkable fruit in our church planting partnerships, and in our work with local outreach for those living under the shadow of prostitution and drug addiction. We’re also establishing training programs, leveraging the strategic location of Frankfurt to help deliver high quality training that can make an impact in local churches throughout Europe.

This vision starts with responding to God’s simple call. A call to listen, a call to obey, and a call to love. From here, possibilities begin to blossom. There are lots of ways that this can look, and who knows what creative forms this can take. We carry with us into innovation the imprint of the eternal God and, as a result, balance cultural traditions with adaptive methodologies, a reality brought to bear in our global response to restricted life under a pandemic. 

Please, join me in praying for the church in Frankfurt, and prayerfully consider how you can be a part of the incredible ministry taking place in this global city!

Posted on

Building Hope in Rural Romania

God is at work in rural Romania!

Today I want to share with you a little about the country of Romania and give you a glimpse of just some of the things God is doing there.

Romania is a land of spiritual challenge and opportunity. Even though parts of the country have some of the largest concentrations of evangelical believers in Europe, many parts of the country still have well less than 1% who know what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus. In many areas, spiritual darkness is woven into the culture and fabric of daily life.

For many of us, our image of Europe is a place rich in Christian history, art, and faithful tradition. We know that today much of the continent lacks the light of Jesus, but when our history books tell us Europe and Christianity used to go hand in hand, we may ask ourselves where did it go wrong? As Christianity initially swept through Europe, certain parts lacked the depth and foundation of faith that undergirded the Christianization of society. As Dwight Poggemiller, a GEM worker in Romania, notes, “they simply changed the names of pagan deities to saints; but the local practices never disappeared. Rather than adopting the lifestyle of Jesus, Jesus was adopted to serve our man-made lifestyles.” Down through the centuries, this syncretism of Christianity and cultural beliefs have intertwined in subtle yet powerful ways.

Where is the hope when darkness is so rampant?

God has raised up GEM missionaries to serve in this remote region—to learn the language, to live among the people, and to find ways to break through the walls of mistrust and suspicion that have for so long blocked out hope.

GEM workers Kevin and Michelle Weppler, serving in Dragonesti (pronounced dragon-esht) Romania had a breakthrough when God gave them a vision for a second-hand store in their community. The store they opened quickly became a bridge for the gospel. Their 5 Romanian employees came to Christ and began sharing their testimonies with their families and neighbours. Now, the store is thriving, with nearly 100 customers a day and lines out the door. People come because they need clothes, but what they find is compassion, love, and hope. They are transformed and they themselves are transforming their community.

The gospel has found a small opening in the barriers around this community, and God has given Kevin and Michelle a vision and a desire to expand the second-hand store into a new building that would include a medical and dental clinic for traveling doctors and dentists. The nearby hospital was defunded and then closed by the government—leaving people in the village with nothing and nowhere to turn when the young and the elderly are sick or in pain.

We have recently been running a campaign to help see this expansion become a reality, and God has richly blessed this project already. Construction has been started and partially paid for, but the medical clinic won’t be finished until we reach the funding goal of $150,000. I’m sharing this with you because, as Dwight notes, “The Romanian Church is a praying church” and so we want to lock arms with our Romanian brothers and sisters in prayer.

The Lord is raising up a generation of disciple-makers in Romania, and we can be a part of delivering the practical love of Christ through opportunities like this, using whatever God has given us to share with others. One thing we all have is the capacity to pray, so please join me in praying for God’s work in Romania today! If you want to find out more about the project, please check out the project site at https://gemission.ca/donate/romania/.