Whether it's making a meal, teaching Zumba, doing crafts, or playing games, serving others (and allowing yourself to be served) is a blessing to us all.
With the remarkable diversity we find around ourselves today, we can no longer assume we understand someone’s religious background. This is obvious when we talk about discovering and engaging unreached people groups around us. Here are four simple questions to get at the heart of what a person believes—because everyone believes something.
Thanks to COVID-19, many Christians might feel at a loss for how to live out the Great Commission call in day-to-day life. How could we possibly go and make disciples of all nations when simply engaging with friends, family, and our church community seems so difficult? However, you can find creative ways to reach the nations near you—even in a global pandemic.
The rapid global spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has captured the attention of the media and the public. Many Americans are scared, worried, and have even taken it out on others—especially East Asians. The Christian response to the Coronavirus and to our Asian neighbors should not be one of irrational fear or avoidance. Rather, we should take this opportunity to think critically, lean into our faith, and show Christ’s love in a crisis moment.
I was fresh off the boat from two years of mission work when I first heard of diaspora missions. I joined a church that had committed to engaging the West African population nearby and was soon neck-deep in Gambian and Ivorian communities. In spite of my mission experience, this work was harder than I anticipated. But if I can do it, so can you. And so can anyone else in your church. That’s why UBA is hosting the Who’s My Neighbor Workshop to equip everyone to do this kind of work. Until then, here's my guide to anyone wanting to start engaging foreign-born peoples.
Something happened a few weeks ago that slipped through the news cycle for most Americans. In a historic move, the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, joined Donald Trump for a massive political event here in Houston called, "Howdy Modi!" Over 50,000 people attended the packed stadium for a celebration of Indian culture married to a political rally. For those of us paying attention, this event signals something of great significance that is occurring globally. In fact, it underlines important shifts that we in the church need to notice.
This past summer, I led a group from Woodridge Church to go serve alongside IMB missionaries in Osaka, Japan. On this trip, I saw both the darkness in Japan as well as the hope that Christ offers the Japanese people. That's why I'm excited about an upcoming training for those interested in reaching Japanese people in Japan as well as in Houston. This free event is Friday, September 13th at the UBA offices from 10am-12pm.
As one of the largest refugee-receiving cities in the US, there are so many ways to share Christ’s love with “the least of these,” and we’re proud to see our people doing just that. With the approach of World Refugee Day, I want us to think a little about the losses, big and small, that refugees here in Houston experience every day and ways some of our people are at work to make those losses a little less painful.
