Show up, Speak up, and be Ready

"Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not..." 2 Timothy 4:2

Art and Eleanore  make themselves available to Internationals at several college/universities in their retirement years. I'll let Art explain what happened as they were going about an urgent errand. 

"Emergencies are never planned--they just appear. But our response to the emergency is a measure of our commitment and faith, recognizing that these emergencies are no surprise to God, in fact they are often divine appointments.

My wife was having a medical emergency which necessitated a late evening visit to the hospital.  After the initial treatment we were required to get some medication.  We located a drugstore that remained open after midnight. There were two young men from a limited access country waiting to have a prescription filled.  I asked them what language they were speaking and they said Arabic. I greeted them in Arabic and  asked them if they had a Bible. They said they did, but probably they meant the Qur'an. I went to the car and got a bilingual copy of More than a Carpenter and another book.  We discussed the meaning of the title, that Jesus, although his earthly father was a carpenter, He himself was more than a carpenter.  He claimed to be the Son of God.  When one of the fellows said “I don’t believe that” I replied “You don’t have to but it is true”. My wife gave each one of her cards that has her painting on the front and personal testimony on the back with our contact email. They had to leave, but as they were leaving, they joyfully said goodbye and thanked us for the books and cards.

Why the medical emergency?  Why that particular drugstore at midnight? Why the encounter with those two muslim men?  Those are questions that I can't answer- our responsibility was to show up, speak up and be ready.

One year the Christian university had 95 students from an Arab country.  The challenge for us was finding a way of connecting with them.  A few words of Arabic greeting broke the ice and opened the initial dialogue. Since they were all taking ESL it made total sense to have a bilingual New Testament and also other bilingual books to give to them.  That year we gave out close to 100 Arabic New Testaments and other books. All those students were given an opportunity to explore truth.  One student was very close to becoming a believer, but in the last 'in depth' conversation he expressed his concern about the consequences of that decision. Another student has rejected Islam and accepted reason and is not willing to submit to Christ.

So our ministry continues.  Each time we go on campus we ask God for divine appointments. Our responsibility is to Show up, boldly Speak up and be Ready with materials to give them.  The rest is up to God, who works in their lives by the Holy Spirit to convict, bring to repentance and regeneration."

Dear Jesus, thank you for leading Art and Eleanore to just the right place at the right time to meet the Arabic speakers. I pray that you would continue to speak to these contacts that now have your word and heard a testimony. Amen 

Book Table Ministry

"...it is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard to persuade others..." 2 Corinthians 5:11

God prepared Alex for the special ministry of running 2 Christian book tables in the Greater Toronto Area in places frequented by Muslims. For these locations, no permission is needed--just wheels to make the table movable. He sometimes has a competing table of Muslim literature near him. Its takes a gutsy person not easily flustered to discuss biblical truth with zealous Muslims. At times he turns into a polemic preacher. He was born in Azerbaijan and came to Canada as an atheist. Alex came to faith in Christ and subsequently started participating in Interfaith Dialogues. I’ll let him tell the rest of the story:

“I am the founder of “Road to Christ Ministry to Muslims”. For 8 years two of my friends, my mom(!), and I have been coming to Downtown Toronto for ministry. We set up a table of Christian literature and share the Good News with Torontians and guests to the city. More recently we opened a 2^nd location in the suburbs. Literature that we usually have on our table includes Bibles, “How Do I Get to Heaven” by P. McQuade, “How Good is Good Enough?” by Andy Stanley, the ‘Jesus’ dvd, and my book and booklet “Qur’an-Bible Comparison” and “Mohamed was Right”.

Usually we talk to about 40 people during 4 hours on the street. We stand behind our small literature table with a sign that reads “Free Christian Literature”. I simply wait for people to approach our table. The response has been very positive. I have dozens of productive conversations every day we are set up! This non-aggressive approach helps me as a shy person to reach many strangers with boldness and confidence. This particular ministry works well with strangers who feel secure enough to share their lives, problems, sins, and hopes. Muslims also approach our table and like to discuss religious matters.

For many years I struggled when I shared Jesus with them since nothing seemed to work with strong Muslims. That all changed 3 years ago. After some study, I started to preach Jesus from the Old Testament(Torah). The Qur’an and the Hadith show that Allah in the 7^th century was confident in the Torah. First I prove that the Qur'anic version of events is often incomplete and contradicts what we find in the Bible. Then I go further and show the errors and heresies in the Islamic faith before I start preaching Christ. I show them a booklet about the Dead Seas Scrolls to prove that the Bible we have today has not changed. I confidently open my Torah to Genesis 3 and 4 and end in Isaiah 53, proving ‘original sin’ and the Remedy is the Crucifixion of the Son of God.

  

Now I give seminars and training courses that teach effective ways of witnessing to Muslims.”

This is a great strategy to share the Good News of Jesus among pedestrians--especially Muslims! If a person takes something home, he/she may read it several times. A book table may well be the beginning of a journey towards Jesus. 

Dear Lord, bless Alex and his team as they faithfully set up their book tables and boldly share even in the midst of opposition. Amen

The 'Jesus' Camp

"Go to the highways and back alleys and urge people to come in so that my house will be filled." Luke 14:23

"I wish that camp wasn't over. I liked it sooooo much!" "It was the best week in my life!" Its delightful picking up Muslim kids and youth after a week of Bible camp with such positive feedback.

'Sarah' went to her first Bible camp. When she arrived, she insisted that she was exempt from going to Chapel. The director called me. I had an opportunity to explain the camp's policy to her mom...that there would be no pressure to participate other than being there. She was ok with that. 'Sarah' and the others from non-Christian background came back psyched. A Somali boy said, "I'll wear this t-shirt(Gimli Bible Camp) for a week!!"

"...to Reach the Unreached with the salvation message of Jesus Christ, and to Teach the Reached about God's desire for their lives." reads the Mission Statement of one of the camps we send the kids to. That's why a local foundation sends over 1200 kids from low income families to a free week of Bible camp each summer.

Of the 'least reached' kids and youth are newcomers from Muslim, Yiziddi, Sikh or Hindu backgrounds. There really aren't any connecting points between suburban churches and these kids. It literally takes the application of the above verse "GO...to subsidized housing complexes and invite the kids to Bible camps". With this in mind I offer to work on applications and subsidy forms for 'newcomer' boys and girls and provide transportation to and from the pick-up point to the camp bus.

I was collecting camp applications when an Afghan father said "I decided not to send my son to camp this year. I'll teach him how to pray at home." The Lord gave me the answer "That's exactly what they will learn at camp--how to pray!" He thought for a moment and said "I trust you Ed, I'll send Asif to camp." Another Muslim boy who went to camp was instructed by his father "When they talk about Jesus, just plug your ears!" When the bus returned at the end of the week, one of the counsellors said "He didn't do a good job of plugging his ears. He had many good questions."

It helps if staff understand other cultures and how to relate to them. On the logistics side food can become an issue. Many of the Muslim campers mention on their applications that they are 'allergic' to pork! Hindu kids on the other hand may be totally vegetarian. If the week of camp happens to be during Ramadan, some of the Muslim kids want staff to put food aside for them to eat after sunset. And then there are Muslim prayer times requirements.

For the camps we are sending the boys to many of the counselors and staff say, "We've been waiting for these kids all summer!" It's not been without challenges when the kids get homesick or make demands as a group. Sometimes the camp has had to bring a few kids back when issues could not be resolved. But overall the experience has been positive. Watch their enthusiasm in the video clip!

Heavenly Father, you love these children. May they treasure the Good News in their hearts and be drawn to you. Amen.