August Update

Last month we were blessed to have a group come from the Second Church of Christ in Danville, IL work with us in several different projects. There was a lot going on at the same time, but everything seemed to come together and a lot of good work was accomplished for the Kingdom. All the various activities gives us a good glimpse into what has been going on here in Abengourou with the Mission Chretienne en Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast Christian Mission).
Dental Clinic
A dentist, Dr. Phil, headed up the dental team with Dr. Sally (an emergency room physician) assisting him. Over a span of four days, they were able to see over 120 people (I think they lost count of how many teeth they fixed or took out). Many of the patients were some of the PIM clinic's HIV+ patients and members from our church. During the weekend they went along with our clinic chaplain, Wisdom, to make a few home visits of some of the HIV+ patients. It has been quite some time since the last time our mission hosted a dental clinic (at least 7 or 8 years) and good dental care is something most cannot afford nor find for that matter. It was a nice added bonus for our two missionary families to be able to get our teeth checked out and cleaned as well.
Mother-in-law Moral Support
Stephanie's mother also made the trip with this group. The kids were pretty excited to get to see Granny. It was nice to get to visit with her, though personally I was rarely home during her time here. But the rest of the family got a good dose of family that makes missing home a little easier. She also helped Stephanie paint our living room and side porch (not all her time was fun and games with the grandkids). It was nice to see her and get a bunch of goodies (which has not helped my weight-loss program... oh well) from the States.
Mission Compound Landscaping & Training Center Maintenance
A handful of folks worked hard on getting things looking a little better around the mission property. They helped get the church entrance looking better and created a few walking paths with some stone and brick pavers. They also painted the large meeting/classroom in the training center and making a few repairs throughout the center's interior (many thanks goes to Dr. Sally's husband, John, who headed it all up and did much of the work himself). It will help the mission and Association of Christian Churches in Ivory Coast have not only a nice place to hold their various trainings and meetings, but also rent out to other groups in order to help with the ongoing costs of the training center.
Leadership Training Seminar
Over the past several years the Mission and national Association of Christian Churches has been working towards the transition of oversight of the church planting and leadership training programs among the Agni and Attie people groups from the Mission to the Association. Two years ago Stephanie's Uncle Dale, who is the Executive Minister at Second Church of Christ, came to teach a seminar on strategic planning to the Executive Bureau of the Association.
Dale returned with this group and lead another seminar called "Lead Like Jesus." All the national and regional directors of the various ministries of the Association along with the Executive Bureau (a total of 30 people) took part in the three day seminar. Not only did we expand on the strategic planning principles previously taught, but the necessity of following Jesus' example not only as disciples, but as leaders as well. We talked about how leading and serving are not antonymous as most believe, but two essential aspects of leading like Jesus.
Coco-terrain Prayer Walk
On one of the final days of their trip, we went down to the region of Coco-terrain, where we are hoping to start a CHE plant. We spent the morning walking around seeing the area and meeting some of the folks we have been getting to know over the last couple of months. It doesn't take long to see the needs surrounding you, but at the same time the generosity of the people of Coco-terrain. We ended our walk on the outskirts of town, overlooking the region, praying for its leaders, the various families, that CHE would take hold, but most importantly that Christ would take hold of their lives.
I sincerely thank the Second Church of Christ Mission Team for not only their hard work, but that they poured their hearts into the lives of the people here in Abengourou. May the Lord bless them and those they came to serve.

EVANGELIZING THE "HOSTILES"

Part Three: The Message… Worshipers in Spirit and in Truth

Seeking to have peace with God is at the heart of Islamic faith. Throughout the day, many Muslims pray for God to bless them in a variety of ways: providing the necessary food, strength or health for the day; granting good crops or success in business affairs; helping keep them and their families on the right path. For most Muslims, what they seek after for themselves and their family is noble and good.

It is important to understand that there are some significant differences between the Christian and Muslim beliefs about God: His character, role in daily life, and our relationship to Him. However, our ultimate goals of correctly worshipping Him and finding ourselves following His will place us in similar situations. Christianity’s relation to Islam is strikingly similar to that of the Jews and Samaritans in Jesus’ day. The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4 teaches us some very important truths concerning a right relationship with God.

The Samaritans, like Muslims today, worshiped the God of Abraham. Like the Samaritans, Muslims “worship what they do not know.” Because of the negative history between the Jews and the Samaritans, the woman was shocked that Jesus would even ask her for a drink of water. And when Jesus originally offered her eternal life, she turned it down because she knew that her people could never join the Jewish religion (nor would they want to).

The same problem exists for us today. Almost all Muslims would turn down flat an invitation to salvation through Jesus Christ simply because they could not imagine joining the Christian religion, its supposed enemy for hundreds of years. The thought of any Muslim going to “Church” is equated with apostasy. But Jesus has taught us how we can remove this barrier.

When the Samaritan woman pointed out that her fathers said they must worship on this mountain, but the Jews said the place of worship was Jerusalem, Jesus confronted the heart of the matter. He told the woman, “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” The issue is not about changing religious forms, Jesus clarified that, “A time is coming and has now come when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers God seeks.” (John 4:23)

The message for Muslims today is that it’s not about trading sides, turning against their cultural norms to become a part of the enemy, but worshipping God in spirit and truth within their own cultural context. You don’t have to go to “Church” (their negative idea of an “outsider” hostile religion with different forms) to become a disciple of Jesus Christ. Worshipping in spirit and truth doesn’t mean having to get all the forms done exactly right, but getting your heart right and dealing openly and honestly with God.

The essential truth is that none of us can seek out and find God through our “good works,” because we can never find Him through them. But thankfully He has sought us out as the good shepherd searching for his lost sheep and the Father waiting for his lost son to return home. (Luke 15) Salvation is found through Jesus Christ His Son. And Following Christ and worshipping God can be done in any cultural context. After all, God can speak and understand Arabic too.

(*I must ackowledge Tim and Rebecca Lewis for their article on Church Planting in Muslim contexts in the Jan./Feb. 09 issue of Mission Frontiers. Their pratical experience and insights helped me developed some of the themes in this three part series.)

EVANGELIZING THE "HOSTILES"

Part Two: The Method... Searching for a Man of Peace

Serving as peacemakers is what we seek to do. First, between the Christian and Islamic faiths, but ultimately our prayer is that Djoula Muslims will find the peace they earnestly seek with their Father, Who seeks them. That being said, how do you evangelize a people who are staunchly against being evangelized and acutely aware of the consequences (not just from conversion, but even in seeming to show interest)?

Hence, we generally avoid going door to door or setting up a stage in the middle of town with microphones. For most Muslim Background Believers (MBBs), accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior is a process... and often a long one at that. Typically, we, the American Church, understand conversion to Christianity as an event. The Gospel message is presented and one either accepts it or doesn't. A Muslim who has been hearing the message put it best, "you prepare the soil, you plant the seed, you wait for rain and then pray that it grows." (Interestingly, this man has yet to be baptised, but expresses the process well... even using biblical imagery - 1 Cor. 3:6-7) We start by preparing the soil, loving our neighbors as Jesus would.

What initially drew most people to Jesus during his ministry? His ministry of compassion and healing brought people into contact with the power and love of God. The crowds not only heard messages about the Kingdom of God, but witnessed the difference this kingdom made in people's lives. It's equally important to note that this ministry of compassion and healing was not just for Jesus, but when he commissioned his disciples to go out preaching about the kingdom of God, he also empowered them to do the same ministry as well. (Luke 10:9)

Often, the soil is hard when initially working with Muslims. It can be difficult breaking through the hard layers of mistrust that have compacted over many years. That's why you serve people at their greatest felt needs. That's why we have a clinic open to all people, treating each person with dignity, respect and love that they deserve regardless of their ethnicity, social status or religion. It's why we engaged people on the street and visit them in their neighborhoods, trying to relate to them where they live, not waiting for them to come to us. It's why we seek to help communities start CHE (Community Health and Evangelism) programs to bring about both physical and spiritual transformation. It takes time to work hard soil, but the seed we carry is worth the effort. Its fruit produces eternal life. However, you can't bear fruit if you don't plant seed.

After engaging people with the compassion and love of Jesus, we also seek out those who are ready to receive the seed. In Luke 10, Jesus gives us an essential model to follow when sowing seed. He tells his disciples, "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house." Literally, this is our prayer, that God will lead us to men and women of peace whose hearts He has prepared to receive His message of the kingdom.

So what do we specifically do? Having developed a relationship with an individual or family (we try to reach out to entire families if possible), we ask them if they would be interested in learning what the Bible teaches. For those who accept our offer, we start a CBS (Chronological Bible Storytelling) group teaching about God's story and plan for mankind starting in Genesis and culminating in the resurrection of Jesus, his Son. Some accept the message, others want to continue the dialogue, while others choose not to make a decision.

Our teammates, the Jones and Hauser families (the Jones are heading back home on furlough and the Hausers are now working with the Djoula in Burkina Faso), have headed up the Djoula outreach in Abengourou, ministering to their Djoula friends and contacts. We will continue following-up with these folks. I am also excited about our new project that Dr. Bernie and I are heading up and hope you will join us in praying for a great outpouring of God's Spirit among the Djoula. This month we have been meeting with local leaders from Cocoterrain (translation: Field of Coconut Trees), a district in Abengourou that is heavily populated by Djoula and hit hard by the effects of poverty. On May 25th we will be doing a health screening, assisted by a short-term mission team from FAME and Hazel Dell CC, in Cocoterrain and hopefully following up by starting a new CHE plant in that community.

Pray that our efforts might prepare the soil well for future seed sowing and that God would prepare their hearts to receive His message. Pray that we will find men and women of peace, where we will be welcomed. Pray that good contacts will be made for learning the Djoula language and culture. Pray that the love of God would permeate all that we do.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6)

EVANGELIZING THE "HOSTILES"

(That’s for all you fellow LOST fans out there)

“How does one start a church among a people who have been hostile to the church for many centuries?”  On more than one occasion someone has asked me this or a similar question in regards to our evangelistic outreach among the Djoula Muslims.  From our Western, especially American perspective, this question seems incredibly valid.  If there is a part of the world that is most hostile to the church or the “American way,” it is the Islamic world.

Since there is a lot to this question that I would like to tackle, I think it will be best to address it in three parts.  Part one I will discuss our mindset, Part two will cover our method we use and Part three will discuss our message.  My hope is that it might help us understand Muslim people not as hostiles, but like anybody else, those in need of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Part One: The Mindset… Our Struggle is not against Flesh and Blood

It is really easy to slip into an “us” vs. “them” attitude, no matter what the situation may be.  We tend to be self-centered in our thinking… whether we like it or not.  Throw in a history of negative interactions and bad feelings, and you get a situation ripe for mistrust and suspicion.  It’s the Christian and Muslim world’s version of the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s family feud.

 Like many other conflicts, the problem often isn’t those cited on the surface level, but what lies underneath, unseen that poses the greater problem.  Usually we want to point out the “great differences” in theology and doctrine, but when compared to other religions in this world, the differences are small.  The real problem, we have a history… and a really negative one at that.  (If you want to know more, study the history of the Crusades, not exactly the church’s crowning moments.)  So how do we overcome deeply rooted biases against one another?  We overcome them by building bridges… loving our enemies, admitting the faults of our ancestors, seeking reconciliation, serving as peacemakers.

 Paul reminds us that we are in a war, but our enemy is not who we think it is.  He tells us to prepare for battle, putting on the full armor of God, but he reminds us that, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV) 

 A Muslim person is a husband or wife, father or mother, son or daughter who has concerns to deal with, needs to be met and a heart needing to love and be loved by their Creator and community.  In other words, they are a lot like you and me.  Their kids get sick, their rent comes due and they work hard to earn a living… we do what we can to help make their lives fuller.  We love our neighbors no matter who they are, where they worship, or how they pray. 

 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9 NIV)