The Local Church As a Colony of Heaven In the Country of Death
Eugene Peterson says that the local church is a Colony of Heaven in the Country of Death. What that means is that local churches are to represent what is true about God and the "Better Way of Jesus" and that we are to live out Jesus' prayer of "Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." When we see God working and moving over the face of the earth to use the movement of people so that they will reach out to Him and find Him, then we must recognize that if we are Christians in a certain place and people come to us from another place, then we are to be ambassadors of Heaven to them and we are to love them sacrificially, serve them, welcome them, and share Christ with them. We have no idea what God might do through this witness in their lives and in salvation history.
The role of the local church and associations of churches is to be a welcoming center and conduit of the gospel. We are to facilitate ministry amongst immigrants and refugees in ways where they can know that they are loved by God and that Jesus died for them to know Him. How can we do this practically?
• Go to immigrants/refugees with compassion and hospitality. The vast majority of immigrants are never invited into an American home. They do not know native born Americans because we often keep to ourselves. What if we went "to" them with welcome, love, and hospitality?
• Throw Parties. People all over the world like to celebrate. What if we helped with that? What if we joined with immigrant friends and had parties and invited them? Or helped them with their own cultural celebrations that were not religious in nature?
• Offer resources. Immigrants have many needs for connection and integration into the host culture. What if the church became the go-to place to help meet those needs? Assistance with language, education, immigration resources/help, legal services, and many other things can be provided by churches who seek to serve their new neighbors. All of these things can provide opportunities for relationship building and gospel witness.
• Plant churches among people groups in their heart languages. If you are trying to reach an immigrant population, identifying a church planter that is indigenous to that group can help in making disciples and gathering them together in a church. But, we are also seeing churches planted
Written by Alan Cross
The role of the local church and associations of churches is to be a welcoming center and conduit of the gospel. We are to facilitate ministry amongst immigrants and refugees in ways where they can know that they are loved by God and that Jesus died for them to know Him. How can we do this practically?
• Go to immigrants/refugees with compassion and hospitality. The vast majority of immigrants are never invited into an American home. They do not know native born Americans because we often keep to ourselves. What if we went "to" them with welcome, love, and hospitality?
• Throw Parties. People all over the world like to celebrate. What if we helped with that? What if we joined with immigrant friends and had parties and invited them? Or helped them with their own cultural celebrations that were not religious in nature?
• Offer resources. Immigrants have many needs for connection and integration into the host culture. What if the church became the go-to place to help meet those needs? Assistance with language, education, immigration resources/help, legal services, and many other things can be provided by churches who seek to serve their new neighbors. All of these things can provide opportunities for relationship building and gospel witness.
• Plant churches among people groups in their heart languages. If you are trying to reach an immigrant population, identifying a church planter that is indigenous to that group can help in making disciples and gathering them together in a church. But, we are also seeing churches planted
Written by Alan Cross