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Stories & Blog
The Unreached Among Us: Their Needs
Read the series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4
In this article, we hear from Mark, who has extensive cross-cultural experience and is currently a small business owner reaching out to immigrants and international students in an American metro area.
Cultural challenges | As unreached people move into our communities, we as the body of Christ have a significant opportunity to demonstrate Jesus’ love by helping to meet the challenges they face. Most unreached immigrants come from cultures that have a strong focus on family and community. It can be very daunting to leave these extensive support networks behind.
As a result, one of their primary needs as they begin life in America is to find support and community. In most cases, they gravitate to their known religious community. But what if groups of Jesus-followers provided the supportive communities they are looking for? We can come alongside them and help with practical needs like learning English, getting a driver’s license and finding a doctor.
Internationals often have questions about American culture, and they need a safe person to ask. Often, these are practical opportunities for us to demonstrate the love of Christ in caring for internationals.
The power of friendship | One of the greatest needs for internationals is just to have American friends. Unfortunately, many internationals I have met have few American friends, and most have never been inside an American home. Because hospitality is one of the most important values in many of their cultures, having them into our homes, especially around holidays, is a key way we can encourage them.
In many unreached countries, the unconditional love of Christ is rarely experienced. The power of Christ’s love demonstrated through our lives is the greatest gift we can give our international friends. It’s this love that many internationals say was their primary draw to following Jesus. As we seek to fulfill God’s command to make disciples of all nations, may the love of Jesus Christ compel us to meet the needs of our unreached international neighbors.
Italicized name changed for security reasons.
In this article, we hear from Mark, who has extensive cross-cultural experience and is currently a small business owner reaching out to immigrants and international students in an American metro area.
The Unreached Among Us: Their Needs
by Mark, who serves the unreached at his doorstep
Most of America’s urban areas are seeing significant growth of multi-cultural communities as immigrants and international students — many from the 10/40 Window — come in increasing numbers. The Arab News recently reported that there are now more than 100,000 Saudi Arabian students studying in American universities, up from just 10,000 in 2007. The need for disciple-makers among them has never been greater.Cultural challenges | As unreached people move into our communities, we as the body of Christ have a significant opportunity to demonstrate Jesus’ love by helping to meet the challenges they face. Most unreached immigrants come from cultures that have a strong focus on family and community. It can be very daunting to leave these extensive support networks behind.
As a result, one of their primary needs as they begin life in America is to find support and community. In most cases, they gravitate to their known religious community. But what if groups of Jesus-followers provided the supportive communities they are looking for? We can come alongside them and help with practical needs like learning English, getting a driver’s license and finding a doctor.
Internationals often have questions about American culture, and they need a safe person to ask. Often, these are practical opportunities for us to demonstrate the love of Christ in caring for internationals.
The power of friendship | One of the greatest needs for internationals is just to have American friends. Unfortunately, many internationals I have met have few American friends, and most have never been inside an American home. Because hospitality is one of the most important values in many of their cultures, having them into our homes, especially around holidays, is a key way we can encourage them.
In many unreached countries, the unconditional love of Christ is rarely experienced. The power of Christ’s love demonstrated through our lives is the greatest gift we can give our international friends. It’s this love that many internationals say was their primary draw to following Jesus. As we seek to fulfill God’s command to make disciples of all nations, may the love of Jesus Christ compel us to meet the needs of our unreached international neighbors.
Italicized name changed for security reasons.
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