Once upon a time, to meet Syrians, Iranians, or any other group of people for that matter, it required traveling to their respective countries. In our increasingly globalised world, this is no longer the case. Today, people from many corners of the world are now living on our very own doorsteps. This is an especially exciting opportunity for the advancement of the gospel, which can now more easily be shared amongst unreached people groups, those previously with limited to no access to it. The southwest of the U.K. is one of these areas.
Four centuries ago, hundreds of Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower and set sail for the “New World”, arriving as immigrants to a foreign land. Today, immigrants from many corners of the world are arriving to the city the Pilgrims once departed from, Plymouth. Plymouth has become a receiving city for refugees and asylum seekers, a city of refuge for many displaced from their home countries. As a small city of about 260,000, these new people groups are becoming increasingly more visible amongst the Plymothian crowds. Though there are many practical resources and aid programs to help refugees, asylum seekers and their families, there is very little strategic focus from the local church community towards meeting their spiritual need of a Savior, Jesus the Messiah (Isa al’ Masih). Plymouth is arguably a couple of decades behind places like Manchester where a significant percentage of the population is from the Arab world, but imagine if the church in Plymouth and the southwest of the U.K. were equipped now to befriend their new foreign neighbors as more and more unreached people groups move into the area?
The vision for Plymouth and the southwest of the U.K. is to bridge the gap between the church and these unreached communities. Many local churches have a heart for the nations (Mt. 28:19-20), but lack the vision and resources to know how to bring the gospel across cultural and linguistic barriers. Our goal is to make friendships amongst the many unreached nations in our area whilst simultaneously coming alongside local churches to equip them to do the same. One statistic suggests that more than 80% of all non-Christians (this including Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus) don’t even know a Christ-follower (Center of Study for Global Christianity). Imagine if local believers were intentionally pursuing cross-cultural friendships! By God’s grace and leading, this statistic could be made history.
In partnership with an international language school and a network of local churches, ministry partners and team members in the southwest of the U.K. will have opportunities to both make cross-cultural friendships amongst the refugee and asylum seeker communities and offer training and resources to local churches with hearts for the nations on their doorstep. Some outreach opportunities include leading English conversation clubs to refugees and asylum seekers, extending hospitality, and facilitating Discovery Bible Studies with spiritually interested people in their heart languages. Ideally, each partner or team member will also be actively involved in one of a number of local churches. Through these local church connections, partners and team members can then cast vision for the unreached nations on our doorstep, whilst offering various training and resources to equip the church to begin to make cross-cultural ministry an organic part of how the church functions, therefore, bridging the gap between the church and the unreached nations amongst us.
Is the Lord calling you to join Him in what He is doing here in the southwest of the U.K.? Are you ready to bridge the gap and help bring the gospel amongst people previously without access to it? Whether you want a short-term, long-term, gap year, or taster experience as you explore longer-term service, come to us! Get experience ministering in English, doing practical cross-cultural ministry outreach, pursue TESOL certification, supporting the local church, and join us in this exciting adventure the Lord has us on!