South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance Newsletter
Issue 15: June 2014
The South Asian Forum (SAF) is a grouping within the Evangelical Alliance, set up to provide a place for South Asian Christians in the UK to encourage, support and equip each other for mission, and to represent their concerns to government, media and the wider Church. With the support of both individual members and church members totalling more than 20,000 people, SAF is steadily growing. Visit saf.eauk.org to get involved in supporting this wonderful
Breaking Cultural Barriers Discovering Jesus launch event Nearly 130 UK Christian leaders attended the Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes launch at the Regent Hall, Salvation Army, in central London on Wednesday 14 May. The event, sponsored by Leprosy Mission of England and Wales, was kicked off by British Asian worship band Naujavan, who set the atmosphere for what was to be shared. Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance opened the launch event, saying: “Asians are a vibrant part of our British cultural landscape, but many churches feel illequipped and uncomfortable about reaching out in friendship to people we should be welcoming.”
S outh As i a n F orum of the
Evangelical Alliance
connecting, uniting, representing
ministry by becoming a member of SAF. Once you become a member, you will receive idea, the Alliance’s bi-monthly magazine, as well as regular newsletters from SAF detailing our progress. If you are already a member of the Evangelical Alliance you can add SAF to your Alliance membership at no extra cost. In this instance please send an email to saf@eauk.org
friends. It is predicted that by 2050 up to a quarter of the UK will be from an Asian background, predominantly Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh. We are seeing more young people, who are born here, confused about their identity and hungry for something spiritual.” The Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes course book and resources, produced by the South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance and published by the Good Book Company, are designed specifically with members of the South Asian and East Asian communities in mind. The brand new eight–week course will equip churches to cultivate discussion with Asian friends and respond to questions in a culturally appropriate way. The course is also being launched in the USA and Australia.
According to UK statistics almost seven per cent of the population identifies itself as Asian or Asian British. That’s nearly 4.5 million people. Many of these people, whose family roots are firmly within an Asian culture or another faith, are asking questions about Jesus.
The course is made up of three resources – an outreach booklet answering 16 common questions that Asians have about Jesus and the Christian faith, which can be given away to Asian seekers and used as part of inviting people to a course, then there is a leaders guide and discussion guide for participants to use on the course. A good way to familiarise yourselves with how the course works is to run it internally first.
Steve Uppal, senior leader of All Nations Church Wolverhampton and from a family converted from Sikhism, spoke about how the gospel works and transforms. He urged the crowd to point to the person of Jesus: “People asked ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ We say ‘come and see!’ The gospel still works. It has not lost its power, it is still full of wonder.”
Rev Canon Toby Howarth, secretary for inter-religious affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who led a time of corporate prayer, said: “There is lots of baggage when it comes to sharing the gospel with the Asian community – there is a lot of rubbish in the past that has gone on in the name of Jesus, But Discovering Jesus Through Asian Eyes has been breathed in prayer,”
The course saw rave reviews about its timeliness, uniqueness and potential to break down cultural barriers, and reach people from Asian backgrounds in the UK.
At the event, David Shosanya of the London Baptist Association, shared with heartfelt honesty, acknowledging barriers or prejudices: “Even though I have been involved in mission for years I have never actively been involved in the sharing of the gospel with the Asian community. Sharing the gospel should not be defined by human experience, but by God’s salvation.”
Launch speaker and worship leader Sanjay Rajo from Naujavan, an Asian Christian youth organisation serving 16 to 30-year-olds, said the course: “has come at absolutely the right time and is the missing piece of the puzzle which helps to mobilise a generation to reach out to their Asian
SAF profiles its work, partners and resources in the quarterly Newsletter and on our website saf.eauk.org Rev Warren McNeil of Greenford Baptist Church piloted the course in January 2013. “We had non-Asians, a Sikh and a Muslim, come to know Jesus. They were baptised this year. At that point it made us think differently about how to reach Asians. Even our style of worship is done differently, in a more Asian style, so we can reach the predominantly Asian population in our area,” he said. The course is supported by more than 30 partner organisations including Christianity Explored, the London Baptist Association, the Church of England (Diocese of London), Interserve, South Asian Concern, UCCF, the Assemblies of God and the Leprosy Mission England and Wales. Manoj Raithatha, national co-ordinator of South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance, said: “’The Jesus through Asian Eyes booklet seeks to answer 16 questions commonly asked by Asians about Jesus. The new Discovering Jesus through Asians eyes course provides the opportunity for these topics to be discussed in a relaxed and friendly setting. We are providing training from experienced practitioners to help churches and organisations get the most out of these new resources and to develop their relationships and contacts with the Asian community.” The new Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes website compliments the resource with information, videos and testimonies. Please visit www.discovering-jesus.com. Training, sponsored by the Leprosy Mission of England and Wales, is being held on Saturday 13 September at All Saints Church, Leicester. This event, being run by South Asian Concern will give practical advice and vital information on using the course effectively and reaching out to Asian communities. Register for the training event: http://eauk.co/JTAEtraining Order copies of the course materials at: www.discovering-jesus.com
Near Neighbours
The Near Neighbours programme brings together people in religiously and ethnically diverse communities, to create relationships of trust and to help people transform their neighbourhoods for the better. It was first set up in 2011 and is a partnership between Church Urban Fund and the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. It is funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Near Neighbours emerged from the recognition that some neighbourhoods in England have a number of different faith and ethnic communities living close to each other; however, these communities rarely interact with one another. In addition, these communities are also often located in areas of deprivation, with residents sharing common concerns for a better community. Despite this shared concern they don’t come together to talk or act on this as much as they could. The programme recognises that it is local people, in local communities, that are the ones who are ideally placed to identify and develop solutions to improve their own neighbourhood. Thus Near Neighbours brings people together; breaking down misunderstanding and developing trust, and helps them to act to change their communities for the better. To achieve this, the programme has three main strands of work. First it is working through co-ordinators based in local hubs, across several key communities in England. They are working to strengthen, develop and deepen networks and action in local communities. The second strand is working through our national partners. Our partners contribute to the programme with training, expertise and resources. They develop the networks and capacity of local communities and organisations through sustainable initiatives that will continue to impact long into the future. This includes work with teenagers, faith leaders, women, young leaders, and community workers. The third strand is a small grants fund, providing seed capital for local groups and organisations who are working to bring together neighbours; to develop relationships of diverse faiths and ethnicities and also to improve their communities. Any group or organisation can apply for a grant – it can be a faith group or community group, for example. Near Neighbours will be working in the north in: Burnley, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Dewsbury, Bradford, and Leeds;
South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance in the midlands in: Nottingham, Leicester, Birmingham, Sandwell, Dudley, Wolverhampton and Walsall; and in the South in Luton and London. This is a practical means by which we can follow in Jesus’ commandment for us to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-40). As we seek the good of our communities, we can love our neighbours by working together to transform our streets and cities. God’s call to Jeremiah is to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:7). In London, Near Neighbours supported the work of Sophia hubs who have been running a multi-faith business mentors project. This was to identify business people from the faith communities in Seven Kings and Newbury Park and train them to act as mentors to new entrepreneurs. Local people started to get to know each other through exploring this common desire to regenerate Seven Kings together. Their work has been closely tied into a number of local Asian communities. Sophia hubs developed a relationship with local Hindus living near the church centre and have now a good link with the local synagogue. There were also several local Muslims they got to know through the project. Their co-ordinator found that the project served to “hear about the ways faith connects with work and enterprise in different traditions and to begin to explore and dialogue together about what Seven Kings needs are and constructive ways forward.” Near Neighbours seed funding has meant that the project continues to thrive beyond the initial funding period. You can get more information about Near Neighbours programme from their website: http://eauk.co/ NearNeighbours You can also find Near Neighbours on Twitter and Facebook. The Near neighbours small grants fund be open for applications in June.
The Feast Exploring faith, creating friendship, changing lives The Feast is a Christian charity that works in Birmingham, London and Bradford enabling young people of different faiths to meet, discuss faith and beliefs and make the world a better place. We passionately believe, by providing opportunities for young people to meet each other and talk honestly and openly, that the stereotyping and fear that so often divides our communities can be reduced.
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As the UK continues to get more and more diverse, multicultural communities often segregate and as a result can become suspicious of each other. We want to live in peace alongside our different communities and be able to work together to make our cities good places to live in.
For many Christian young people the idea of sharing faith can be very daunting, and increasingly they are told to keep their faith a private and personal matter only. Going to school with peers from other faiths is now an inevitability, which can leave young people wondering what they are allowed or supposed to say or share with Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and atheist classmates. All this coupled with the command from Jesus to tell others about Him can be quite overwhelming That’s where The Feast comes in. They help by equipping and providing opportunities for young people to share their faith in a safe and supportive environment. This can be done, for example, by to going Christian youth groups prior to an interfaith encounter event, giving them Biblical teaching, activities and practical advice in how they can share their faith and truly love their neighbour as themselves, especially when they disagree with them. Events are arranged where young people can meet each other in small groups and make friends, have fun, talk about faith in relevant ways to their lives, and work on community projects together. Young people we’ve worked with have told The Feast workers that when they’ve spent time with Muslims, Christians, Sikhs etc, the people have been a lot nicer and they had a lot more in common than they anticipated. Through these encounters they’ve become stronger in their faith – it causes them to think more deeply about what their faith teaches and consider their own response. Speaking to people increases their confidence to say what they think and know that it is possible to disagree peacefully and still maintain a friendship with someone who is different. They are confident to talk about things that many people, including adults, tend to avoid out of fear of getting into an argument. Young people involved in The Feast have become role models to their peers, and to the adults in their wider community too. Adults have been convicted and inspired to make a more conscious effort to befriend people of other faiths they encounter, and to stop judging people from other faiths and cultures prior to meeting people from them. Together with young people, their schools and their families we are actively making peace in our neighbourhoods, and helping to fulfil the call to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. www.thefeast.org.uk