The Least Reached in Our Cities
We hear from a graduate* from the BA programme at WEST (now Union) about his work at a pioneering church plant and outreach project in Birmingham, where he and his family witness to people in the local community.
It’s Ramadan and you can’t miss the impact this sacred Muslim month has on the lives of so many around.
Coronavirus has necessitated a ‘Ramadan-lite,’ but the high streets are still crammed with shoppers buying ingredients for delicious evening meals and dozens of men stream out of the corner mosques after evening prayers dressed in fine new garments. A Sudanese friend shouts at me as I ride past the barbers.
Stopping to chat, I notice that finally there is no queue for a haircut. Now is my chance! It turns out my friend’s broken English had misled me. He will not pay for my haircut, and so I’ll have to bring some cash tomorrow. But to the Bangladeshi barber, it’s another chance to be a good Muslim and accommodate me.
We begin to talk about fasting, and like most others, he claims not to get hungry or thirsty. I share how the very feeling of hunger leads me to desire God more and is a helpful reminder of Jesus’ words in Matthew 4:4: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” In contrast, his main reason for fasting is to empathise with the poor – something I certainly respect. Yet I can’t help thinking that this is just a well-formed habit that seems to have little spiritual impact on his life.
In previous years, Ramadan has felt different. We would exchange food with our neighbours and often receive generous gifts. I’d visit a local mosque with a church group for Iftar – the breaking of the fast. Just down the road from us was the largest Eid gathering in western Europe – 70,000 plus Muslims prostrating to the cry, ‘Allah is greatest’ in a public park. It is after all, as some would say, a ‘Muslim area’. Although the city of Birmingham (the second largest in the UK) has 187 nationalities, much of the Muslim population lives isolated and cut off from Christian witness.
Although the city of Birmingham (the second largest in the UK) has 187 nationalities, much of the Muslim population lives isolated and cut off from Christian witness.
The church presence in such communities as Small Heath and Alum Rock has dwindled and followers of Christ have mostly left the area, where even to be white is to stand out like a sore thumb. However, there are a few dozen church members and missionaries engaged in reaching out through different forms of outreach including street evangelism, schools work, friendship and a community centre where I work alongside others in providing for basic needs and seeking to share the difference Jesus makes in our lives.
As a family, we have lived here in east Birmingham for the last three years. It’s also home for many of the 90,000 Pakistani Mirpuris in Birmingham. During my time at Union, I expected to end up in overseas mission, immersed in a different culture. Little did I realise that would be possible in the country I call home. It has been a steep learning curve for me and my family, but also a rare experience for those around us. Many of our neighbours and friends had not met or been in the home of Christians before. Their perceptions changed, as did ours.
We’ve heard parents share their fears of drug and knife crime affecting their families; women admit that shopping and our English class is their only permitted time out of the home; and fathers worried that secular culture will corrupt their children. From the traditional family living below the poverty line to the educated western consumer of the third generation, Birmingham has the full spectrum of Muslims – each unique and precious in God’s eyes.
Many of our neighbours and friends had not met or been in the home of Christians before. Their perceptions changed, as did ours.
The church in the city has its work cut out to reach them, but there is undeniably a significant opportunity for the gospel. The outreach project I work at was set up in partnership with several churches in an area where a typical church plant would struggle. Our landlords had to ask Muslim scholars if it was even okay for a Christian charity to use their premises. In the years since the community centre was established, many men, women and children have attended activities and classes or received advice and support.
Some aren’t around for long, but nevertheless may hear of forgiveness in Christ, receive prayer or take a Bible in their language. Others become regular contacts who we have had the chance to visit in their homes, or, in this strangest of seasons, had over to our garden or on a bike ride. Chatting about marriage, family life or any number of topics often leads to an openness to what Christians believe and occasionally to a regular time of studying the Bible.
Sadly the hospitality and generosity of our Muslim friends doesn’t mean they are anywhere close to seeking Jesus. We have learned in our short time and from longer term workers how significant a step it is even to listen to the Christian message. Far easier to accept what they were told about it by their imam. So we are continually compelled to pray that miracles would happen, and we would see more Muslims in our city begin following Christ.
This necessity of Christ’s power to change lives – not social action – is one of many key lessons I took away from my time at Union. By God’s grace, theological study served to deepen my affection for him and my love for the lost. Now as I discuss Christianity with the Muslims I encounter, my faith is sure despite forceful arguments against it. My Greek class, amongst others, has enabled me to counter the Islamic claim that the Bible was corrupted. The missions classes gave me an excellent grounding in living and reaching out cross-culturally, and have encouraged me to take the long view of what the Holy Spirit is doing amongst a hard-to-reach people.
Now as I discuss Christianity with the Muslims I encounter, my faith is sure despite forceful arguments against it.
I long to see more church planting initiatives in the Muslim-majority areas of Britain’s big cities and pray that many Christians will move into these areas. Furthermore, I cannot over-emphasise the difference theological training, and specifically a missions focus, will make in reaching out cross-culturally in the UK over the coming years.
*Name anonymised
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