Immigration: Missions on our doorstep

At our church here in Alberta, we recently had a speaker from Syria who leads a ministry that works with refugees. He shared about his experiences with the collapse of civilization in Syria, how he fled the country, and his current ministry helping other refugees. At the end of the service, I was able to give him a copy of the GoodSeed book, All that the Prophets have Spoken, a book written for people coming from an Islamic worldview. Actually, I gave him a stack: English, Arabic, Farsi (Iranian), Turkish and French. He was very pleased to learn about and receive these resources, and some day I hope to hear about how they have been used.

Later that same week, I met up with a guy in Calgary from whom I was buying some used stuff from. I keep a box in the trunk of the car full of books to give away. When we concluded our business, I thanked him and asked him if I could give him a book. He said yes, and I asked him what languages he reads. He listed about five, but Farsi (Iranian) was his “heart” language, so I was able to give him a copy of All the Prophets have Spoken in his native tongue!

Immigration is back at the top of the news cycle again, and everybody is talking about it. People from all over the world are coming to Canada, the United States and other Western countries. That means the mission field is coming to us. But are you and your church prepared to share the true hope, the Gospel, with people of other worldviews and languages?

At GoodSeed we have invested years of work in creating resources for people from eastern religions and those coming from Christian or Islamic backgrounds, and then spent more years translating our evangelism and discipleship resources into many different languages, including our children’s book, The Lamb.

What Are Christmas and Easter All About?
Laos, Chichewa, Chinese, English, French

The Story that Matters
English, English with KJV, French, Hungarian, Lingala

We encourage people to have books available to give away at any moment. In the trunk of my car, I have a “be ready box” full of books, mostly English, but a few translations, that I can hand to a stranger. You never know when an interaction can lead to someone being receptive to a book. But if you don’t have the tools at hand, you may not get another opportunity!

Do you and your church have the tools to respond to people in your community?