What happens when...a few answers, part 1

A few weeks ago I shared a few thoughts regarding where things are at with the ministry here in Phoenix. I used the phrase "what happens when" as sort of a skeleton to hang certain facts on regarding the fulfillment of the vision for this little multi-ethnic church in the midst of this fairly large city. Here are a few conclusions that I've come to:

1. We really are swimming upstream by attempting to build a truly multi-ethnic church, when the majority of the ethnically diverse congregation are refugees and are struggling with learning English, finding entry level jobs, and just trying to survive the radical changes they've encountered as they have begun their new lives here in our country.

2. Other than the Lord, the greatest need of any refugee is to acquire English as quickly possible.

3. Our little local church does not have the resources from within its own members to sustain ministry to most of our members, let alone try to continually meet the needs of the larger of community.

So, what do we do?

A. We take the step of inviting other churches around the country to participate with us in the unique ministry that God has provided for us. We become, for lack of a better definition, a "mission outpost" or a "mission church".

B. We seize the uniqueness that Phoenix offers as a major hub for refugee resettlement, recognizing and then promoting the fact that many of the people groups from what is called the 10/40 Window, are now living within a few miles of where our church building sits.

C. We ask churches to consider a "short term missions trip" to the unique destination of....Phoenix, Arizona!!!

There's much more to this next step in fulfilling the vision that God has given us. I'll continue next time.