We live in a unique and exciting time in world history. Never before has the world been so interconnected. Travel is easier than it has ever been. The internet has enabled us talk to people on the other side of the world by the click of a button. Not only do we live in exciting times, but we at Harvest Church believe we have been placed in a strategic area to reach the nations. Immigrants are flooding into our country every day with the hopes of a better life or better education. Whatever the motivations are for coming here, we know that God is bringing the nations to us.
“From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us.” (Acts 17:26-27)
We at Harvest want to love our neighbors well and show gospel-hospitality to the visitors in our land. We want to invite them not only into our cities but also into our homes, our families, and our lives.
Last Saturday, we hosted our very first Equip 1:8. It was a morning full of brainstorming different ways that we as a local body of Christ can be more intentional about loving the immigrants in our area. We were not seeking to add things on to our already busy lives, but rather we were seeking to adapt our every-day schedules in such a way that we can better love the people from all over the world that surround us.
We decided that it was time to show humility by seeking to understand the worldview of our international neighbors. We want to know and celebrate the cultures that they come from. We desire to understand the religious beliefs they hold dear, so that we can better understand where they are coming from. Perhaps we can even learn greetings in their own languages in order to show that we care and seriously desire true friendship with them. We want to open up our homes and invite them into our lives. We believe that in these ways, God can use us at Harvest to impact the nations.
As we continue to pray and think through how each of our families can best respond to the opportunity God has given us in the Greater Raleigh-Durham area, we are asking ourselves …
- What interactions do we already have with those who have come from other lands (whether it be at work, our neighborhoods, where we shop, etc.)? Are we being intentional about being a light among these peoples?
- Are we sharing our lives with the internationals in our city or are we too busy to even open up our homes for a meal with them?
As God is bringing the nations into our neighborhoods, we pray that God will find Harvest faithful with the role He has given us to play in His overarching story of redemption among every tribe, tongue, people and language.