David Toma
‘Transiting from a single-ethnic church to a multi-ethnic church is an exciting journey, but it is not without challenges. The key challenge is how to build one united church that worships in two languages. We still want to be able to attract Romanians to our church and see them transformed by the power of the gospel. At the same time, we want to reach people from other nations, and don’t want our Romanian identity to hinder our ability to reach out to them. So the challenge is having an identity that targets a specific group but which, at the same time, is inclusive of all groups. We want to be a church that is active in making fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ, regardless of their ethnic background. No doubt, as we continue to grow there will be other challenges. But so long as we maintain unity, Christ’s love, and share the same vision for the glory of Christ in all things, for the joy of all people groups, I believe that we can overcome any challenges.’
Intentional ministry series
group of Christians in Egypt who wished to reach out to the Muslim community during Ramadan. As they prayed, a young man suggested they display a poster for all in the village to see—‘We are Christians and we love Muslims’. At first this seemed to be an inflammatory remark, but as they considered it further, it seemed God was confirming that this was what he wanted them to say. They had a large banner made and displayed it in the village square opposite the mosque. They waited nervously, not knowing the reactions the banner would cause. The Christians were pleased and surprised to see smiles break out on faces as the Muslims came out of the mosque. Folk greeted them, shook hands with them and took photos. Even the Imam was pleased with what he saw. Far from being inflammatory, the banner proved to be a real ‘God-send’ in building positive relations between the two religious groups.
‘David, tell us a bit about your family.’ ‘I am married to Corina, who is also of Romanian background. She is a great support to me in my ministry. We have one daughter, Chloe Evangeline.’ ‘Thank you for your time, David. God bless you, your family, and your ministry.’
Being one in Christ Jesus Rev Bob Rogers writes: At Stafford Heights Baptist we have a several former Muslims and some Christians still married to Muslims among our Sudanese friends. We also have a family from Iran joining us each Sunday morning. It has always been our concern that the media often portrays all Muslims as violent and extreme. Instead, we are finding that the Muslim people we mix with simply want to get on with making a new life in Australia. For them, family comes ahead of fanatical religious observance. We wondered how, as a church, we could make a worthwhile statement to Muslims in our community during the month of Ramadan, which is a most important month on the Islamic calendar. It is a time of fasting and extra prayers and giving to charities. In 2012, Ramadan fell between Thursday 19 July and Saturday 18 August. I had read an article in the Barnabas Fund magazine about a
As you can see, we felt the statement should also be made to our community, expressing not our fear of Muslims, but that the love of Christ is also available to them. Our Sudanese friends were particularly pleased with this initiative. They told me it gave them the opportunity to share with Muslim friends and family how they truly felt—not enmity, but a genuine desire to get along. In fact we had only positive reactions to the sign. We trust this gesture went some way towards sharing with our wider community that God is love. The church continues to discover ways to reach out into their local community. Bob adds: More than 25 nationalities are represented at Stafford Heights Baptist, including three larger groups of folk from the Nuba Mountains, Sudan, Chin state in western Myanmar, and Karen state in eastern Myanmar. Culture and language can often cause barriers to warm fellowship, but the church is making intentional efforts to work through these challenges as we seek to be ‘one in Christ Jesus’. The church provides meaningful ministry through English classes, seniors’ groups, home fellowship groups (including several in easy English), separate and combined church services (including One Youth Church), combined leadership meetings, a thriving Thrift Shop and FoodMart, as well as more traditional ministry activities. We are conscious that our wider community is watching all we do, and we are keen to be known as a friendly and welcoming church. Bob Rogers Stafford Heights Baptist Church bob.rogers@shbc.org.au www.qb.com.au October 2012
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