Mission Spotlight
As part of our ‘Riverside Story’ blog post series, this post will focus on a mission that Riverside is helping to facilitate here in Birmingham, the UK and around the world; supporting our vision to bring LIFE to every generation in every community. This month we are catching up with Sam* who works with Agapé.
*Name has been changed to maintain confidentiality.
I’m Sam, serving with Agapé, and I spend a lot of time in the Middle East, which I love. I help at a Bible college where Jewish and Arab believers study together as brothers and sisters. I help with online ministry which reaches people in different languages through social media and we’ve been seeing the most incredible response. I’d love to say much more than I can here, but God has really been stirring a great hunger and thirst for truth among so many in the Middle East. These are exciting days. People are curious and have many questions that they may be ashamed to talk about in their communities. However, thanks to the internet those who would never dare to talk about Jesus in public can find out what they want to know in secret! The pandemic saw numbers skyrocket, as people started thinking more about the meaning of life and death. We have seen several churches double in size as people are coming to faith in this way.
There’s a passage in Isaiah 19 that I enjoy meditating on: “In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” (Isaiah 19:23-25) This is God’s highway of peace, and we are joining with that vision, saying a big yes and amen! My favourite thing to see is when God’s children from all these different backgrounds come together in love and in worship of the God of Israel—it’s a taste of heaven.
When I’m in the UK I stay in the Bible Depot which started out as just a dilapidated building that I could use as a base to travel from while I was stuck without a visa, but has blossomed into a ministry centre. I can continue with my online work from there, but we also have great times of prayer and worship as well as the capacity to host ‘The Well’ outreach to local women in Balsall Heath. I love to share what I’m learning about the background of the Bible, the culture and traditions that were so familiar to Jesus, and the Jewish roots of our faith.
Get Involved …
We’d love you to join us in praying for Agapé. Our Wednesday Prayer Spaces are a great opportunity for this. Simply visit our Prayer Page to find out more.
Agapé UK:
https://www.agape.org.uk/
