Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from a message done at the Advance Initiative Conference in October 2019.
Imagine that before you are two massive buildings that are on fire, and thousands of people are trapped inside of each one. You are one of 100 firefighters called upon to enter inside, risk your life and rescue dying people. But there’s a twist because in one of the buildings — due to the nature of that fire and the specific toxic fumes inside — firefighters can only enter and survive if they have special equipment. So interestingly, out of the 100 firefighters, there are only 5 people who have special equipment to enter that specific building with 1000s of people dying and waiting for someone to rescue them.
So you are one of the few, one of the 5, and so, can I ask you — which building will you enter?
A Call For Ethnic-Specific Mission
Now hopefully you are already getting what I’m trying to illustrate here. The point is this: We live in a world of millions of people in burning buildings of their own lostness and will experience the wrath of God against their sin apart from them hearing the rescuing message of Jesus Christ.
Now, no single soul is less valuable than another. Yet, we have to realize that, while all people apart from Christ are universally lost, they are also uniquely lost. And one of the unique aspects of lostness is that that are specific barriers like culture, religion, and worldview that are so “toxic” to the Gospel that reaching them often requires a unique cultural witness.
I am a South Asian (specifically, Indian) American who by God’s grace is a follower of Jesus Christ. And one of the things I have wrestled with over the years is whether it is “OK” for me to have a heart, and not only that, but to be specific in outreach, for my own ethnic group?
Now, I don’t want to say by any means that South Asians should only reach South Asians. And I definitely don’t want to say to my non-South Asian friends that they can’t reach South Asians either. We believe in a glorious Gospel where all people can reach all people!
But, I do want to still sound an alarm to say that the situation of lostness especially of South Asians is dire and its unique. Because there are millions, and maybe we can even say a billion people, who are South Asian — Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, nominal Christians. They are uniquely trapped inside of a burning building of sin and are in need of firefighters to enter and to proclaim Jesus so that they can be saved. They need more people, and so, anyone of any ethnicity who is willing to die, please come and join the fight! But, we especially need South Asian firefighters to start entering this building in droves and droves because I believe we are given special equipment of culture and relationships as a special means of grace to reach them.
1. A story from fellow missional workers
Our family spent 12 years doing campus ministry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. And one of our specific ministry focuses was on Indian students. I remember being at a gathering of all the international student ministry staff workers on campus, and my wife and I were the only ones there who were Indian. And at this gathering, people were so grateful that we were there and ministering specifically to Indian students who ranged from second generation, first generation international, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and nominal. And not only that, but the students we were building relationships with were coming to our gatherings, coming to church, studying the Bible, hearing the Gospel, and slowly but surely were being saved.
And specifically, I remember one sincere, godly, Caucasian couple, sharing that they’d been ministering on campus for 20+ years. They had seen progress especially amongst East Asians such as Chinese, and even amongst Middle Eastern students, but one group they consistently had a very difficult time reaching were Indians. Part of the barriers was that Indians spoke English, so they didn’t want ESL conversation programs like other groups might.
In addition, Indians in college, but especially in those working, are one of the most wealthy ethnic groups and so there are not a lot of socioeconomic needs for people to meet. Also, Indians were not non-religious like the Chinese students, but they had a faith they at least identified with that they didn’t want to reject. And finally, Indians seemed to connect with one another so easily and tightly that they felt no need and if anything had a fear and suspicion of other people seeking to build relationships with them.
And so when this couple saw my wife and I, they told us, “We’ve been praying for years for Indians on this campus…and we believe you all are an answer to prayer.”
2. A story from the home of a South Asian family
Another shaping experience for us was ministering to an international couple from India — the wife was a student and the husband was working. They were going through a very difficult time in their marriage, and so we sought to be a friend and help. And so, when the wife’s parents came to visit, they wanted us and a few other friends to come to their apartment. And a poignant moment for us was when I was in their kitchen and I saw our family’s Christmas card on their fridge. What struck me was that we were the only Christmas card on their fridge.
I don’t know about you, but we get so many Christmas card pictures that often we’re struggling sometimes to know where to put them up. But I realized for this Indian family, we gave them the only Christmas card they had. And we might have been the only Bible they’d read. And we might be the only introduction to Jesus that they’d ever receive.
3. A story from a Hindu convert
A couple years ago, a young woman who was Hindu began to come to our campus ministry. She was thankfully ministered to by her friends in high school and attended a youth group and church that was primarily Caucasian and she was introduced to the Gospel. And yet in college, she was introduced by a friend to Indian Christian Fellowship (ICF), our campus ministry, and she started coming to bible studies and to church, and eventually by God’s grace she came to saving faith in Christ.
And one of the things she shared that was so clarifying for me was that she was, first of all, shocked to find a community of Indian Christians — she didn’t even know that existed! And second, she was so grateful that in her journey to follow Christ, that being with Indian Christians made her feel safe to know that becoming a Christian didn’t have to mean she didn’t have to stop being Indian too.
Enter The Building Of God’s Calling For You… By Grace
As a South Asian considering the significance of my ethnicity and of the great need for Gospel witness amongst my people, it leads me to think about the Book of Esther. I think about the invitation that Mordecai gave to Queen Esther when she was tasked with the question of whether she should risk her life and approach the King about the evil being planned against the Jews in the kingdom. Mordecai said this, “(Esther) who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
But you know, I have always heard that call emphasized and felt so much guilt and pressure: “OK, yeah I see the need…I guess I have to do this!” But, you live Christian life long enough and you know guilt and shame are very poor and very short-term motivators for Christian life.
But I don’t think we’re meant to hear Mordecai pressing Esther with guilt, because you have to hear what he says before that when he says: “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place.” (Esther 4:14)
And I think Mordecai is saying this, “Listen Esther, I really think God might be calling you to go and enter the burning building because you seem really uniquely positioned to be used by God. But also hear this Esther, this work does not depend on you. You, Esther, are not the Savior of these people, because listen, even if you don’t go, our God has gone and will go. Our God is the Savior, not you.”
So fellow Esthers, we can rest in that truth. God is the Savior of the Jews, God is the Savior of South Asian people, God is the Savior of whatever people or place He has burdened your heart with. And God is just asking if you’d like front row seats to the “God-show” to see firsthand as you enter this burning building that the real firefighter is not us, but Jesus.
So as you hear the call to enter the burning building, yes hear the burden of the call: “Enter because there is a great need!”
But ultimately hear the joy of the call: “We have a great Savior who longs for us to get front row seats to see Him at work… won’t you join Him?”