“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” —Matthew 25:35

Due to the expansion of the Euro­pean Union and the economic recession, Irish RPs have seen many people coming into the country and making it their home. Five percent of North Ireland’s population are foreign nationals; that is, they are living in North Ireland, but they were neither born there nor anywhere else in the UK or Ireland. The media has highlighted the challenges: pressure on the national health system and the school system, growing distrust between people of different cultures, and, sadly, racism.

There has always been migration, but we are not normally on the receiving end of it. We are not used to people coming to us. It need not fill us with fear, but we can see it as an opportunity. Christians are privileged to hold an intimate relationship with the God many people throughout the world are searching to know.

Our Lord Jesus is specifically interested in the foreigner. Remember the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15? Jesus used that encounter to demonstrate to His disciples that faith was revealed in a person’s heart, not from their nationality. Jesus’ disciples urged Him to send her away. Jesus instead tested the Cannaanite woman’s faith by telling her that He was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, that it was not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs. The woman’s response proved her faith in the God of Israel. She said, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” The gospel is for everyone. We should be actively reaching out to all nations.

Missionaries have been sent throughout the world to share the good news of our Savior Jesus Christ. But we now have a new opportunity to reach the ends of the earth without boarding a plane. We can stay and make disciples. Be warned: this is not an easy call. Even staying and making disciples in one’s own country is a call to be proactive.

How do we make the stranger welcome?

Simply Say Hello

Consider how often this happens: When there is a new person in the room, instead of asking them who they are or introducing ourselves, we ask the person beside us, “Do you know who that person is?” As Christians, we must be ready to make people feel welcome. We must take the initiative and put others at ease.

How do we meet the internationals living in our local community?

Shaftesbury Square (Belfast, Ireland)RPC has focused on two areas of reaching internationals: (1) welcoming international students, and (2) teaching English to those who do not have it as their first language.

Friends International is a mission agency supporting congregational outreach to international students in the local university or college. In Belfast, they coordinate volunteers to help with two weeks of welcome activities at the beginning of September when students arrive.

Shaftesbury RPC has been involved in English classes for six years. We have a number of qualified teachers and a large number of students from across the world. While we call them English classes, they function more as conversation clubs. Students regularly return and often bring friends because they enjoy the informal setting and friendly atmosphere. As a fruit of that environment, a number of students have been comfortable enough to come to Bible studies and a few to worship.

These changing realities are not present in Belfast alone, however. Take the initiative in your own town to be Christ’s ambassador. If you are a student, befriend the international students in your class. If you have children in school, encourage them to get to know the international children in school and take the opportunity to get to know their parents. If you are running a mom’s group or Bible study, advertise in places where internationals will read it. Consider having publicity translated into other languages, even if it catches the attention of only one person lost in a sea of English.

Develop a Friendship

One criticism of churches doing international outreach is this: You can’t build your church with internationals because they are transient. However, none of us build the church; that is what God does. Second, at least in Belfast, local people have been just as transient as internationals. Most importantly, Christians are not to show love to people because of what they can do for us. We are to imitate Christ’s love, to love in a sacrificial way, whether by loving the international person or the local person. We can’t look for skill or qualification before we share Christ’s love. Remember, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Take the time to get to know someone. Invite them into your home. That is more significant than most people realize. A Lithuanian lady connected with Shaftesbury Square RPC still remembers the first time she was invited into the home of a local person, which happened over two years after she moved to Belfast.

Also remember that friendship is a two-way street. Be willing to let your international friends do something for you. If they offer to make dinner, be willing to try out new food and new ways of eating. If you find they are skilled in a particular way, maybe baking or painting, then ask them to assist you. These small things prove you are willing to trust them, share with them, and learn from them, too.

Friendship with an international, like any relationship, takes time. But you may find, as I have, we have a lot in common. Many are well educated, ambitious, and extremely hard working. They have relocated to be in a position to provide for themselves and their families.

Present the Gospel

Ultimately, as Christians, we want to share the gospel we have been given; that is the greatest love we know. There is no one method, and God works in people’s lives in different ways. I encourage you to reach out with the gospel. In my experience, internationals tend to be quite open to the gospel and willing to engage in a discussion. They may even accept an invitation to church.

Be prepared to greet them at worship, and have a copy of the passage in their native language. Be ready to explain simple concepts that you or I would take for granted.

After the service, take the opportunity to ask them what they thought and to explain the sermon in simple English. Finally, be prepared to invite them to lunch with you. Even if conversation is limited, food is a meaningful way to deepen friendship. While everyone else in church may be going home to Sunday lunch with their families, internationals often go home alone.

Finally, when an international becomes a Christian, encourage them to get involved in the life of the church. Trust is shown to people when they are incorporated into the church body, putting their gifts to use, including them in the various rotations that allow them to serve alongside other church members. Being active in church is a vital part of spiritual growth and discipleship. Some internationals who have become Christians may return to their home country one day as ambassadors for Christ. Your church may be the training ground God gives them before they are called to be His ambassadors in those distant lands.

Welcome the strangers in your life and welcome them into your church; befriend them and share with them the gospel. Galatians 3:28 reveals the beauty of being in Christ despite our country of origin: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Author Philip McCollum is associate pastor at Shaftesbury Square RPC in Belfast, Ireland. This article is edited and reprinted with permission from The Messenger.