Author: Tim Ellsworth
Publication: www.esspirit.com
Date:
URL: http://www.esspirit.com/jesubhaktan/chicago.html
Editors' Note: Due to the sensitive
nature of ministry among Hindu people, the specific name of this ministry
and the name of its director are being withheld.
A Hindu restaurant owner's equipment
broke down a few months back. His business was already struggling and the
new wave of problems almost broke him.
But a ministry of Chicago's Uptown
Baptist Church stepped in and helped him with his equipment and his restaurant.
Through that relationship, "the Lord opened his heart and he came to Christ,"
the ministry's director said. The store owner was baptized at Uptown, and
"he's being salt and light in his little neighborhood," the director said.
That's just one example of the needs
of Hindus and Indians this ministry is helping to meet. Uptown started
the ministry about a year ago to reach the nearly 5,000 Indians in a community
just north of the church. The director's salary is partially provided by
Illinois Baptists' state missions offering.
Eighty percent of the Indian community
in this part of Chicago is Hindu, which creates a number of barriers the
ministry must overcome if it is to be successful in reaching people for
Christ. One major problem with Hinduism is its belief that all paths lead
to God.
"So, it is enormously difficult
for a Hindu to accept that Christ is the only way and that his salvation
is unique," the director said. "The inevitable thing is they find a home
for Jesus in their Hindu worldview. They just make him another god in the
Hindu pantheon."
For Uptown's ministry, this means
more subtle ways of sharing the gospel are needed.
"If you come into their community
and you say, 'I'm an evangelist' or 'I'm a missionary' or 'I want to plant
a church,' it's absurd," the director said. "They'll never give you the
time of day. You'll never be able to get into an authentic relationship
with people. ... You have to have an avenue to love and serve them and
cultivate spiritual relationships with them."
So, the Uptown ministry does just
that by providing services to Indian immigrants and helping to meet needs
in the community.
For example, the people involved
in the Hindu ministry might help new immigrants find an apartment, teach
them about using public transportation or show them how to open a checking
account.
One middle-aged woman in the community
was taking a college class but didn't know how to use a library for research.
So, those involved with the ministry taught her how.
Because of these services, the Uptown
ministry is well-respected in the community. "Once we're in a relationship
with them, we can get in a Bible study with them and share the gospel,"
the director said.
The ministry also goes about sharing
Christ in other subtle ways. On Good Friday, volunteers handed out 200
copies of the Gospel of John and a pamphlet, "What's so good about Good
Friday?"
Last Christmas, the ministry gave
away the "Jesus" film to 80 Hindu and Sikh business owners in their own
language as Christmas presents.
"They loved it," the director said.
"We had great response. Some watched it three times."
That small gift opened the door
for new relationships with people, some of whom are now involved in Bible
study.
Another barrier in ministry to Hindus
is their belief that God isn't personal. To them, salvation makes no sense,
the director said.
"It's no picnic working with Hindus,"
he said. "Their whole way of looking at the world is radically different
from the Christian worldview. It's very hard for a Hindu to come to Christ.
... It's not even an option for them to become a Christian in their way
of thinking."
Thus, getting a Hindu involved in
a Bible study is a major accomplishment. "We need to get into a Bible study
relationship with them where we can establish some of the essential things
that are necessary before a person can come to Christ," the director said.
So far, besides the restaurant owner,
several other Hindus have made a profession of faith in Christ.
The director said he would appreciate
"fasting and serious intercessory prayer for these people. They're not
going to come to Christ unless God does something absolutely miraculous."
