International Missions Begins at Home

01 May 2009

by gcadmin

By MaryAnn Peteya

What is a missionary? The dictionary describes one who is sent on a mission. Thus, every believer is a missionary, fulfilling the mission of the church — the Great Commission, found in Matthew 28:19 — go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

A missionary is not just someone who goes overseas to preach the gospel. What about the millions of people who have immigrated to the U.S.? Who will reach them with the Gospel?

Jay Bell, director of Internationals USA, has an answer. He suggests that a way to reach the internationals within U.S. communities big and small is through ethnic restaurants. By enjoying dinner in an authentic Mexican, Thai, Greek, or other eating place, the setting becomes the person’s “international, cross-cultural, personal, family mission field,” Bell says.

Bell’s method is simple. It starts with praying for the people who work at the restaurant. Then the individual (or family, as Bell recommends) visits the restaurant for a meal and gets to know the people who work there. They go back many times, getting to know the workers more and more, and gradually telling them about Christ.

More than one family can go to the same restaurant. Those families can get together to pray for the restaurant and the things God is doing there. They may also ask other people within the church to pray as well.

According to Bell, the hardest part of the entire method is introducing God talk. It is not something that can be taught, it should be natural, according to Bell. For example, he asked Jesus and Pilar, owners of a Mexican restaurant in Warsaw, Ind., how business was going. Jesus said that it was not doing well. Bell’s response was that he would pray for him and Jesus said “thank you.” It was one of the first times Bell had mentioned God to the couple, but it was non-threatening and relational, preventing them from not feeling as though Christianity was being pushed onto them.

In Marion, Ohio, an Argentine restaurant opened. John Jones, pastor of the Marion Grace Brethren Church, and his family adopted the restaurant. Through the chef, who was in the church’s ESL (English as a second language) class, they met Marcello and Marcella, the owners. The Joneses started bringing their friends to help the restaurant economically and to introduce the people there to Christ. Shortly after, the church began holding their Saturday morning men’s breakfast there – and they continue to pray for the people who make their food and serve them each week.

This method also creates long-time friends and connections. Bell, Ted Rondeau, and Benjamin Navarro, assistant professor of Spanish at Grace College, befriended Emilio, a server at another Mexican restaurant in Warsaw. They invited him to church where he accepted Christ. Later, he returned to Mexico City, led his family to Christ, and started helping with church planting.

On a trip to Mexico City, Rondeau ate dinner with the mission team at a local restaurant. Their waiter seemed familiar. As they talked, he recognized it was Emilio, who had lived in Warsaw. “We realized who each other was in the largest city in the world…it was a small world moment,” remembers Rondeau, who is serves on the outreach staff at the Winona Lake (Ind.) Grace Brethren Church (Bruce Barlow, lead pastor).

Bell hopes this method will mobilize the entire church. He suggests that local congregations compile a list of the adopted restaurants patronized by members. An area map could be posted with pins to indicate restaurant locations. Even photos of the restaurants could be included.

It is a method that could be used anywhere, according to Bell, not just an ethnic restaurant. It can also be done at the local burger joint, the grocery store, a gas station, or anywhere an individual frequents on a regular basis. It does not have to be a daily thing; it could be once a week or once a month.

MaryAnn Peteya is an editorial intern with the Brethren Missionary Herald Company during the spring semester 2009. A senior at Grace College, Winona Lake, Ind., she is from Akron, Ohio.