I am grateful that, in South Africa, Christians can freely gather to worship our Lord. I am grateful that we can evangelise without threat of imprisonment. I am grateful that we can plant a church in any place we desire. I am grateful that we can carry our Bibles in public without fear of physical persecution. I am grateful that we can go to and from corporate worship without fear of physical assault for following Jesus Christ. I am grateful that, at least in these matters, Christians in South Africa live in a protective bubble. But obviously, not all Christians live in such a bubble.
I was privileged to spend the past week with the Franks family as I ministered at New Life Church in Abu Dhabi. Gareth is a faithful pastor of a gospel-faithful local church. But as you can guess, they face unique challenges carrying out the Great Commission in a Muslim-ruled nation. Though Christian churches are granted freedom to gather, these churches are only permitted to gather at one designated facility, in the main part of the city.
Many years ago, the sheik gave churches a piece of land upon which they could build a meeting place. The result was the Evangelical Church Centre, a massive building with multiple rooms that serve as designated meeting places for twenty-two local churches. Churches are given access on different days of the week with New Life Church assigned the timeslot of Sundays from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The facility is well equipped and comfortable, for which the church is grateful. However, the situation is less than ideal, for several reasons.
First, New Life Church had been planted for the very purpose of establishing a church that was in a different part of town. However, post-COVID legislation forced the church to leave their meeting place and to “return” to the Church Centre, which is 35 minutes away. Committed members will make the drive, but this is nearly a death knell to local evangelistic outreach as most “seekers” won’t make go to such effort. The second problem is the time slot. Again, for the committed, this is doable but for those “finding their feet” in the faith, it can be a stumbling block. But a third problem also looms large.
Since all the churches meet in the same building, consumerism tempts people to “church hop” as people move each week from one room to the next in search of what tickles their particular itch. As I preached on the Sunday afternoon, I had to compete with a loud “worship band” down the hall. The building on a Sunday can appear to be a spiritual flea market.
Experiencing this has increased my appreciation for what we have in South Africa and has motivated me to pray for a change in Abu Dhabi. I appeal to my brothers and sisters to be praying that the Lord will move the minds of government leaders to lift restrictions thus allowing New Life Church to meet in a more local facility. The king’s heart is in the hand of the King of kings. Let us pray that he will turn it favourably towards the church (Proverbs 21:1). And let us, in the meantime, also pray for joyful, hopeful, and fruitful perseverance for Gareth and for the flock he shepherds.
Another reminder that we live in a bubble came in the form of an email sent to several likeminded pastors from a faithful brother informing us of persistently increasing persecution of his church along with an imminent threat of his arrest. For security reasons, I will only share the names at our media secure prayer meeting.
Our brother wrote that, last Sunday, as the church was dismissed, a gang surrounded the congregation threatening them and even manhandling some of the members. The police were called to assist the miscreants. Though things settled down, the pastor was required to go to the police station with the not-so-subtle threat of arrest if he engages in what the government labels “forced conversions” (which often means real conversions by the Spirit of God!).
This brother, his wife, and children have previously been forced by neighbours to move from one place to another. He lives with the constant threat of being arrested and imprisoned by the government. Though he trusts in the good and sovereign plan of God, he also confessed a growing weariness in the ongoing saga. Can you relate? I can’t. I have no idea what this is like. I have only known the bubble of safety as I gather each Lord’s Day. Our biggest challenge is someone sitting in our seat, or the lights going out, or not enough coffee. I have never been physically assaulted for preaching Jesus Christ, and none of us has to sneak in and out of our public meeting place. Like you, I am grateful for God’s providential bubble. However this privilege creates a responsibility for us to consider those who live outside this bubble. Therefore, let us commit to pray for them. Let us pray for the welfare of our brothers and sisters and let us pray for the advancement of the gospel.
Finally, let these hard realities move us to practical gratitude. Let us gather for preaching, for praising, and for praying. Let us make the most of our bubble. The day may come, as it has for some of our afflicted brothers and sisters, when that bubble might burst.
Thankful and burdened,
Doug