South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance Newsletter
Issue 23: June 2016
S outh As i a n F orum of the
Evangelical Alliance
connecting, uniting, representing
The South Asian Forum (SAF) is a grouping within the Evangelical Alliance, it was set up to provide a place for South Asian Christians in the UK to encourage, support and equip each other for mission, and to represent their concerns to government, media and the wider Church. With the support of both individual members and church members totalling more than 20,000 people, SAF is steadily growing. Visit saf.eauk.org to get involved in supporting this wonderful
ministry by becoming a member of SAF. Once you become a member, you will receive idea, the Alliance’s bi-monthly magazine, as well as regular newsletters from SAF detailing our progress. If you are already a member of the Evangelical Alliance you can add SAF to your Alliance membership at no extra cost. In this instance please send an email to saf@eauk.org
SAF interviews Ann Bower, coordinator in mission in the UK forums at Global Connections
to Faith forum and other mission in the UK forums, to help churches to share Jesus with people of other faiths, running teaching, training and opportunities to share experiences and needs. We have also looked at individual faiths to see what the underlying needs are when sharing the gospel: Lambeth Palace got involved with our in-depth look at Buddhism. 2015 saw the successful Hope for Muslims tour where churches had encouragement from David Garrison, hearing about large numbers of Muslims around the world coming to Christ, meeting agencies and seeing materials to help them to relate to Muslims in their neighbourhood.
What is your background? I was born into a traditional church-going family, the oldest of four children. My father worked in London and my mother was the homemaker. My grandparents came to live with us when I was seven until the last one died when I was in my early 20s, just before I got married. Home life was strict due to my father’s Victorian upbringing, but my mother’s gentle strong Christian faith influenced us all.
How did you become a Christian? The advantage of being brought up ‘in church’ is that you have years of Bible teaching and exhortation. The disadvantage is that it can be easy to assume that one is a Christian. In my teens, through an elderly lady from our congregation, I met members of the Church Mission Society: through involvement with CMS, I committed myself to Christ.
Tell us about the work of Global Connections? Global Connection, a network of more than 300 members, mission agencies, churches, colleges and more, aims to see “mission at the heart of the Church, the Church at the heart of mission”. Our interest groups provide opportunities for agencies to meet together, pray together and share common interests and needs. Many subsequently work on projects together. We provide help and advice, often working with solicitors and government officials on issues to do with the particular needs of mission partners, such as pensions, insurance, NHS treatment etc. We work with churches as they seek to become missional communities and as they support mission overseas.
How can Global Connections help local churches in reaching out to those of other faiths? Over several years we have worked, though the Faith
Tell us about the ‘Reaching the world on your doorstep’ event. Once upon a time the word ‘mission’ was interpreted by many churches as something concerning people in other countries around the world – helping them to know Jesus. In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the reality that the world is also here, on our doorstep: we all need to know the saving love of Jesus. The Evangelical Alliance, London City Mission and Global Connections, along with several GC member agencies, are working together to present a day of teaching, training, encouragement, prayer, sharing resources and ideas to help churches to engage with people around them of different faiths and cultures. Some may also take the opportunity to go for further training and practical experience at a later date. ‘Reaching the World on your Doorstep’ is on 23 November at St Mellitus College in London. We would appreciate your prayers as we develop a good programme and we’d love you to join us, with others from your church and your mission agency.
What do you hope this event will achieve? We pray that the event will enable churches to feel better equipped and more confident to reach out to those in their midst whose beliefs are different. So please get your church members to save the date. For more information on the event, please visit the Global Connections website events section. Ann Bower Global Connections, Caswell Road, Leamington Spa, CV31 1QD 01926 487755, www.globalconnections.org.uk