South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance Newsletter
Issue 15: June 2014
The South Asian Forum (SAF) is a grouping within the Evangelical Alliance, 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
Breaking Cultural Barriers Discovering Jesus launch event Nearly 130 UK Christian leaders attended the Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes launch at the Regent Hall, Salvation Army, in central London on Wednesday 14 May. The event, sponsored by Leprosy Mission of England and Wales, was kicked off by British Asian worship band Naujavan, who set the atmosphere for what was to be shared. Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance opened the launch event, saying: “Asians are a vibrant part of our British cultural landscape, but many churches feel illequipped and uncomfortable about reaching out in friendship to people we should be welcoming.”
S outh As i a n F orum of the
Evangelical Alliance
connecting, uniting, representing
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
friends. It is predicted that by 2050 up to a quarter of the UK will be from an Asian background, predominantly Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh. We are seeing more young people, who are born here, confused about their identity and hungry for something spiritual.” The Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes course book and resources, produced by the South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance and published by the Good Book Company, are designed specifically with members of the South Asian and East Asian communities in mind. The brand new eight–week course will equip churches to cultivate discussion with Asian friends and respond to questions in a culturally appropriate way. The course is also being launched in the USA and Australia.
According to UK statistics almost seven per cent of the population identifies itself as Asian or Asian British. That’s nearly 4.5 million people. Many of these people, whose family roots are firmly within an Asian culture or another faith, are asking questions about Jesus.
The course is made up of three resources – an outreach booklet answering 16 common questions that Asians have about Jesus and the Christian faith, which can be given away to Asian seekers and used as part of inviting people to a course, then there is a leaders guide and discussion guide for participants to use on the course. A good way to familiarise yourselves with how the course works is to run it internally first.
Steve Uppal, senior leader of All Nations Church Wolverhampton and from a family converted from Sikhism, spoke about how the gospel works and transforms. He urged the crowd to point to the person of Jesus: “People asked ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ We say ‘come and see!’ The gospel still works. It has not lost its power, it is still full of wonder.”
Rev Canon Toby Howarth, secretary for inter-religious affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who led a time of corporate prayer, said: “There is lots of baggage when it comes to sharing the gospel with the Asian community – there is a lot of rubbish in the past that has gone on in the name of Jesus, But Discovering Jesus Through Asian Eyes has been breathed in prayer,”
The course saw rave reviews about its timeliness, uniqueness and potential to break down cultural barriers, and reach people from Asian backgrounds in the UK.
At the event, David Shosanya of the London Baptist Association, shared with heartfelt honesty, acknowledging barriers or prejudices: “Even though I have been involved in mission for years I have never actively been involved in the sharing of the gospel with the Asian community. Sharing the gospel should not be defined by human experience, but by God’s salvation.”
Launch speaker and worship leader Sanjay Rajo from Naujavan, an Asian Christian youth organisation serving 16 to 30-year-olds, said the course: “has come at absolutely the right time and is the missing piece of the puzzle which helps to mobilise a generation to reach out to their Asian