Back More than 50 show up to pray for our Middle Eastern neighbors
August 26th, 2010
On Wednesday, August 25, Brentwood Baptist hosted its first prayer event to reach out to our Middle Eastern neighbors through love and acts of kindness. The response was nothing like anyone expected.
Bob Carlton, Church Multiplication Minister, said, “To be honest, I had no idea what to expect. But at 7:00 p.m., when I made my way to the platform in Baskin Chapel to give opening remarks, I was amazed—amazed that God had assembled 54 people who were sitting on the edge of their pews in anticipation of what God would have for us.”
Umut Ceylan, a former Muslim who is now a Christian minister, was the guest speaker. He shared his story along with several major points about how Brentwood Baptist members can connect with their Middle Eastern neighbors.
In Nashville alone, there are more than 40,000 Middle Easterners. Just this year, the Council on American-Islamic Relations estimated there were at least seven million living in the United States.
Every year, Nashville welcomes 300-600 refugees, many of whom are Middle Eastern. They arrive with needs that only we can provide: language education (ESL classes), job skills, finances, and friendships. Many of them walk into a foreign culture and experience shock at the difference in their own homeland—not to mention that homesickness they deal with.
“We found out that Wednesday night was also an answer to prayer,” Bob said. “Several prayer teams in our church have specifically been praying for Middle Easterners in our community—that God would break our hearts as a church and move us to action. Guess what? He did!”
AT this event, Umut and Bob both encouraged Brentwood Baptist members to reach out to their Middle Eastern neighbors at work, school, in their communities, at the gym, and more. Umut organized small groups at the event for guided prayer.
The teams prayed that: God would provide courage and opportunities for them to reach out to their Middle Eastern neighbors in love; that there would be unity and God’s financial blessing on ministries helping these friends in need; that Christians would be intentional in loving our Middle Easterners in our communities; and God would show them the next steps.
Don’t miss the upcoming Engage Forum on Monday, September 20 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Special guests are Thom Wolf and Umut Ceylan, who will open up a learning discussion on these topics, which will move us into action.