North Africa (MNN) — Many of the things that matter the most take time, and cross-cultural ministry is no exception.
FMI supports local churches in some of the hardest to reach places on earth. Today they are in the middle of an exciting yet slow season of expanding their reach in the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.
Patrick Anthony with FMI shares some of the “behind the scenes” of how the team first enters a country.
“We start with people that we trust,” he says, “and they share relationships, friendships that they have that they trust.”
One of the team’s first goals is to set up a national leadership team. They connects with leaders in-country who have the same vision to see God’s Kingdom expanding in their part of the world, not only in their local churches. Eventually, FMI explores how they might connect leaders with other networks of believers in the same country. But that requires sensitivity, because these are some of the hardest places in the world to follow Christ.
“[These leaders are] protecting their people — it’s not just them they’re protecting. They’ve got a network of people,” Anthony says. “On paper [we] can say, ‘Wow, this is a great idea. Let’s combine, let’s work with this network and that network and go forward!’” But what the team actually needs to do is slow down and take time to build trust. “Part of [our work] is just being okay with taking smaller steps at a time.”
Another thing FMI has learned is the value of meeting in person with believers. “We had a conversation recently with someone from the Arabian Peninsula,” Anthony says.
The man told them he would help connect FMI with people there. “But I want to see you. I want to see you actually there. That will tell me that you’re serious,” he told FMI.
Please pray with FMI. The new relationships their team is forming with believers in North Africa will take time. Pray for trust, clear communication and understanding across cultural differences.
“Pray for our posture just be to great learners and willing to be adaptable,” says Anthony. “From country to country, FMI has the same goals of assisting church planters, evangelism, seeing the church spread. But how that happens in each country can look a little different, because of the cultural nuances of that place.”
Learn more about FMI’s heart to support the global church.
Header photo is a representative stock image of Africa courtesy of Sergey Pesterev via Unsplash.
