Developing Mission Opportunities in Your Back Yard

By Chad Vandiver

I will never forget March 12, 2004. That is the day I visited “L,” a Muslim neighborhood in a European country where I served.  I walked into “L” and instantly felt the cold harsh presence of Islam. I was invited into a West African restaurant where I joined these immigrants watching the events unfold on television. I met with key leaders in the Muslim community who would later serve as my persons of peace. The Lord used these persons of peace to open doors of opportunity for sharing the truth of Jesus Christ wherever Muslims were meeting, including inside the walls of the mosque. However, this ministry amongst Muslims in ”L” did not begin on March 12, 2004. Instead it began when teams of college students from multiple Southern Baptist churches prayer walked the streets of ”L” for five years before I ever arrived on the scene. These teams never engaged Muslims with the Gospel but rather prayed that their hearts would be receptive to the truth that Jesus Christ is not merely a prophet but the Savior.

Mission opportunities begin with prayer. It is the foundational strategy God has given us for sharing the Gospel with people of any nation, tribe or tongue. We students must be about the business of prayer walking the streets of our communities. Immigrants and refugees are moving to a neighborhood near you. It is vital that the streets of these neighborhoods are covered with prayer. Where will you be prayer walking today?