But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.  Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:9-11

Where do you begin to relate to those whose religion is not like yours? To relate well, we need information, how much do you know about other peoples’ religions? And we need vision, Jesus himself showed us how to get out of a religion and into a relationship with God. Here are some suggested activities to do individually, as a family or life group.

1. Put an up-to-date world map or globe in your living space to see daily,
or use a global geography learning game regularly.
2. Use a prayer guide like OPERATION WORLD by Patrick Johnstone which will
help you to pray for every country in the world systematically over the year.
3. Do a research study on a particular country, people group, religion or culture. Let God lead your choice and help you to grow in compassion for it. Ask God to show you those of other religions he’s already put in your life..
4. View a movie or video about another part of the world, people, religion or culture.
5. Use the international articles in a newspaper or missions’ magazine for prayer prompts.
6. Read a missionary biography from an area of interest or about building friendships. The more you know about.another’s culture/religion, the more you can relate in friendship with sensitivity and respect. Learn from those who have gone before.
7. Investigate opportunities to reach out to immigrants and international students in your city. Find the pockets of other nationalities in your area to reach out to. Seek out ways to build friendships, show hospitality, and care by praying for them. Give them the opportunity to see God in your life. How many international people have been in your living room or your patio? How many of their homes have you been in? They want to meet Americans.
8. Attend a Missions Advocacy Team (MAT) meeting. There is one for a different part of the world every Sunday at South Fellowship.

Our heart is to be like God’s heart, to desire the experience of the glorious time when people from every nation, tribe, people and language will be worshiping before his throne (Revelation 7:9). Look at different YouTube videos of Christian worship services around the world. Try the largest Christian church in Seoul, Korea; Ghana, Africa; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Kerala, India. It is inspiring and beautiful to see international Christians worshiping like we will all be doing together someday.

By Donna Burns