God calls all of his followers to fulfill the great commission of making disciples of all nations. For those of us who can’t leave our state let alone our country, how can we fulfill our call?

On this edition of Live the Promise, author and missions expert Nik Ripken discusses the amazing opportunity American Christians have to fulfill the great commission in their own backyard.

According to Nik, before Christians attempt to evangelize overseas, they should first gain experience bringing people to Christ and planting churches in their own culture.

“God has brought the nations to us where we have failed to go but he’s given us a second chance and I’m just praying that the church doesn’t get caught up in secondary issues that we fail to cross the street.”

We have been given a second chance to reach the nations and this time we don’t even have to leave our neighborhoods.

Nik illustrates his point by retelling the story of when he went to a supermarket with his wife and spent some time introducing himself to different people. He met people from 14 different countries in one hour in the southern state where he lives.

Like many cities in the United States, Nik’s city is incredibly diverse and it provides a plethora of opportunities to witness to all nations.

Nik continues to reach out to people who are from other ethnic groups in his community.

“The number one thing they say when asked about their impression of America is they say they are so lonely, they’ve been here for twenty or thirty years and no one has greeted them or welcomed them to the country.”

Nik takes it upon himself to reach out to people and welcome them to America. He gets to know them and he finds that very few of them feel welcome in America.

“So far 100% of them have said that no one has welcomed them to America and I’ll welcome them to our city and within 15 minutes we’ll get an invitation to come to their home.

It might not always be easy to reach out to people who aren’t like us. However, as Christians it is our duty and it might not be as hard as we think. People from foreign countries often long for someone to reach out to them and make them feel welcomed. For Nik, it’s as simple as acknowledging they exist and extending a friendly welcome.

Key Scriptures: Matthew 5:43-45

Featured Songs: You’re the Water, You’re the Shore by Selah; Until Your Will is Done by Ed Cash; We Must Not by Selah

Highlight : The power of a welcome

Would you die for your faith?