A few weeks ago, I went on a trip with TV One Life to Norway and Sweden. We were able to do a lot of really fun ministry working with the TV networks, but there was one thing we did that really stands out in my mind. We had an opportunity to work with an Arabic Christian church. Most of the people in the church were refugees from the Middle East. Going into the trip we did not know we would be working with this church so it was an unexpected experience.
We co-led worship with their worship team in both English and Arabic and the put on a modified TV One Life Live event. It’s an event where we have testimonies, dramas, and videos, a live One Life U round table discussion, in addition to preaching. They then led us in some prayer and communion. After church we got to take part in a Swedish tradition called fika, which is essentially a tea and coffee break. It was an amazing service followed by an amazing time of eating and drinking together. The entire church stayed for fika. Meals and eating together is something we have incorporated into House Church and it was really cool to take part in that in another culture. The disciples spent time breaking bread and eating so I think it’s a pretty important part of what we do as the church.
But even more than the awesome service and being able to take part in fika, there was something that challenged me more than any trip I’ve been on before. Since we were there because of our TV ministry, we were recording all the things we were doing. When we got to the church, we talked to them about recording the service and they said it was fine as long as we didn’t film the congregation. The reason was that there were people who were risking their life by being there and by being a Christian. If people from their home country found out where they were and what they were doing, it could cost them their life.
There was nothing casual about how they were serving Jesus. They were literally willing to put it all on the line to follow Him. That shook me. In America, Christians will act like they are persecuted. You will hear about the “war on Christmas” and how people want to take God out of the pledge of allegiance. This was the first time in my life I had been around people who were actually were living with the possibility of real persecution.
It challenged and encouraged me. It also caught me completely by surprise. I knew we would be doing some events at churches, but I didn’t expect it to play out like that. It will be a very vivid reminder of what it means to lay down your life for one another. When I go to church I don’t have to think about what might happen if someone finds out I’m there. I don’t have to worry about anything when I read my Bible or pray in public. Sure I’ve heard about people who do, but I had never had the opportunity to worship with them. It’s an opportunity I won’t ever forget.
See the video below to see some of the things we did in Norway and Sweden!
until next time…