South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance Newsletter
Issue 30: April 2018
S outh As i a n F orum of the
Evangelical Alliance
connecting, uniting, representing
The South Asian Forum (SAF) is a grouping within the Evangelical Alliance, it was set up to provide a place for South Asian Christians in the UK to encourage, support and equip each other for mission, and to represent their concerns to government, media and the wider Church. With the support of both individual members and church members totalling more than 20,000 people, SAF is steadily growing. Visit saf.eauk.org to get involved in supporting this wonderful ministry
by becoming a member of SAF. Once you become a member, you will receive idea, the Alliance’s bi-monthly magazine, as well as regular newsletters from SAF detailing our progress. If you are already a member of the Evangelical Alliance you can add SAF to your Alliance membership at no extra cost. In this instance please send an email to saf@eauk.org
Interview with Dayalan Mahesan, programmes manager for the South Asian Forum
Tell us about you role at SAF?
Tell us about your background: My family is originally from Sri Lanka although my Tamil speaking is currently very much a work in progress! I grew up in a Christian family and can count much of my extended family as active Christians too. Born and raised in north west London, I’ve been married for two and a half years and we have spent the last few years attending a large Elim church called Kensington Temple in Notting Hill.
I recently joined SAF to help oversee upcoming events and development of new resources. In particular, I will be focusing on our cross-cultural mission training events to help churches reach out to those of other faiths. I am also helping to put together a resource capturing stories on how food and eating together provide opportunities for building genuine friendships and sharing the gospel.
What do you feel passionate about? I am passionate about mentoring other Christians in their walk with God by encouraging them to fulfil their purpose and potential. I have had the pleasure of walking alongside people as they have grown in their faith through being a facilitator for the Living Free programme at Kensington Temple, a discipleship course for new Christians, as well as having led a cell group for several years. One of my other passions is spreading the gospel through proclamation and practical action and this interest has led me on mission trips to Romania, Sri Lanka and Uganda. I have participated in several street missions around London too. I also have a huge interest for outreach events as they provide opportunities to engage with people and build friendships. I have helped to organise many different types of events in the last few years mostly for various charities, which have included black tie balls, football tournaments, curry nights, live music nights, quiz nights and Asian cultural nights. What does an average week look like for you? I run a property development and management business, which mainly involves managing properties for clients and overseeing development projects from smaller refurbishments to larger flat conversions. In my spare time, I play five-a-side football every week. In fact I have played pretty much every week for the last 20 years. I avidly support Liverpool FC and fully believe next year is our year!
Dayalan Mahesan - Programmes manager for the South Asian Forum
SAF profiles its work, partners and resources in the quarterly newsletter and on our website saf.eauk.org
Rouse the Warriors By Steve Uppal All over the world God is speaking to His church and calling her to rise up, take her rightful place and be all that He has called her to be. Steve Uppal’s Rouse the Warriors is a timely clarion call to the church to wake up and move from maintenance mode to advancement. Steve, a member of the Alliance’s council and One People Commission, says that many in the body of Christ are functioning well below their potential because they are ‘wounded warriors’ who were once engaged in advancing God’s kingdom, but who have now backed off. The many ‘wounded’ in the church who, looking at life through the lens of pain that they carry, have drawn back from community, their fruitfulness diminished. Steve calls for people to face their pain, be set free from it and become ‘warriors’ for the King. Steve writes, “In my years of preaching and ministering I have noticed that we are often better at listening and reading than we are at applying and obeying. The truth in this book will only help you if it is applied and worked out in your life. The days we are living in are calling for every follower of Christ to rise up and boldly advance the kingdom of God. I’ve carried this message in my heart for 30 years, since I was 13, but it feels more relevant today than ever and people seem to be responsive. This book is for every culture and for young and old alike. My prayer is that God would use its the message to stir many believers into their rightful place in the body of Christ. This is our moment; we were born for such as time as this. Let the adventure begin!” ‘My advice would be to not read Steve Uppal’s book if you are not prepared to be challenged – it would be best to put it down now and find a more comfortable read. But if you are up for an adventure, even a battle, this could be God’s book for you.’ Steve Clifford, general director, Evangelical Alliance ‘A wonderful book that will inspire you to play your part in all that the Lord has for you and His church. Buy it, read it and, most importantly, live it!’ Gavin Calver, director of mission, Evangelical Alliance Rouse the Warriors is available at Amazon.co.uk (https://eauk. co/2vsgEBf)
How the Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes course is changing lives! By Clive Thorne The Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes evangelistic booklet offers bite-sized answers to 16 commonly asked questions about the Christian faith often asked by Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. Approximately 14,000 copies have been sold and in 2014, the Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes discussion course was launched to accompany the booklet and enable people to explore with their friends what the Bible says about these questions. Even in the early trials of the course, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh participants professed faith in Christ. Below is an interview with a Muslim man who came to faith through using the course: Where do you originally come from? I am from Kashmir in Pakistan where I didn’t really know any Christians. I hadn’t heard anything about Christianity except what I knew from my Muslim teachers. However, I wasn’t satisfied with Islam and when I came to the UK I started searching for the real truth about God. I even visited a Sikh temple to find out what they believed. How did you come to join the Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes course and what were your first impressions? A friend invited me to the course and I thought why not go along. I was expecting there to be drinking and dancing in the church but instead I found nice people discussing what the Bible said about various difficult questions about Christianity. I was impressed by their friendliness and welcome. What happened next? A while later, I sadly split up with my wife and I decided to re-contact one of the friendly people I had met at the church. We started talking about the Bible and he told me that there were many prophecies about Jesus in the Jewish part of the Bible written hundreds of years before he was born. He explained to me that Abraham being asked to sacrifice his only son was a picture of what God would do for us in making Jesus a sacrifice for our sins and when we read Isaiah 53, which so clearly talks about Jesus although written about 700 BC, all I could say was “Wow”. He asked if he could pray for me at the end and when he prayed, we could both feel a supernatural presence. I said “Is that magic?” and he said “No, that’s God’s Holy Spirit.” When he asked me if I wanted to pray to receive God’s forgiveness through Jesus and start a new life following him, I said “Yes” and I prayed to give my life to following Jesus.
South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance
Become a member - saf.eauk.org
The main thrust of this new resource is to encourage readers to think seriously about how we live out our faith in an increasingly multi-faith society. Whether we personally know people of different faiths or are keen to build new friendships, this gem of a book will give Christians the confidence to sensitively express their Christian faith in a religiously diverse world. Drawing on scripture and the author’s many years of experience, the book challenges preconceptions and offers practical advice.
Have you faced any trouble for your faith in Jesus? Yes, some uncles threatened me and tried to put pressure on me to return to Islam and a local imam phoned up and said “We know where you live.” My car was damaged deliberately and my ex-wife had been making it difficult for me to see my son because she did not want him learning about Jesus. The church has become my new family and they support and encourage me and Jesus is with me. Clive Thorne, co-author of the Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes course, is available to take half day or full day seminars on how to use the materials in outreach and in training Christians on how to answer the questions that they will meet when they try to share the gospel with people from these other faith backgrounds. He can be contacted at cthorne@talktalk. net Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes is available directly from The Good Book Company (https://www. thegoodbook.co.uk) or from Amazon.co.uk
Review of ‘Vibrant Christianity in multifaith Britain’ By Dayalan Mahesan Andrew Smith, director of interfaith relations for the Bishop of Birmingham, is the author of a new book entitled Vibrant Christianity in Multi-faith Britain. As the founder and chair of trustees for the charity, The Feast, which brings together Christian and Muslim teenagers to explore issues of faith, Andrew is most certainly equipped to write such a book.
The book is full of helpful tips and there are a few that I found particularly helpful. Firstly, telling people they’re wrong makes them defensive. It sounds obvious, but how many times do we dive in headfirst and cut a conversation short? As the gospel is truly good news, Andrew points out that we don’t need to knock other peoples’ faith. We are advised to instead ‘smile and ask’ what others believe in and use wisdom to know when to talk about our faith with people. It is about them and not us. Andrew also reminds us that as Christians, we are called to be peacemakers but what does that mean in reality? Do you live at peace with others because you just ignore them or do you genuinely live at peace with them? Building peace with other communities is a proactive task which leads to a strengthening of relationships. The author reminds us how being a peacemaker is essential to the evangelism process. The book clearly highlights the need to understand other cultures as we seek to share our faith. However, it also highlights the often forgotten need to also truly understand our own culture. Indeed, gaining a deeper insight into ourselves can only help us as we seek to understand others and their faith and cultural context This book is a valuable resource for the church at this time where we are living in an increasingly multi-faith environment. The clear strength of this book is that it highlights that engaging in a multi-faith environment is not just for experts, it’s for everyone which is why this practical book makes essential reading for any Christian.
SAF profiles its work, partners and resources in the quarterly newsletter and on our website saf.eauk.org