Partnership reaches Arabic community
Breaking down barriers through breaking bread together was the goal for The Ark Lutheran Church in Salisbury, who recently partnered with Hope Arabic Church to reach the local Arabic-speaking community.
The two churches came together in April to organise an iftar dinner, the fast-breaking meal held every evening during Ramadan, to bless the Arabic-speaking Muslim community in the culturally diverse Salisbury area.
‘We wanted to plan an event that created community, where the Arabic speakers could get to know the people within the church and to show them how much followers of Jesus love all people,’ says the event’s coordinator Sarah Blake, a member at The Ark.
The iftar dinner was inspired by a similar outreach in Canada, with the overseas leader helpfully sharing tips and advice when the Salisbury team reached out to him as they planned the event.
The team were grateful to receive an LLL Mission Resource Grant to help fund the dinner and decided on a local community centre as the venue. The other details were worked through as both churches met for collaborative planning, prayer and sharing their visions for the event.
‘One of the amazing elements was that it was truly a partnership between Hope Arabic Church and the Ark,’ says Sarah. ‘Both churches worked within their strengths and neither of us could have put on such an event without the other.’
To spread the word, members of the team walked down the main street, praying as they went, distributing flyers, putting up posters in local shops and, when they felt led, approaching passers-by.
‘One man we spoke to was from Syria and was really excited to be invited,’ says Sarah. ‘It turns out he and his family were new arrivals to Australia, and within fifteen minutes of speaking to him and giving him a flyer, he had called up and booked the family in for the dinner.’
While they were initially worried they wouldn’t fill the 110 seats they’d planned, news of the event spread by word-of-mouth and it quickly booked out, with subsequent enquiries continuing to flood in.
‘We were amazed at how God worked to exceed our expectations,’ says Sarah. ‘There were many more people who wanted to come, but we were at capacity several days before the event.’
On the day of the dinner the atmosphere was one of joy and connection.
‘It was a really beautiful vibe,’ says Sarah. ‘People seemed genuinely happy to be attending, smiling and laughing, enjoying the food as well as the games, henna and activities for the kids we’d arranged. One man asked the Arabic pastor for a photo. The pastor said “of course, but why?” and the man responded, “because this is the best night I have ever had, and I want such a memory to stay with me.”’
After the meal the pastor shared a message in Arabic, telling the story of the good Samaritan and the values of love and forgiveness that are part of the Christian faith. Sarah says the feedback they received on this was significant.
‘Several guests commented that the word that was shared about Jesus’ love for everyone resulted in a breakthrough between Muslims and Christians, by correcting any misunderstandings they may have had about Jesus. A couple of families also said they’d like to come to church, and I heard conversations as I was walked around the room with people asking and learning about Christianity.’
The message even reached some people who didn’t attend the event.
‘There was one family that came but the father, who was quite conservative and at the time wasn’t open to hearing about other faiths, stayed at home,’ says Sarah. ‘The day after the dinner he asked for the pastor’s phone number, then called him and said, “my son told me everything that you said, and I thank you for sharing a message of love and forgiveness.” He then asked to meet up with the pastor for a coffee and to chat more.’
Sarah says they hope to build on the relationships they formed through the dinner, with home visits and more community events planned for the near future.
‘We pray that the Arabic community of Salisbury will have the opportunity to interact with followers of Jesus and to see something more of God’s love.’
Photo above courtesy The Ark Lutheran Church. This article first appeared in the June 2023 edition of the SA-NT District magazine, ‘Together’. The name Sarah Blake is a pseudonym, at the request of the interviewee.
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