South Asian Friendship Center in Chicago..

minah_pa · May 16, 2005, 9:33pm

I thought this was interesting, especially since it is a business of the christian churches. First off, I know it was created with the intention of converting people, but that aside, I thought it was a great unifying effort.

source: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/113/41.0.html

The South Asian Friendship Center is a bookstore in the heart of a Muslim business district in Chicago. (More than 400,000 Muslims live in Chicago.) The shelves are lined with books in Urdu (the language of Pakistan), Arabic, and English with author names like J. I. Packer and John Stott. The center makes no apologies for its overt Christian beliefs.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/current/images/mus1.jpg

SAFC, a multidenominational effort of many area churches, opened in September 1997 and carries out a fourfold vision.

First, SAFC’s bookstore is a legitimate business. A “mini-Borders” for Asians, it is a haven where people can read and relax on a couch or other chairs, nibbling on free cookies and sipping chai (Indian tea). SAFC sells Christian literature, books, videos, and cassettes at reasonable prices—and often gives these items away.

Second, SAFC strives to serve the community by offering tutoring in English as a second language; after-school homework help; classes in Hindu and Urdu; help with immigration issues; legal counsel; home visitation; and medical help.

The third aspect of SAFC’s vision is what staff members call passive evangelism: “People come to us and we pray with people unashamedly in the name of Jesus,” says Roy Oksnevad, director of training and development. He describes how one Muslim man desperately needed a job. SAFC workers asked if they could pray for him in Jesus’ name. “I really like this place,” the man said before he left. “You are our friends.”

Fourth, SAFC trains students, missionaries, and churches that want to develop similar ministries. The SAFC sponsors weekend “vision trips” for people to learn about the center and visit a mosque or Hindu temple to expose them to the need. The SAFC also will send staff members to speak in churches.

“In this country, I’m not worried about what Muslims are doing,” says SAFC director Sam Naaman. "I know what they are doing. They are active—far more active than we Christians are.

minah_pa · May 16, 2005, 9:48pm