Europe #4: God’s grace is too good to keep to yourself
“God’s grace is too good to keep to yourself.”
Our day began over breakfast with Dariush and Shapoor, who has joined us from the UK. These two Iranian Christian leaders have spent much time together doing ministry in Amsterdam and Turkey. Over what we hope will be the first cups of much tea with them, we reflected on the sacrificial nature of their work. With Pastor Saul present we started to dig into how their ministry is an “all in” thing. They use their own limited resources to do most of what so many of us are in awe of. So their work is not from what is left of their abundance. This was a theme we continued to come back to throughout the visit today.
And the reason for this commitment to the kingdom work they do and its deep cost of family time, finances, and leisure is simple. Shapoor said, “God’s grace is too good to keep to yourself.” That passion over God’s grace drives Shapoor into the evangelistic ministry he has been doing since becoming a Christian in 2008.
Shapoor’s story of coming to know Christ begins surprisingly with a positive experience of Islam and his pious commitment to that faith. However, in 2005 his life turned upside down and he ended up fleeing from Iran because of his work. Suffering from the empty promises of smugglers during a long winter’s trek out of Iran across mountains into Turkey, he nearly lost his leg. His faith in God deteriorated as he wondered how God would let him suffer the loss of family, a good job, and his government turning against him so he had no country anymore.
In London, a Farsi-speaking Christian came to the camp where he was a refugee. He poured out hospitality to him and asked him to come to church. That started his journey to learn about Jesus, read the Bible, and several months later, he invited Jesus into his heart. He started telling his family about Jesus and after a few years, they were all baptized in Turkey.
Talking about his journey to experiencing God’s deep love through Jesus is a story Shapoor shares wherever the Spirit takes him—England, Turkey, Greece, Ghana, Amsterdam, Germany, and even Poland. Saul has now invited him to Lithuania! Shapoor has brought thousands to Christ throughout Europe, and for him, it is very simple. “God’s grace is too good to keep to yourself.” While he was with us in two restaurants today he told the people waiting on us “Jesus loves you” and shared briefly his story with one of them. Her response—“You have a good God.” Seed planted! He seems unafraid to be about the very thing that Christ said we should do: tell and show others about God’s love for them to make disciples.
Saul engaged Shapoor very well. Having Saul’s voice as a European is very helpful. He reflected on the early days of freedom after the Soviets left. He recalled how many people were coming to Jesus, but then the western church left. Yet there was no discipleship plan to cause new Christians to experience the ups and downs of faith. Saul’s vision for the European diaspora is not just in evangelism but in discipleship through trained church planters who are from here and are sensitive to the cultural challenges and opportunities in the diaspora.
Both Shapoor and Saul agree this is key for the long-term growth of the gospel in the diaspora. The Holy Spirit has placed people like Dariush, Shapoor, Saul, and the young people we met on zoom and Gediminas among others here. Saul tells us to invest deeply in them and watch what God does with the partnerships.
But this is not just about Europe. Shapoor explained that European churches, like in the US, are marked by fear of people coming in from Iran, the Middle East, and other cultures. And fear mixed with much suffering is typical of the refugees. He says we need not be afraid of each other. His encouragement to the church in Europe is to claim the power of Christ over the authority of fear that keeps us apart. God has brought the refugees to us for revival. As they see Muslims accepting Christ this inspires western Christians to share with people back home. We heard stories of significant transformation in churches of Europe and the US who have embraced Shapoor’s work.
Our day ended with a beautiful time of prayer in a restaurant with others listening to us pray for Shapoor and Shapoor lifting up Lithuania and Saul.