Our vision is “Lives and communities transformed through encounter with Jesus Christ” and our focus is the people of Asia and the Arab world. This brings us alongside the persecuted church in some of the most needy and fragile church contexts today. Birthed in India over 150 years ago by an extraordinary group of Victorian women who wanted to reach out to the excluded women of India, Interserve has always seen its role as working with the church in holistic ministry amongst the neediest. What began as ministry through education, health care and the proclamation of the good news of the Kingdom has broadened to take in almost every conceivable professional ministry.
The focus on holistic mission is underpinned by the words of the One who sits on the throne and declares, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). The renewal of all things is possible because “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (Jesus) and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven by making peace through his blood shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:19-20).
Interserve workers live out solidarity with our persecuted brothers and sisters in Asia and the Arab world through ministries of indirect advocacy. While some of our workers live outside the region and can exert direct leverage on behalf of the suffering church, for most, ministry involves a combination of presence, prayer and participation in the daily life of the church. While others are better positioned to intervene at government level, we have the privilege of being alongside. At times this brings us directly into the lives of those who are suffering, at others we simply demonstrate by our presence that those who suffer are not alone or forgotten.
Pray for Interserve workers that they will be salt and light, a command Jesus gave in the context of persecution. “That they may see your good works and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).Our goal is not simply to care for our suffering brethren but that lives and communities will be transformed through the reconciling power of Christ.
To find out more about Interserve International, please visit www.interserve.org.
Grassroots Mission Publications is an occasional series on theology and missiology. Its writers are mostly present or former mission Partners of Interserve whose experience, thinking and track records have developed during their years of serving in the Arab World. You can order the following resources, and many more, at your nearest Interserve Office or by contacting us at editor@stfrancismagazine.info.
Doing Mission in the Arab World - $12.95 (USD - excl. S&H)
Rev Dr. John Stringer (ed)
This first book in the series was very well received by mission leaders and mission practitioners in the Arab World and elsewhere. (2008, 178 pages)
Ministry of Reconciliation - $14.95 (USD - excl. S&H)
Rev Dr. John Stringer (ed)
This second book in focuses mostly on issues of reconciliation and mission in the Arab World. For anyone with an interest in mission and the Church in the Muslim World, this is a very valuable book. (2009, 195 pages)