During one of our recent Diaspora Ministries webinars, a pastor serving in the Vancouver area shared the following story. It is a powerful reminder that simple acts of welcome can create opportunities for God to work in extraordinary ways.
It all started with a simple question. An international student from a different faith background contacted a local church, wondering whether she would be allowed to attend a Christian worship service. After being assured that people of all backgrounds were welcome, she decided to visit. A few days later, she attended her first service, experiencing church firsthand and discovering that it was very different from what she had expected.
Over the following weeks, she continued to attend and ask questions about the Christian faith. Then one day she reached out with a practical need: she had been searching unsuccessfully for a job for three months and asked if the pastor could help her find work. The pastor met with her, listened to her story, and invited her to pray with him, asking Jesus to open the right door. Afterward, he drove her to three different workplaces to submit applications in person, praying together at each stop.
Before the day was over, an unexpected opportunity emerged. One of the employers offered her a position, and she was able to begin work within days. Through that experience, she not only landed a job, but more importantly, she began to experience that Jesus answers prayer. She kept bringing prayer requests, which continued to be answered in miraculous ways.
As trust grew, new opportunities for gospel conversations followed. Weeks of increasingly worse nightmares brought her to put her trust in Jesus Christ, who is stronger than all the forces of evil, and the nightmares stopped. The pastor was later able to share the message of Jesus with her nephew over WhatsApp, and her nephew made the decision to give his life to Christ. Later, her husband also placed his faith in Jesus.
What began with a simple question about whether she would be welcome in church became a story of hospitality, answered prayer, and lives transformed through the hope of the gospel.
Who is your "stranger"?
This story began because one church said yes to a simple question. Across Canada, many newcomers are wondering the same thing: Would I be welcome? Outreach Canada's Diaspora Ministries equips Canadian Christians and churches to welcome people from every nation and share the hope of Jesus.
- Pray for the newcomers in your community, and ask God who He might be inviting you to welcome.
- Explore Diaspora Ministries to discover ways to get involved or give.
Gospel Stories
Be encouraged as you read more stories of the gospel at work.