An Atheist, a Muslim, a Catholic, and me—Sharing the gospel as an MK in the Northern Territory
Rebekah Beer (16) lives in the Northern Territory with her parents and brother. Her parents, Tavis & Kate, have been serving with CMS since 2011. Here she talks about the opportunity she has to talk to her friends about Jesus at her school.
What opportunities do you have to share the gospel with your peers?
This would probably sound like a really exciting question to ask a Missionary Kid (MK). If you didn’t know where I live. Sometimes I don’t really feel like a MK because I live in Australia and I go to a government school. So, when I think about the question ‘What opportunities do you have to share the gospel with your peers?’, I guess I’m in a similar situation to most of the kids who might be reading this.
I have a surprising group of friends. There’s an atheist, a Muslim, a Catholic and me. It sounds like an opening for a joke! And so, when you ask me about what opportunities I have in my secular government school, I’ve actually had more than I thought I would.
The conversation often starts with something one of us is curious about. “So if the Koran is in Arabic, does that mean you can read Arabic?” or “Out of curiosity, how do Christians tell the Noah’s Ark story?”. These conversations are only a recent development and I think these opportunities have come straight from God. I’ve been praying for friends and family that don’t know Jesus for ages, but only recently have I been praying for opportunities that God might use me to talk to them.
Some conversations have been more helpful than others.
In some conversations I’ve felt I represented my faith better than others.
Answering tricky questions
One time, my Muslim friend and I were talking about our respective holy texts, when she said, “When you pray, who do you pray to? Because if you think Jesus is God, and God is also real, and there’s the Holy Spirit, do you pray to each one for different problems? Do they each do different things?”
I had a lot of trouble trying to explain the Trinity and I don’t remember exactly what I said but it was probably a poor articulation of ‘They’re all God, just different parts’.
She asked a few more questions like, “Why would God need a son? Because God’s all-powerful and doesn’t need anyone or anything.” I tried to explain something along the lines of “He’s a relational God”.
Honestly that whole conversation was so encouraging but also made my head hurt. Afterwards I asked my mum for prayer and we worked on a better way to explain it should the topic come up again.
Being Prepared
More and more, the words of Peter spur me on:
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. — 1 Peter 3:15-16
And you can only be prepared for opportunities if you ask questions and actually prepare.
So, I’m learning to take opportunities where God gives them, prepare for opportunities, pray for opportunities and most of all, remember that salvation is up to God and not my feeble human efforts.
Care
Missionary Kids often have lives that, while running parallel to their parents’, have their own stories and needs. How could you take some time to find out more about the MKs in the families you support?
