On Thursday, November 7, The Jenkins Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam had the privilege of hosting Drs. Paul and Lindsey Wilkerson for its penultimate event of the semester, Conversation With Missionaries.
A mixed audience of about 70 students, faculty, and members of the community gathered to hear from the Wilkersons on their experiences preparing for and serving on the mission field in the Middle East. The evening opened with a welcome and introduction from Dr. Ayman Ibrahim, Director of the Jenkins Center, then attendees were dismissed to enjoy fellowship and Mediterranean cuisine.
After dinner, Paul Wilkerson began by sharing a summary video of the specific city where he and his family served as missionaries. Next, he took an inventory of the audience’s interest in missions by a show of hands. Despite a broad gamut of interest among attendees, Wilkerson’s primary question addressed everyone: “How will you leverage your life for the spread of the gospel among the unreached?”
To illustrate this question, he offered an image of two cliffs with a great chasm running between them. On one side of the chasm, Wilkerson labeled the cliff “the exclusivity of the gospel.” Calling to mind a popular argument in evangelism, Wilkerson asked, “What happens to the innocent man, on a remote island, who has never heard the gospel? Will he go to heaven or hell?” An individual’s response to that question will affect his or her urgency towards missions. As believers, we know that there is only one way to be saved. Even more, we know that the unreached, “innocent” man on the island is guilty and already condemned (John 3:17-18).
On this serious note, Wilkerson transitioned to the other side of the chasm, a cliff labeled “the unreached.” This term refers to a population in which less than 2% know Jesus as their savior, which is not enough to sustain evangelism or church growth. In a powerful demonstration, Wilkerson began to ask the audience questions about the tenets of other world religions. No one in the room could give an answer, which was clear in the crowd’s silence as he moved from question to question. In the same way, Wilkerson explained, unreached populations cannot answer basic questions about Jesus and Christian doctrines. They do not know Jesus at all.
Shifting to the chasm between the cliffs, Wilkerson exhorted the audience to think deeply about the urgency of missions. “If the gospel really is exclusive and the people who don’t hear it are doomed for eternal hell, then what are we doing to bridge this gap with our lives? How will you leverage your life for the spread of the gospel among the unreached?” There are three billion people who do not have the gospel. These statistics are real people who need to be reached!
Transitioning to the subject of challenges in the mission field, Lindsey shared her initial feelings of shock when Paul shared the burden for missions that God had put on his heart. Even after wrestling through those feelings, the Wilkersons faced many challenges as they prepared to move internationally, such as liquidating their lives. Adjusting to their new life in the Middle East provided no relief as they struggled with language and cultural barriers. Thankfully, these difficulties were underlined with hope. God used the isolation of the mission field, for example, to recenter the Wilkersons’ identity in Christ instead of their relationships or careers.
The Wilkersons described their task as missionaries before taking questions from the audience. By God’s grace, the harvest is plentiful and people are hungry for the word. Lindsey gave examples of general evangelism and relational, discipleship-based evangelism. Surprisingly, people in the Middle East are very open to spiritual conversations, more than Americans! As Paul and Lindsey recounted, people were hungry to talk with someone and as many were Muslim, they were open and excited to talk about faith. Additionally, Paul described their specific task that was assigned by their sending organization, noting the variety of helpful professions that were represented within their team.
The question-and-answer portion of the event was fast-paced, as attendees were eager to ask questions. Most questions revolved around the specific city where the Wilkersons served, including responses to the gospel, different approaches to Muslims based on class, and their family’s response to moving internationally.
We are grateful for the work that God has done and is doing through the Doctors Wilkerson and their family. Their humble obedience to God’s call and contagious passion for reaching the unreached is a blessing and encouragement to all.