Your Next Overseas Mission Trip: Detroit
Michigan is home to the largest population of Arabs in North America. Detroit is home to seven significantly unreached people groups. Two of them are Indian Hindu groups: Hindi-speaking Indians (concentrated in Troy) and Gujaratis (concentrated in Farmington). Muslims from around the world make up the other five. These seven groups number at least 191,000 people. There are significant amounts of Arab Christians in the region as well.
A Muslim Majority
Large groups of Yemenis and Bangladeshis live in Hamtramck, Michigan. In 2015, Hamtramck became the first US city with a Muslim majority city council. There are even 10 mosques per square mile, meaning Hamtramck has the greatest concentration of Muslims in America. It’s a unique city, even among global gateway cities. Walking Hamtramck streets on a nice summer day is the closest one can get to walking through a Yemeni village without boarding a plane.
Detroit is home to nearly 150,000 Muslims from some of the least reached groups of the world. It also has significant Hindu populations from least reached groups. Download Infographic
West of Hamtramck is Dearborn–notorious for its substantial Muslim population. Dearborn has mostly Lebanese (31,000) and Iraqi (63,000) Muslim groups. Also, around 8,000 Pakistanis are concentrated East of Dearborn in Canton, MI.
These suburbs of Detroit are unique even among the gateway cities from our list because a substantial proportion of the city is unreached–mostly Muslim. Some Christians might find that scary or intimidating, but imagine the potential. People who would not otherwise have access to the gospel could have it at their door in places like Hamtramck. That could happen without the complications or expenses of traveling overseas.
Boldly Sharing
Global Gates missionaries and other local believers boldly go into mosques in these areas, not only to observe, but to offer prayer, share the gospel, and answer objections. They share the gospel on the streets, in restaurants, stores, and homes. They even knock on doors to share about Jesus.
Consider a young Yemeni mom named Ameera (name has been changed). Just a quick reminder that Yemen is almost 100% Muslim. It’s almost guaranteed this story could not happen in Yemen: Recently some Christians knocked on Ameera’s door. They introduced themselves and offered prayer. She accepted them and received prayer. During their time together, the Christians had a chance to share the gospel with her. Jesus’ holiness, His respect and honor for women and children, made her want to know Jesus. She received a Gospel of Luke and invited the Christians back for an authentic Yemeni feast!
Over the course of the next year, she studied the gospels faithfully, hungry for truth. As she learned about Jesus, she shared the stories with her friends and family. After she professed Christ as her Savior and Lord, Ameera said that she had watched a movie about Jesus as a teenager and was greatly moved by his suffering. She had always wondered who Jesus was and why he had to die, but no one could tell her. “I knew when these Christians showed up at my door and told me about Jesus for the first time that God had sent them to teach me what I had always wanted to know.” Ameera’s story is one example. There are many more people asking questions that nobody they know will answer.
