I met Wagdi a few months ago. I was presenting a talk to the Concord Baptist Association, which is a sister association of Baptist churches in Murfreesboro. I was invited to speak to a group of pastors on the refugee situation in Nashville. As it turns out Wagdi was part of this gathering and because he is originally from Egypt, he knew more about the situation than I did.
After that initial meeting, Wagdi and I became fast friends. He and I have visited Coptic Egyptian refugees in Southeast Nashville, and we have delivered food and clothes. Wagdi not only speaks Arabic but their Egyptian Arabic dialect. He has led impromptu sermons and we have prayed together for these refugees. Last week we met at The Branch of Nashville, where he was giving away more clothes on the same day Belmont College of Nursing held a mobile health clinic.
Wagdi grew up in Egypt, he has also lived in Jordan and then immigrated to New Jersey before he moved to Tennessee. Wagdi is the pastor of the Arabic congregation that meets at LifePoint church in Smyrna. Their congregation is fully integrated into the life of the English-speaking congregation. Their youth and children go to age-specific classes and activities at the church, but the adults who speak Arabic have English sermons translated with the help of interpreters and earphones. However, the native Arabic speakers long to worship in their mother tongue.
That brings me to last Friday night. Wagdi invited me to a monthly gathering of his congregation that meets as a house church. I went with my eleven-year-old daughter, Naomi. We showed up to his door empty-handed. That was a cultural mistake, and I should have known better. We arrived ten minutes early, again another mistake. I did remember to take my shoes off at the door as we entered a Middle Eastern-style house in the heart of middle Tennessee. The juxtaposition couldn’t have been starker. The church members came 30-45 minutes later, in other words, right on time.
We gathered for worship in the salon. Arabic worship lyrics were on the television, and a keyboard was set up ready to go. Every few minutes more people arrived at the door and were greeted with warm hugs and kisses from Wagdi and his wife. The church was assembled, and worship commenced. A strange feeling of holiness overwhelmed me. There was nothing significant about this neighborhood. The feeling I had came from the people and the presence of the Spirit among the people. I was surrounded by the holy ones, the saints, as they were singing praise songs to God, I was privy to this event. These were Jordanians, Egyptians, and Lebanese all worshiping the triune God in Arabic.
Wagdi then preached on Psalm 23 specifically verse 6. “Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life.” I couldn’t follow along, so the worship leader, fluent in English whispered a rough translation in my ear. The Father is in pursuit of all of us, not the other way around. It is this aspect of his character, his goodness, and his faithful love for us that is pursuing us all of our days. What amazing hope and freedom wash over us when we remember these simple words.
The good is from God, and hard things are as well. Some of these were Muslim background believers. At one point in their lives, they gave up their faith in Islam and decided to follow the path of the Messiah. Some were from families of Christians, who date back generations. In either case, they all had stories of hardship, ostracization, or outright persecution because of their faith.
Please pray for this small congregation of Arabic-speaking believers that meets in SE Nashville.
Please pray for Wagdi and grace and protection for his family.
Please pray for Muslim background believers here in Middle Tennessee and abroad.
Write to me if you want to be a part of our next Diaspora Missions Collective so you can learn about other opportunities to serve these believers and groups like them.
Brett Boesch
Connections Strategist
Nashville Baptist Association