Teddy James
AFA Journal staff writer
December 2013 – “In fourteen hundred and ninety-two/Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”
And people learned the earth wasn’t as big as they had previously thought. When Jules Verne wrote Around the World in 80 Days, the world was still large but now conquerable. With the development of commercial airlines, man could cross the ocean on Friday and be home for Sunday dinner. Since then, the world has grown smaller and smaller.
But nowhere is the world smaller than in Clarkston, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb. In 1.1 square mile, there are over 60 distinct languages spoken and more than 100 people groups represented. In addition, 31.8% of the population of that square mile is foreign born. Most of those are refugees who came to America out of fear and with nothing but their names and the clothes on their backs.
The need
Nathan Harper, a missionary with Global Frontier Missions, said, “Clarkston has been called the most diverse square mile in America. It is home to refugees from all over the face of the earth, mostly from an area we call the 10/40 Window in the Eastern Hemisphere. We have people from Africa, the Middle East, Asia and a few European countries. They come here legally, with most carrying heavy memories and deep scars. But most heartbreaking is that they carry those burdens without ever having heard the name of Jesus.”
Early on, Harper learned that telling these refugees about Jesus can create even more scars. In one such case, Harper met and witnessed to a Muslim man from Malaysia. This man was no stranger to persecution, as Malaysia is a Buddhist country where Muslims are routinely persecuted. But after several weeks of visiting and witnessing, the Malaysian Muslim became a Christian and was ready to be baptized.
Harper said, “The next time we visited, he said he was sorry but we were no longer welcome in his home.” The man’s neighbor had been spying on him and informing the Imam, the local Islamic leader, every time Christians came over. For the safety and welfare of his family here in the U.S. and in Malaysia, he asked Harper never to return. GFM missionaries obliged, but they continue to pray for the man, his family and his neighbor.
The strategy
Harper and those serving with him share Jesus early and often with refugees. Harper said, “One of my favorite questions for refugees is if they have ever heard of Jesus. Sometimes they have, but even those who have heard His name haven’t heard the gospel. They don’t know that Jesus came to die for their sins and there is no work they have to complete or mantra they have to say to be forgiven. It is an awesome and incredible privilege to be the first person to tell them who Jesus is, how they can follow Him and then have the opportunity to disciple them.”
There are two major reasons GFM operates in refugee centers like Clarkston and Houston, Texas, where their other base of operations is located. One is the number of unreached people who come into these areas. The other is training. Because of the vast diversity of people in such close proximity, Christians training to be missionaries are in a unique position to experience dozens of cultures without leaving their apartment complex. But that is only one aspect of GFM’s training.
Harper said GFM has three main components: mobilizing, training and multiplying. Mobilizing is raising awareness, educating and inspiring the North American church to be involved, look in its own backyard and find people who do not know the gospel.
“When people begin to really see the depth of the need in the world today, most want training,” Harper said. GFM offers that training through Mission Training School, a five-month program offered biannually. Each semester, GFM accepts 10 to 12 students whose mornings consist of reading, studying and preparing. Their afternoons are filled with ministry, after-school programs and community work. After that five-month period, they are offered a seven-month apprenticeship. Students then graduate with exposure to cultures, proper training and discipline that will help them be effective missionaries anywhere in the world.
The call
With thousands of refugees living within a one-square-mile town, and with the average stay of a refugee being 18 months, Harper and other workers in GFM cannot do all the work alone. “Churches are a big help to us,” Harper said.
In the summer of 2012, a man came to Clarkston from the Congo. He knew enough English to communicate basic needs but not enough to discuss spiritual concepts. His heart language was French, but no one in GFM spoke it. But then a short-term mission group came to GFM with a girl who happened to be from France. Harper introduced the two, and she shared the gospel with him.
Harper said, “That night the Congolese man woke up from a nightmare and couldn’t see. He was blind. He began to call out to his father in the next room but he felt God telling him not to cry out to his earthly father but to his heavenly one. He prayed all that night, and the next day he gave his life to Christ. GFM connected him with a local African/French speaking congregation. Now he is evangelizing and discipling others and growing the kingdom.
Not every person who serves GFM needs to speak another language. One needs only to be willing to pray. Harper said, “The most important thing to us is prayer. Luke 10:2 says ‘The harvest is plentiful. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’ We are in the fields and trenches working hard. Pray that our workers are encouraged and effective.”
Another way to help spread the gospel across the world is with financial support. At GFM, each missionary or student is responsible for raising his own support. This gives believers back home an opportunity to be active in missions even if they cannot go into the field.
But there are those who can go to the field, whether short-term or long-term. With one afternoon in Clarkston, Christians can fulfill the Great Commission and experience the world by visiting Tibet in one apartment and Ethiopia across the hall; have traditional Turkish coffee while sitting on someone’s porch and say “Marhaba,” a traditional greeting to the Syrian walking by.
The world is there – in 1.1 square mile. 
For more information about Clarkston or Houston, or to support the mission of GFM directly, visit globalfrontiermissions.org or call 770-676-2851 (Atlanta) or 281-867-7650 (Houston).
