San Francisco, my home for 18 years now, is sometimes called an “Alpha City.” It is strategically and globally linked to the rest of the world through commerce, the financial sector, and especially within the larger region, hundreds of thousands of temporary and permanent immigrants.
The top Alpha Cities in North American include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Toronto, and Boston. In Alpha Cities, we anticipate meeting Hindus from India, Muslims from Somalia, Sikhs from the Punjab, and Buddhists from China and more. Often, Christians in cities like these have been taught that we have a clear mission to reach the world from where we live.
But Alpha Cities are not the only globally connected places in North America.
Beyond Alpha
Recently, I flew out of my city to Wichita, Kansas to teach a class in several nearby towns. Before I left, some people made the usual jokes about tornados and Totos. Most don’t realize that Wichita is called the “Air Capitol of the World.” The two largest privately owned companies in the United States are headquartered there. From the early days of air travel, this mid-America city has hosted some of the most renowned airplane manufacturers—Cessna, Beechcraft, Boeing, and others. All kinds of people from all over the world live in Wichita, too.
During my time in Kansas, I met a Turkish Christian, a Punjabi Sikh server in a halal Indian restaurant. I also drove by an Egyptian market and stopped at a mosque with an Islamic school. The mosque was located near a predominantly Muslim neighborhood with several other halal restaurants, all on East 21st Street North. There is also a Hindu temple and an India Bazaar in Wichita.
One day we drove an hour away to Salina, Kansas, and discovered an Islamic Center there. We spoke with a counselor who has Muslim clients. Kansas City, on the Kansas/Missouri border, and Overland Park, Kansas also have large Asian Indian populations. Many identifiable Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati, Tamil, and Telugu peoples from India, and Punjabi Sikhs live there. There is also a significant Muslim population in Kansas with many mosques, prayer spaces, halal markets and restaurants.
Enough with the Toto jokes! Kansas is strategically and globally linked to the rest of the world. Some of the least reached peoples in the world live there, and they need Jesus, too.
Where You Live
Maybe this sounds like the place where you live. Has the world come to your city?
Let’s pray, all of us—whether we live in Alpha, Beta, or Gamma cities—that our neighbors of many languages, nationalities and tribes will be well represented in God’s kingdom and have the opportunity to experience the exquisite joy of knowing Christ.
Amen.
“I want to learn from Jon at The Praxis Gathering!”
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