Encounter and mission
There's been a tradition amongst British Christians since the 1960s that has said that youre either into 'encounter' (or dialogue as people like to call it) or 'mission' (or evangelism as others might like to all it) but you can't do both.
It has been argued that if you're into mission its because you believe that the Muslims would be better off being Christians. So any encounter is merely a smoke screen for evangelism. This leads people to suspect and search for hidden agendas that people might have.
It has also been suspected that people who are into inter-faith stuff are happy to give up all the key Christian beliefs until what's left appears to be some sort of religious mush made up of bits of different faiths and a dollop of general good humanity.
At Youth Encounter we are opposed to having any hidden agenda, but are convinced that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and "the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). So are the encounter events we run a subtle form of evangelism? Or do we ask people to give up their beliefs before they can come along?
No and No.
Let's be clear: as a Christian I think following Jesus is the best way to live. Personally I think everyone in the world would find fulfilment through being a disciple of Jesus. BUT I also know that nearly every Muslim I meet believes I'd be far better off being a Muslim and would love to see the whole world embracing Islam. So at Youth Encounter we don't hide these passions, what we call our 'Heart Felt Desires' that stay with us whatever were doing. But we recognise that we have different motives at different times and when undertaking different tasks.
Let me explain. When I go shopping with my lads I'd love the people in the shop to be followers of Jesus, but my aim is to get what I want, pay for it, and get out without either of my boys causing mayhem in the shop.
Same desire, different motive.
So it is with Youth Encounter.
When we run Faith and Young People Events we have clear aims (see Faith and Young People) that are about building friendships, being peacemakers and making the world a better place. The aim is NOT mission or evangelism.
When we are running Youth Encounter events that help Christians think about how to live out their faith amongst Muslims, this will include a time when they think about how and why they share their faith with their Muslim friends. This is done following our core principles (see Ethos).
There's another important reason why we are into mission and encounter. Most of the Christian and Muslim young people we work with are into both these things before they get involved in Youth Encounter. Our aim is not to change their passion but to help them find ways to express it and share it in ways that treats people of the other faith ethically and lovingly. Find out how we worked with The Christian Muslim Forum help them do that ethically with Ethical Guidelines for Witness.