A Lost And Forgotten People Of Canada

For many years, our family and another family would use our musical gifts to minister to First Nations peoples in our province. We became a band with a heart for the First Nations peoples who so desperately need Jesus in their lives.

There are approximately 43 000 native residents in the city where we now live. Many of them are supported by Social Services or live with a very low income. Many are struggling with alcohol and substance abuse. Many of them don't know Jesus. They are suffering, hurting from past wounds, lost, abused, and degraded. And yet I see few or no First Nations peoples in the churches around here.

We have a multicultural city whose churches are filled with a variety of nationalities: European, African, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, and so on. But where are the First Nations peoples? Does any body care?

I have found that the First Nations peoples are the most prejudiced in Canadian society. Countless times, I have heard rude and disgusting comments from people, including Christians, concerning the First Nations peoples. Canada has accepted people of every nationality from all over the world, except the ones who inhabited this land first: the First Nations peoples.

When we first moved here, I checked the Internet to see how many First Nations churches there were in the area. In nearly every denomination, I found none. The churches here love to give attention and money to missionaries who go overseas. There is honour and respect in being a missionary to a third world country. Churches support them financially, pray diligently for their protection, and post pictures and write-ups of their work in the foyer. But there is little or no concern for missionary work in our own homeland to the First Nations peoples. Why is that? Why do we have sympathy for other peoples, but not for the First Nations peoples?

The Bible says that if you favour some people over others, you are committing a sin.

"But if you favour some people over others,

you are committing a sin.

You are guilty of breaking the law."

James 2:9

If a church has little or no relative interest in an ethnicity class, especially one in their own country, they are also committing a sin against God.

God shows no partiality. He loves and cares for all the people in this world.

"For there is no partiality with God."

Romans 2:11

We as Christians need to do the same. The amount of attention we give to the Frist Nations peoples in our land should be proportional to the amount of attention we give to overseas ethnic groups.

The First Nations peoples need God desperately, but they need Christian people to care first in order for the First Nations peoples to come to know God and understand His Word.