'Break our hearts for the nations' -- A Hindu Temple Visit

At Momentum on Thursday, more than 150 students and staff piled into buses to visit a Hindu temple in the Pittsburgh area.

Going as learners, the group (sans shoes) was ushered into a room where a temple officer talked about the Hindu faith.

The group was then given a tour of the temple, accompanying one of three officers who explained various aspects of the building and how it related to their faith. Students asked questions along the way, gaining a better perspective on how well they need to know their own Christian faith and how to share it with others.

After the temple visit, the group retreated to a nearby church, where Dave Guiles, director of Grace Brethren International Missions, answered questions about the experience. Then he prayed for the people with whom they had just visited.

“Break our hearts for the nations,” he said, “and that includes a lot of people who follow the Hindu faith.”

“All my expectations were fulfilled in a concerning way,” said Jake from Brookville, Ohio. “I didn’t expect to see the emptiness in the leader’s eyes and (to hear) how much he didn’t know (about his own faith).” He said it made him want to pray more for the Hindu people.

Spencer from Ashland, Ohio, also noted that he was surprised the people they talked with didn’t know more about their own faith.

The temple trips are sponsored by Grace Brethren International Missions. On Wednesday, the group visited an Islamic center and today (Friday), the group will go to a Sikh temple. The excursions are planned as information gathering sessions.

Momentum, the annual Grace Brethren youth conference, continues through Saturday on the campus of Robert Morris University near Pittsburgh. Nearly 2,000 students and adults from around the nation are gathered for a week of learning more about the Bible and how to practically apply it in their lives. In addition to nationally-known speakers like Shawn McBride, Gabe Lyons, and Chuck Bomar, the conference features Grace Brethren pastors such as Jim Brown and Jeff Bogue. Power Trax each morning encourage students to dig deeper into spiritual issues such as women in ministry, the pre-historic Jesus, impacting your world for Christ, spiritual warfare, current events and creation studies, and prophecy.

Since Wednesday, teens have been leaving campus each afternoon for ministry projects such as cleaning, flood relief, and evangelism as part of We Care Pittsburgh, which is designed to demonstrate love, hope, and kindness to the people of Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas. On Saturday, the entire conference leaves campus to participate in work projects and evangelism efforts.