The blessed influence of the American church on my faith was evident even before I started traveling to the United States in 1998. American missionaries served in my childhood in the Baptist school and church in Nazareth. When I visited the United States, it was not limited to one place. I have traveled across your country — from Shipshewana, Indiana; McAllen, Texas; Poulsbo, Washington; Chicago; Los Angeles; and New York, to mention a few. In all these places, I have encountered people of deep faith, kindness and generosity.
I have been richly blessed by American Christians — missionaries who served faithfully, camp counselors who invested in young lives, donors who gave sacrificially, ministry partners who stood with us, and most importantly real friends who opened their homes and hearts. These relationships are a testimony to the love of Christ lived out in real and practical ways.
As the United States marks 250 years of independence, I write to you with gratitude, prayer and hope. This is not only a time to celebrate, but also a time to reflect. From the perspective of the global Church, American Christians have played an extraordinary role in shaping modern evangelical faith — and for that, we thank God.
We also thank God for the people and institutions that have come from American Christianity. Leaders like Billy Graham, Tim Keller, Lisa Sharon Harper, Rick Warren, and Martin Luther King, Jr. have influenced not only America, but the world. Schools, churches and ministries — including the World Evangelical Alliance — have been shaped by your vision and support. Your culture of creativity and initiative has helped the Church think in fresh and courageous ways.
There is a saying, sometimes shared as a joke: Christianity started as a person, moved to Rome and became a religion, went to the United Kingdom and became a culture, and in America became a business. I do not agree with the spirit of this statement — but like many jokes, it reflects a concern we should not ignore.
So, I want to ask a simple question: How can the American church be even more blessed in the next 50 years?
I believe the answer lies in becoming more incarnational. In mission, being incarnational means entering into the lives of others with humility — understanding their culture, respecting their context and serving them with love. It means not exporting a version of Christianity shaped primarily by one culture, but allowing the gospel to take root in every culture in a way that is faithful to Christ.
This kind of life is only possible through true discipleship. Jesus called us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him (Luke 9:23). This is how we walk with Jesus. In such a case, we must be willing to examine and deny ourselves, as well as our own culture — embracing what is good, but also letting go of what does not reflect the heart of Christ.
While your generosity is well known and deeply appreciated, there are times when the language of faith seems closely tied to prosperity and achievement. The gospel invites us instead to a life marked by simplicity, compassion, humility and dependence on God.
Another challenge is the strong emphasis on individualism. While personal faith is essential, the Church is, at its core, a community, as the Scripture describes. Around the world, believers cherish the beauty of shared life — bearing one another’s burdens and living as one body. When individual preference becomes central, something of this beauty is lost.
Closely related to this is the challenge of collaboration. In the World Evangelical Alliance, we deeply believe in the power of working together across denominations, cultures and nations. At times, however, the strong American spirit of free enterprise — so helpful in innovation and initiative — can unintentionally become a barrier to deeper partnership. The global mission of the Church calls us not only to lead, but also to listen, to share and to build together.
We also observe, with some concern, the close connection between Christianity and nationalism in certain contexts. Love for one’s country is natural. Yet when national identity becomes too closely tied and sometimes overrules over the gospel, it can corrupt the gospel and essentially weaken our witness. The Church belongs to Christ, not to any one nation.
This is especially important when we think about how theology is applied in the world. As global believers, we long to see biblical truth lived out with fairness, humility and compassion toward all people — including in complex places like the Middle East.
We offer these reflections as friends and partners in the same mission. None of these challenges belong to American Christians alone; they are tensions we all face in different forms across the global Church. We, too, are learning. We, too, have blind spots. And we need one another.
As you celebrate 250 years of independence, may you also celebrate the greater freedom found in Christ — the freedom to serve, to love, to listen and to walk humbly with God.
May the American church continue to bless the nations — not only through its strength, but through its willingness to follow Jesus wherever he leads.
Grace and peace to you.
–Botrus Mansour
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Botrus Mansour is secretary general of the World Evangelical Alliance, representing a global network of evangelical Christians in more than 140 countries. An author, attorney, educator and evangelical leader from Nazareth, Israel, Mansour previously led Nazareth Baptist School for more than two decades. Mansour also co-founded the Local Baptist Church in Nazareth and has served in numerous leadership roles within evangelical organizations in Israel and the Middle East. A frequent speaker on faith, reconciliation and Christianity in the Middle East, he has written extensively in Arabic, Hebrew and English and is the author of “When Your Neighbor Is the Savior” and “Looking From the Precipice.” A graduate of Nazareth Baptist School, Mansour earned a law degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was admitted to the Israeli Bar Association in 1993, and later completed a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Haifa.
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