Jesus' Church: Nadia Nikah
Nadia Nikah is a part of the Near Southside City Group and fights for city renewal through The NET. This is her story. This is what Jesus is doing in his church.
When God called me to Fort Worth two years ago, I had no idea of what beautiful community and adventures He had in store for me. It has been a wild ride and has forever changed me, and I have just begun to scratch the surface of the magnitude of His love and mercy toward my sin and brokenness. Through living in community in The Paradox Church and being sent on mission into the dark places of Fort Worth, I have seen the truth and the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
"I was placed in a group of people whose lives and personalities were a lot different from mine, and I wanted to quit and run."
Cultivating community at a church is not always quick or easy. We often tend to look for those who have our similar interests, hobbies, and humor. It’s so easy to love those who are like us because it doesn’t take time, effort, or sacrifice. So of course, as I moved to a new city and joined a City Group in my neighborhood, I was placed in a group of people whose lives and personalities were a lot different from mine, and I wanted to quit and run. However, my Paradox City Group has shown me what love actually looks like and why it’s worth the effort. Love is a choice, and God is most glorified and made known when His disciples love and serve one another. The church is made up of broken sinners who may not be alike, but they are one in Him. This is what my Paradox community has shown me: though I was an enemy of God, He still pursues me, chooses me, and loves and redeems me.
One of the most powerful ways that I’ve come to know God’s love for me and for His people is by asking Jesus to help me live according to Isaiah 61; I pray that wherever I go, He would send me out into the darkness to preach the Good News, proclaim freedom for the captives, and bind up the brokenhearted. For the past two years I have been volunteering with a non-profit called The Net that exists in Fort Worth to empower the church to serve the poor. I have been specifically serving and loving women who have been commercially sexually exploited in our city. In building relationships with these women, I have seen God’s unending, always pursuing love.
"He would send me out into the darkness to preach the Good News, proclaim freedom for the captives, and bind up the brokenhearted."
Last year during our Jail Outreach I met a woman who was in a very dark and hopeless place. Through that one visit, God opened her heart to His love and hope. I have been able to be a friend to her in and out of jail, and although she is currently facing 25 years, she is being considered for the RISE Program (a prostitution probation program). In her life story that she wrote to the judge, she stated: “[A woman] sent Nadia Nikah to come see me. This is when my heart started to change. This stranger asked me about my life and I told her everything and she cried with me. She didn’t feel sorry for me, she cried because she felt my pain. Unconditional love and acceptance in truth. This is the gospel living and breathing.”
"Unconditional love and acceptance in truth. This is the gospel living and breathing.”
God’s heart is for the broken, the poor, the powerless, and the voiceless. I have nothing to offer and He brings everything to the table. It is really all about Jesus—His love, His sacrifice, His forgiveness. God pursued me in my darkness and never, ever asks me to do anything but believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He rose from the dead. That faith alone makes me righteous and justified! Now I get the opportunity to extend that same one-way love and grace to those who don’t know Jesus so that they may come to know His Gospel that will truly transform their hearts and lives.
