John Berg--Community and Middle East Peace Builders

TLC/PoG Story Project

We are collecting stories of how members of the TLC/PoG community have recognized what God is doing to meet the deep needs of the world and discovered and assumed their unique roles in partnership with God.

John Berg’s call to participate with God in meeting the needs of the world arose from a very personal faith encounter with Jesus during his college years.  He was raised and participated actively in the church but it seemed more of an organizational than a personal relationship to him.  In his early college years, he looked for friendship and community in the 60’s drug culture.  Later, he met some folks associated with Campus Crusade for Christ.  They befriended him, listened to him, and shared their own faith with him.  In contrast to his other circle of friends, John experienced these friends authentically caring for him and his well-being.  He came to understand that a personal faith connection with Jesus was what inspired their love and embraced that same relational connection for himself, recognizing and trusting in Jesus as a solution to the problem of his sinfulness.

John had been studying marketing but, with this new-found perspective, he was no longer drawn to marketing goods and services.  He wanted to invest his life energy in marketing the transforming, reconciling relationship with God through Christ that he had experienced.  This impulse led him to become what is sometimes called a “career missionary.”  After short-term experiences with a mission organization in France and in Lebanon, John went to Fuller Seminary’s School of World Mission, where he met his wife Nancy.  Upon graduation, they served abroad, first in London, then in Cairo, working with an agency that produced a publication that explored life issues from a biblical perspective.  Eventually, John was asked to return to the US to serve as a fundraiser for this mission.  He served in this role for two organizations focused on the Middle East for more than 20 years.

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n 2009, the organization John was serving with was forced to cut staff and he entered a phase of discernment about how to continue to express his passion for reconciliation in the world as he has experienced it through relationship with Christ.  Most career missionaries who work outside of denominational structures are responsible to raise their own support by soliciting financial commitments from churches and individuals.  Without a sponsoring organization, John was also in need of a channel for the gifts of those who were supporting his ministry.  Through conversations with former pastor, Mark Reitan, and pastor Eileen Hanson, John found space in the Trinity/Pointe of Grace community to continue his ministry.  He formed a mustard seed group, Community and Middle East Peace Builders.  Those supporting his bridge-building ministry contribute gifts designated to Community and Middle East Peace Builders.  Until 2013 budget cuts, John’s ministry had received a modest contribution from the church benevolence budget to help cover office space. He hopes for this to be renewed.

John’s intention to build bridges between the Christian and Muslim communities remains strong but he has expanded his focus to be an advocate for social justice, non-violence and reconciliation among multiple populations in our community.  He sees the central theme of his ministry as bringing healing opportunities to broken relationships.  He sees God’s desire that people find reconciliation with God and with fellow human beings and wants to join in furthering that end.

A primary role that John, through Community and Middle East Peace Builders, plays is as a relationship broker, building bridges with many different agencies in the region and helping to connect people to the right resource to meet specific situations.  He represents 25 different organizations in our region and tries to create scenarios where individuals and organizations can work together for healing, and personal betterment.  Some of the things he has done in this networking role include:

• Provides monthly educational opportunities at Trinity, Lynnwood, to educate people in our community about ways to engage in reconciling work locally and across the world.
• Participates in programs welcoming veterans home from Iraq and Afghanistan
• Has done several days of training in The Compassionate Listening Project approach
• Serves on the leadership council of the “Beloved Community”, a diverse group meeting monthly in Seattle who engage in multi-ethnic outreach   
• Meets regularly with Unitarians and Muslims engaged in “Building Bridges” between interfaith groups – including “Racial Profiling and ‘Secure Communities’ bill”
• Participates in Caregivers across Generations (caring for our parents)
• Serves as the Seattle area volunteer representative of Churches for Middle East Peace, including two local networks (Palestine Task Force (CCGS in Seattle) and North Puget Sound Israel-Palestine Mission Network (CCGS in Everett)
• He has served as co-chair of several regional conferences including “Standing with the Living Stones of Palestine” and also “Confronting Islamophobia
• And more to come!

John has long been driven by his desire to join God in manifesting God’s reconciling dream for the world.  Trinity/Pointe of Grace has offered the space for his ministry to continue to unfold in our community.