The Universes Next Door
Author: Stan Guthrie
July 29, 2026
Are you familiar with the universes next door?
Last Sunday, Shaun Singh of the South Asian Friendship Center in Chicago spoke to us on the topic “Loving Your South Asian Neighbors.” Shaun shared some eye-opening statistics* about Naperville from the U.S. Census Bureau:
• Population estimates, July 1, 2025: 153,114
• White alone, percent: 62.8%
• Black alone, percent: 4.3%
• Asian alone, percent: 22.5%
• Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2020–2024: 26.9%
• High school graduate or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2020–2024: 97.3%
• Bachelor’s degree or higher, percent of persons age 25 years+, 2020–2024: 72.5%
• Median household income (in 2024 dollars), 2020–2024: $155,105
• Per capita income in past 12 months (in 2024 dollars): $73,721
• Persons in poverty: 4.4%
Summarizing this data, Naperville is less than two-thirds white. Nearly one in four residents is from Asia, and more than one in four speaks a language other than English at home. Nearly three in four adults older than 24 have a college degree. And, to top it off, we are mostly wealthy.
As Shaun reminded us, reaching the world for Christ no longer exclusively means going over there, since so much of the world is now over here.
Opportunities abound. The South Asians among us—from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and many other countries—are family oriented. They appreciate neighbors who will get to know them, invite them over for meals, and take a genuine interest in their culture.
Positively, this means they are open to friendships with people who will serve as surrogate aunts and uncles with their children, since many of them are separated from their usual family structures. Negatively, it means they are hesitant to receive Christ exclusively (as opposed to simply adding Him to their other gods). They believe that if they were to do so, they would have to reject their family (especially their parents) and their religiously based culture.
But Shaun stressed that when we meet someone from South Asia, we should not make assumptions. People’s religious beliefs and practices can vary widely, even if they share the same nominal faith. In fact, the ways they cook, worship, and live often look very different depending on the village they have come from. So ask questions—lots of questions, even about religious beliefs—and listen for the answers.
Then you can expect your new friend to ask you some of the same questions. This will provide an open door for you to gently provide “a reason for the hope that is in you.”
Stan Guthrie is Director of Outreach and Mobilization for New Covenant Church in Naperville, Illinois. He is the author of Victorious: Corrie ten Boom and The Hiding Place and other books.
*I’m not sure if he mentioned all of the statistics in this blog post, but you get the idea.
Photo by Ashwini Chaudhary (Monty) on Unsplash.
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