Profile: Dr. Solomon Christian
People around the world are smiling, thanks to Dr. Solomon Christian.
"When we go and help these people, they see the love of Jesus Christ in us."
Dr. Solomon Christian knows all parts of the body are necessary to share the good news of Jesus Christ. His special focus and talent happens to center around teeth.
 He has started Dental Care for the World, a program to recruit dentists as volunteers to go to places around the world that are in desperate need of their help. Through his research, he has found that the ratio in the United States is one dentist per thousand patients. In Africa, it is one dentist per million.
“I feel that God has given me this special mission, and this talent of dentistry,” said Christian, a native of India who now lives in Memphis, Tenn. “And everybody is a part of the body—hand, feed, eyes, nose and everybody has special function. So my function in Christ’s Body is this: to serve God with my talent of dentistry. And with that I can do dental work and provide dental care for the people in the world.”
Christian is a member of Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Memphis, Tenn. “I was born and raised in a Christian family, a Methodist family. And my parents had taught me to fear God and to be used for God’s glory. And that is my passion, to be used for the God’s glory.”
 He said coming from India and working as a dentist in America is “God’s blessing.”
Christian said his passion for mission was sparked by his first Volunteer in Mission trip that his pastor at Good Shepherd encouraged him to take. He went to Belize, and his eyes were opened to the need for dental care all around the world.
“I went to Africa, especially Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. What I saw is this: that there is a dire need of dentists, trained dentists. In Liberia and Sierra Leone, they have three dentists in the whole country, not enough to take care of their dental problem.”
On his volunteer trips, he said many people walk ten miles one way to get a hurting tooth removed. “And when I take this tooth out, all they do is just give me big smile and hug. And when I get that big smile and hug, I feel that it is worth living because I help people.”
 “As Christians, we have a special mission. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth and died for our sin. When we go and help these people, they see the love of Jesus Christ in us. We are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. And that is how we spread the good news to them. When the person sees my love for them in action, they feel that there is somebody who cares for them and that is what makes them see Jesus in us.”
The following people contributed to this Profile:
Audio story by Mike Hickcox; print story by Kathy Gilbert; videography by Carlos Jasso and Lisa Kelley, White Chocolate Video Productions. Additional video provided by Dr. Solomon Christian.
UMC.org Profiles are produced by Pam Price, 615-742-5405.
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Dental Care for the World
United Methodist Volunteers in Mission
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