In the aftermath of recent shootings, many Christians are expressing the desire to show solidarity with Muslim communities around them. Solidarity is defined as “unity or agreement of feeling or action,” but what does that really mean, and how is it actually done?

The work of preventing terrorism and hate is not simply the job of governments or law enforcement. It involves each and every one of us, including you. Whatever your faith, the world literally needs you to be a peacemaker. YOU can change the world and save lives. Here are some ways you can make a real difference.

Christian refugee workers and ministry leaders from around the world visited a mosque in Sarajevo this month to learn from local Muslims about Islam, the refugee crisis, and the opportunities and challenges that occur when doing humanitarian work and talking about faith. Here’s what we can all learn from their conversation.

A few days ago over coffee, I enjoyed a good conversation with a Muslim friend whom I met on my first trip to Bosnia. He shared with me how much he loved a recent message from Pope Francis that called Christians to focus on simplicity, charity, and love instead of the materialism and greed that usually accompanies the holiday season. He also lamented how Muslims are often trained to try to persuade Christians through arguments, rather than spending time learning about and from them.

It’s a diverse community with the potential for dangerous divisions. But it’s this very diversity that is bringing people of different faiths and all walks of life together. A major refugee resettlement city, Boise is home to new Americans from around the world, a majority of them Muslims, and Peace Catalyst peacemakers Nick and Laura Armstrong are at the heart of local efforts that are bringing community members together in deep and perhaps unexpected friendships.

In mid-December, an NGO in Bosnia and Herzegovina that we partner with called Small Steps hosted over 100 youth from around the country for a celebration concluding a 2-year program, “Encouraging Children to Accept Differences.” Over these last two years, the kids have gotten to know each other while participating in nonviolent communication workshops and traveling to neighboring municipalities to spend time with youth of other ethnic and religious backgrounds.

You don’t have to live with the violence and hatred in the headlines. You can make peace instead. Peacemaking teams of Muslims and Christians are working together in cities across the U.S. and around the world to heal the fear and division that leads to violence. This work happens because of you, so with every year-end donation you can help expand these partnerships and bring peacemaking teams to even more cities.

So, what do Muslims believe about Jesus? That was one question on the minds of representatives of the Valley Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Reseda, CA, on a recent evening at a local mosque. It is indeed possible to have productive and respectful conversation with those who differ from us, and these two Reseda communities are showing us the way.

On Saturday a gunman with anti-Semitic views opened fire at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, killing 11 and wounding 4. In tragic irony, this happened on the very same day the world observes International Religious Freedom Day. Today we stand in solidarity with this community and mourn their losses with them.