Alpha for ESOL is a new, as yet unpublished, course for people wanting to explore the meaning of life.  It goes through the basic elements of the Christian faith in simple English. We helped pilot this course in the Spring with local pastors, Niyi and Oyin Ayandokun of Good News Church, Harold Hill, Romford, and ministry friends Chris and Laura Botha.

Mulberry House, Essex where we held our Holy Spirit Days

We really enjoyed the format, which intersperses short bouts of teaching with discussion in small groups. We felt that this helps to keep people’s interest, whether they are from other cultures or not!! Of the ten guests who attended in the Spring, six made a commitment to follow Jesus of which three went on to be baptised.

Enjoying the Holy Spirit Day on the Alpha for ESOL course

We are currently helping to run a second course with the same church. Some of the previous guests are now helpers and we are looking forward to the baptism of at least one participant in early December at our final Celebration Evening.

We’ve just had a Multicultural Ministry Networking Day, held at Highway church, Stratford, which had a good buzz of leaders sharing their experiences.  Invitations were sent to church and ministry leaders in the London area, and we were encouraged when twenty came, with apologies from another thirty.

The afternoon began with a social time of meeting one another as we shared some refreshments! Bob welcomed everyone and gave a short introduction to the day.

Mary then shared a short devotional emphasising that it is the Love of Jesus that destroys barriers between us! ( see Teaching blog article, A Barrier Breaking God) God has called us to be together with no divisions like in marriage.  A couple sleeping separately instead of together just doesn’t seem to be God’s ideal!

Bob and Mary talked about their experiences in Multicultural ministry over the last twenty years or so on campus and in church.Our aim was to be very practical and share the things that particularly worked for us.

David Anderson in his book, Multicultural Ministry quotes a sceptical church growth expert saying, ‘I have never seen a racially mixed church grow without one culture having to die. If there are blacks and whites in the church, then one of the cultures died within the church’ . In small groups we discussed whether it was even possible to be multicultural rather than monocultural in the way we do church. There were some interesting points raised e.g. Can a church containing several different cultures be called multicultural or is there more to it? More than one group felt that probably all the cultures needed to die in some ways to become a truly united church. David Anderson concluded the same and now has a thriving Multicultural church in New Jersey.

Jess Evans then shared about Alpha for ESOL and encouraged us to use this resource which is still being tested out. Contact Jess for details.  Mary and I are on our second time through with this material, and feel it has a wide application. See our Multicultural Ministry blog article on this work in Harold Hill.

The sharing of resource ideas included:- David Anderson, Multicultural Ministry:  Sarah Lanier, Foreign to Familiar :  United Reform Church, Multicultural Ministry Toolkit:  Janet Fraser-Smith, Love across the Latitudes (workbook for cross-cultural couples):                    The Friends International website friendsinternational.org.uk : Edmund Aruofor recommended The Purple Book as a good discipleship resource.

It was encouraging to hear other leader’s experiences including Edmund Arouforo (Every Nation church) who shared how their church has an Open door where all are accepted into their Sunday meeting which is more of an Experience than a regular Service, and how they are holding workshops on understanding and loving Muslims in their community.  Andrew Muwowo (Friends International) talked about the success of  The Meet and Greet at Heathrow Airport for new students arriving in UK for the first time. We then spent a short, but fruitful, time in small groups discussing  practical ways of reaching out to the community in a multicultural context.

We finished by praying with one another about the next step in our personal multicultural journey.

Those attending werre:

Abi Willetts, Ichthus New Life Church in Greenwich

Alastair Steven, Friends International,

Andrew Holmes and Edmund Aruofo. Every Nation Stratford

Andrew Muwowo, Field Director ( London and East Anglia ), Friends International

Bob and Mary Bain, Welcome Network

Charles Mugenyi, Woodberry Down Baptist Church

Chas and Nicola Woods, Across the Bridge.

Duane Parris  partnering with Rob Purnell to build a multinational community of believers in Wickford.

Geoff Low, Friends International

Godwin and Valerie Oshiobugie, AFM (Atmosphere of Fire & Miracle Ministries)

Ife Igunnobole,  Catalyst Trust

Jeanette Meadway, St.James Church, Stratford

Jess Evans, Alpha for ESOL

Niyi Ayandokun. Goodnews Church, Harold Hill, Romford

Rob Purnell, New Life Church, Wickford and South Woodham Ferrers

Simon Clinton, HighwayChurch, Stratford

Dear friends

Hope you are well.
We are getting ready to welcome international students at two different campuses, University of East London (Stratford)
and Royal Holloway University of London.
We have been encouraged by the student response last year, the beginnings of teams at both places and
our recognition as visiting chaplains at UEL.
There is plenty to do and amazing opportunities to engage with the love of God. Fresher’s weeks begin on Monday 20th September.
If you are local to London and want to help or visit let us know.
To read more go to our International Student Work blog articles on
Royal Holloway and University of East London

We haven’t yet decided on the location of a Welcome Network mission this coming year. We feel a good connection has begun with
our friends in Albania and we may well be looking at a return there. However additionally we think there will be ministry trips
to Thailand (Mary with our daughter Abigail) and Armenia (Bob with our son Matthew) in 2011.
To read more about the 2010 Albania mission trip go to our Missions blog article...

We will let you know soon about our Multicultural Ministry Networking Day planned for November. Although it’s just a few hours we feel
it’s really at the heart of what God is wanting us to be involved with in London and across the UK – encouraging local churches to be more
open and accessible places for other cultures and nationalities. To this end Mary and I have also made visits on invitation to several
churches who are determined to be welcoming places to all the nations.

On a personal note, sadly my mum passed away this August so there has been a lot of things to work through in the family. Mary’s mum
and my dad died three years ago, and Mary’s dad many years before that, so we feel the absence of our parents very much.
It has been a close time for the family and my sister. We want to thank friends and ministry colleagues for being there for us.
We have needed this.

If you are able to support our work through Welcome Network we would be grateful. We are on a walk of faith but it’s nice to walk it together
with our team and supportive friends.
We are encouraged by your friendship and have also been privileged to pray for different ones over the year and seen wonderful answers!
We keep a Prayer Board and would love to hear your needs and add your name to the board so that we can pray for you!
If you would like to give financially to our work see below.
Much love in our wonderful friend Jesus
Bob and Mary

Gifts to Welcome Network  HSBC, 40-16-11  22141965.  Please indicate ‘for Bob and Mary’

‘A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL NATIONS’ Isa 56:7, Mk 11:17

The word ‘House’ suggests a place of belonging, security, stability, significance and acceptance – home. Everyone needs this place.

The word ‘prayer’ underlines our primary and common relationship with our Father in Heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Body – many parts but resting in His Sovereignty and Lordship. The Holy Spirit is in the church blowing in whatever direction as He wills. God our Judge is the final arbiter in all our problems and disputes. It is His House of Prayer. This is major glue in our diversity.

The qualifying phrase, ‘for all nations’ declares our willingness to be a welcoming place for everyone.

Worship, prayer, teaching, discipleship and mission don’t require a multi-cultural setting, so why bother?

People of every tribe, tongue and nation

• God’s Kingdom is made up of different people from every nation. Our togetherness as cultures makes a statement about the nature of God’s Kingdom and what Heaven is like.

• God calls us to love like He loves, without partiality or favouritism every person.
• A House of Prayer for all nations – as a Temple of the Living God, individually and corporately, we are called to be places of welcome and acceptance.
• The wider community is multi-cultural.
• A genuine mix allows an easier entry into the church – they see the message that to be a Christian doesn’t  mean changing their culture as well.
• Sometimes people initially listen more to a person from another culture because its less threatening – they want to be polite, friendly, and show that they are tolerant!

A SHORT DEVOTIONAL – MULTICULTURAL CHURCH

We have a Barrier-breaking God. The love of Jesus destroys barriers between us.

Ephesians 2, from verse 14:- “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…..His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. For through him (Jesus) we both have access to the Father by one Spirit…..In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

The Marriage Bed!

“One new man out of the two”, that sounds a bit like Marriage! Two people becoming one. And “What God has joined together, let no man separate!”

Of course when you are married there is the marriage bed. When Bob and I were first married we only had a small quilt and Bob is tall and I am short so there was always a problem of his feet sticking out of the end of the bed! This was made worse in the middle of the night when I had happily pulled the quilt around me and was cosily fast asleep while Bob and his feet were freezing!! We had lots of fights over the quilt until we found an easy solution. I tucked in a blanket at the bottom of the bed so Bob’s feet could stay covered! We had to work out an answer to the problem because we were in the same bed. This is like Multicultural Church; it may not be easy, but because we are in the same bed we have to work out the problems!!

Just recently, I was in a friend’s house and was quite shocked to see that there were two single beds in the bedroom. If you are sleeping in separate beds it is too easy to let difficulties in the marriage continue; you can become isolated and lonely, and even more so if the beds are in separate rooms!! However, when you are sharing a bed it forces you to work out the difficulties and find agreement with one another. This brings me to the second scripture, revealing how much God desires unity in His body- the Church.

Before he went to the cross, Jesus prayed for unity. His heart is that we may be one with Him and with one another.

John 17:20-23 “My prayer is not for them alone (the disciples), I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message (all Christians) that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them, and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me”

A truly Multicultural Church where God’s love is evident is a powerful witness to the world!

Unity