MULTI-CULTURAL MINISTRY NETWORKING DAY – REPORT

TUESDAY 15^th NOVEMBER 2011 Highway Church, Stratford

Present:Vivian Abbey (Faith Revival Ministries, Hornchurch): Dupsy Adefioye ( City Chapel, Beckton)
Claudio Amaral (Donnington Evangelical Church): Daisy Amisu (Arise Metropolitan Assembly, Elm Park)
Niyi Ayandokun (Good News Church, Romford): Bob and Mary Bain (Welcome Network)
Steve and Gemma Carder (Welcome Network/ Cornerstone Church, Bromley): David Chadwick (Caterham Community Church)
Deon Dixon (Sanctuary Church/ Centre for World Evangelism, Croydon): Patrick Eke ( CCIC): Jessica Evans ( Alpha)

Daniel Gicharu (Pentecostal Church of East Africa (PCEA) UK, Stratford): Andrew Holmes (Every Nation Church, Stratford)
Edwin Kibathi ( PCEA UK, Stratford): Charity and Geoffrey Macharia (Rhema Covenant Ministries, Tooting Bec)
Chloe Mandry (New Life Church, Wickford, Essex): Linda Mitchel (Arise Metropolitan Assembly, Elm Park)
Ihuoma G Nwobilo (Global School of Ministry, Elm Park): Jonathan Oloyede (Global Day of Prayer/ City Chapel, Beckton)
Bukky Oshikoya (Jesus House): Michael Osinibi (Jubilee Church, Enfield)

Daniel Otieno-Ndale (Grange Park Baptist Church): Felix Oweka  (RCCG God’s Kingdom for all Nations, Harold Hill)
Rob Purnell (Pioneer Network/New Life Church, Wickford, Essex): John Root (formerly St James, Alperton, now in Tottenham)
Alex Shoderu (Yah Church/ Superkids Community Trust): Harriet Sleigh (Kingdom Life Revival Ministries, Witham, Essex)
William Sunu (Joy Christian Centre, Basildon, Essex): Chris Wragg (All Saints Church, Ardleigh Green)

 

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS centred round the following questions:-

What does Multicultural Church look like?

What are some of the challenges for a multicultural church?

Have we any practical ideas and strategies for developing a multi-cultural church?

Here are some summary thoughts shared from these discussions.

 

What does Multicultural Church look like?

It is important to realise that the church is not called to meet every need culturally. The focus must be on meeting the spiritual agenda of the church. The church should be God focussed not man-focussed. There should be a desire for the heavenly – a praise-filled church.

An attitude of What’s next, Lord? And a readiness to change.

 

In the church there will be a good mix of cultures reflecting the local area and an accepting attitude with programmes in place which encourage people to meet one another. A sense of unity will be at the core of the church. Brothers and sisters is the primary description we give one another. There will be no dominant culture. The church will celebrate cultures rather than ignore them.

We are on a journey of love together towards a Kingdom culture.

 

A variety of ways of doing church will be seen in the worship, the outreach and the prayer styles used. Worship will be a blend of styles like a mosaic.

The leadership will be of mixed cultural background and be sensitive to cultural nuances.

 

What are some of the challenges for a multicultural church?

Are the different groups in the church really mixing or is it all just superficial?

People may not be willing to cross over cultures. At the foundational level some may not be wanting anything more than a church that looks just like themselves. Leaders especially must be willing to be very flexible. The whole congregation must be willing to embrace newcomers not just a few cultural experts.

There may be struggles to even express ourselves through our cultural language to others. It is vital that we are able to communicate effectively language that expresses love and respect across the cultures. Language barriers need to be addressed (ESOL conversation groups can help here. Also Gary Chapman’s teaching on Love languages).

Attitudes to authority and submission to authority vary from culture to culture. A servant-leader model acceptable in one culture may not be understood by another.

Some cultures have a more demonstrative way of communicating, others are more passive.

There will be a challenge of not feeling understood, welcome or loved because of these cultural differences.

It may be difficult to reflect the diversity and meet the different needs and expectations (eg in worship styles)

There is always a tendency to minister from one’s own culture, and for the culture of the leader especially to attract more people from that culture. There is the danger of using illustrations and media examples very specific to a particular culture. Contextualising a message for one culture may disconnect another.

Attitudes towards time can cause huge challenges.

There are not many resources out there to help. (The internet could bring some of this together more helpfully).

People may come with all sorts of prejudices towards other cultures.

There is the challenge of distinguishing what are the essentials of the faith and what is secondary. Some may have a strange mesh of beliefs incorporating traditional customs alongside foundational Bible truths.

 

Have we any practical ideas and strategies for developing a multi-cultural church?

The church should impart its vision and values in everything it does. Leaders should model the core values of the church. Teach and model a ‘no strings attached’ love for others

The key is to encourage relationships across the cultures. The church should present lots of opportunities for people to mix in its events, outings and shared community projects and causes. Everything should intentionally seek to build team and a sense of trust.

 

The church needs to nurture an outward looking attitude and a desire to serve the community it is a part of. This will involve getting to know the community. It may require visits to hospitals, schools and prisons. Social projects make connections with people from all the ethnic groups in the area as they come in and experience God’s love through us.

Churches may want to work together in relating with a local care home, a food bank, or in providing opportunities for healing prayer, such as the Healing on the Streets initiative.

Common ground can be found through common community concerns and happenings, eg the riots.

Churches need to realise that other cultures may respond positively to outreach methods alien to our own culture.

 

To get churches out of their culture boxes practical networking across local churches may provide possibilities for joint services and thanksgiving celebrations. There may be opportunities to work across churches with youth programmes. Pastors need to meet other pastors. Worship and prayer together unites us across a local area and encourage us to pray through the vision and needs of other congregations.

We may have surplus capacity in our buildings which others would welcome sharing. We need to be open to sharing church resources in this way.

 

Some churches function by having sub-congregations of different ethnic groups but with a central mixed leadership. The church needs to seek ways to create a hunger for a multi-cultural church among the original more mono-ethnic congregation. Ways need to be found to help them identify with the new arrivals. Friendship training is needed.

Knowing about the English and their culture will help us to be more effective in reaching them.

Offering English conversation classes, or lessons in other languages using our native speakers is a good bridge into other cultures in the community. You may want to offer translation help. Some people by their circumstances and background are in a special position to act as bridges into other cultures e.g. mixed marriage. Use these people to make the culture connections.

 

It is good to celebrate the cultures in our church and in our community. Some have special celebrations on a national independence day. Others all get dressed up in someone else’s culture.(‘cross dressing’). Meals together are an important element, e.g. Monthly breakfasts. Food events breaks down the barriers.

 

The church needs to use different worship and prayer models – look to include these even if only represented by a small cultural group within the church. The music style must go beyond one culture. Sometimes use songs in the languages of the cultures in your church with an English translation on the screen to help.

 

Welcome signs and flags in all their multliplicity can make people feel that this is place that welcomes everyone.

Servant leadership should be at the heart of the church. Preaching and teaching must be universally relevant and understandable.

 

There should be a good mix of different cultures at the front and also welcoming at the doors and in the worship and prayer ministry teams. Leaders should be sensitive in recognising and promoting the giftings of everyone in the congregation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black and white come together as church mission movement gathers pace

Black and white churches in the UK tend not to mix, but last week saw an unprecedented event under the banner of HOPE.

More than 70 Christian leaders from black and white denominations and organisations gathered at Jesus House in North London to plan ways to work together to bring HOPE to communities across the UK.

As a result, next year’s celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee look set to see six million people across the UK eating Sunday lunch together: Christians partying with their neighbours at the heart of their communities – just one of a range of mission activities under the HOPE banner, which will lead to a year of united church mission throughout the UK in 2014.

HOPE’s Executive Director Roy Crowne set the scene at the Jesus House forum. HOPE aims to build momentum towards the year of mission in 2014, he said. The goal is lasting spiritual change in the lives of individuals, as communities are transformed by churches working together in mission with practical action as well as words.

Highlighting the need for churches to be seen to work together in unity, the main speaker, Anglican Bishop Graham Cray, preached from John 17 referring to the unity in the Trinity. He said: “Unity is not the absence of discord it’s … mutual trust, mutual honour, mutual sacrifice. And like the divine hospitality it is wide open for others to join.”

Host for the event Pastor Agu Irukwu, Senior Pastor at Jesus House – recently named London’s most inspirational black person – described the Church as “a body of reformers” and said “Unity is on God’s heart at this point in time”. Church unity authenticates the Christian message, he added: “When we overcome barriers and serve together it attracts the attention of the world.”

Bishop Wayne Malcolm (pictured above), Senior Pastor of Christian Life City Church in London, said the multi-coloured HOPE logo, with its different fonts on different backgrounds, but joining to say one word, was a metaphor for HOPE’s plans for churches working together in mission:

“We are living in unprecedented times and we need innovative ideas,” he said. HOPE offers churches opportunities to learn innovative ideas from each other, he added. “This is God’s thing; this is God’s time” he emphasised.

Rachel Jordan, the National Adviser for Mission and Evangelism for the Church of England, and a member of the HOPE Leadership team challenged churches to take the initiative in their communities to celebrate the Queens’ Diamond Jubilee in June with a Big Lunch. HOPE has joined forces with the Eden Project’s Big Lunch plans, which expects to see 6 million people eating Sunday lunch together on 3 June.

Archbishops endorse HOPE

The forum gave leaders informal time together to eat, pray and pool mission ideas. It will be followed up on Monday 21 November with a more formal declaration from the Presidents of Churches Together in England. Anglican, Roman Catholic and Free Church leaders, again meeting at Jesus House, to sign a declaration endorsing HOPE:

“We were pleased to affirm the work of ‘Hope08’ through our individual Churches and as Presidents of Churches Together in England, committed to sharing in the mission of Jesus Christ we are delighted to commend the ongoing work of ‘Hope’ as a gift to the Churches in this nation.”

Taken from INSPIRE Magazine

 

Recently, I was with a small group of leaders praying for the unity of the Church in our borough. One leader shared a picture of a magnet and scattered pieces of metal being drawn to it. A few days later, I was awake in the night and remembered the picture. I felt that God was encouraging me that here was the key to unity.

We have a common love for Jesus, across all cultures/denominations, and as we make Him our focus and lift Him up together in worship-this will make us one; just as the scattered pieces of metal all come together as the magnet attracts them.

Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” John 12:32

Many of us have heard about “London’s Burning” with its focus on Christians meeting together in worship and prayer, also the Kingdom Worship Movement (Neil Robinson) with a similar vision. Let’s be inspired by these movements and commit to meet regularly in worship with other churches/Christians in our local areas. Some groups of churches have divided their borough into smaller zones and have already begun to meet up 5 or 6 times a year to worship and pray for one another.

“Yet a time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, (absolute openness and honesty; hiding nothing) for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.” John 4:23

It is interesting that when Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, the central issue of their conversation was worship. Discerning her inner thirst for God, Jesus led the woman, step by step, into a relationship with Himself. All the cultural barriers were removed as she recognised Jesus as her Messiah- the One who completely satisfies!

With us too, our differences will melt away as our longing for Jesus, and to be in His Presence, draws us together in worship! Then we will experience Heaven on Earth!

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that noone could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb……And they cried out in a loud voice: Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9