Ministry Across Cultures

Stephen Rhodes observes how, during the civil rights struggle, the church in the US essentially said to its culture: “Do as we say, not as we do.” He explains: We said to culture that it was a moral imperative to integrate our schools, workplaces and neighbourhoods while simultaneously preserving the segregation that we practice in [...]

There are two verses that come to mind concerning God’s people having to deal with foreign languages: Psalm 114:1 and Isaiah 28:11-12. Psalm 114 begins: “When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.”    As Israel remembered the time when God [...]

I was reading in GO (ONE 2010) how some missionaries in an Asian nation asked their neighbours why they thought they had left their own country and family to live with them. They were shocked by the response: “Well, that is quite obvious. You couldn’t find a job in your own country, so you came here, [...]

Samuel Escobar observes that, as in the New Testament, so too in the 16th century, God used migration to accomplish his mission purposes. For John Calvin was a migrant, forced to flee France and become a refugee in Geneva. Indeed, the population of Geneva was increased 50% by immigrants in those decades, with Escobar citing [...]

Sydney is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. Indeed, it might be argued that it is THE most multicultural city in the world. Notably, however, the vast majority of church communities in Sydney are homogeneous. In our own denomination we have such NESB (non-English speaking background) churches as Arabic-speaking, Cook Island Maori, Indonesian, Chinese, Korean, Samoan, Ghanaian and [...]

Last night I attended a David Livermore seminar on Cultural Intelligence (CQ). David provided a helpful way of thinking about helping people to develop competency in relating and ministering across cultures. His own particular focus in relation to CQ has concerned short term missions. He cited research indicating that in those organisations which have a good track [...]

In Romans 12: 2 Paul exhorts, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world.” The word “pattern” alerts us to the contrast, since being “transformed by the renewing of the mind” involves being “conformed to the likeness of [God's] Son.” Indeed, Romans 12-13 forms a sub-unit and is bracketed by this emphasis on [...]

In our denomination, the Presbyterian Church of New South Wales, we have two people available, through M & M (Ministry and Mission), to help our churches get ESL Ministry off the ground or to develop it further: ESL Coordinator: Judy Rowlands CCM (Cross-Cultural Ministry Coordinator): myself Here are some of the prior things that need [...]

Effective ESL Teaching involves a lot of repetition, so maybe PARROT TALK is a useful acronym for remembering the key principles of effective ESL Teaching:   P: The Praise Principle Students are given constant praise and encouragement.       A: The Activity Principle Every lesson should have active students doing lots of different things.     [...]

In the ESL seminar presented by our ESL Coordinator, Judy Rowlands at yesterday’s Flourish conference, Judy explained the stress often experienced by new migrants. May will present brave, smiling faces and yet be nursing great hurts and pain within. Relating this to ESL Judy noted: ESL students often feel vulnerable, stressed, anxious, sad, numb and lonely. They often [...]