At a large meeting with fellow pastors, I struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to me. We shared about our families and the churches we serve. After describing my immigrant church context, he shot me a look of astonishment.
“Whoa. It sounds like you have multiple churches meeting in one building. I can’t even imagine how you could do that.”
I came face-to-face with the complexity of ministering in an ethnic immigrant church. Though there’s often one dominant ethnicity, there remains a significant diversity of cultures—from the newly arrived immigrant who barely speaks English to the second-generation adult who was born and raised in the United States. In addition to cultural differences, there are language obstacles to overcome.
Put simply, the ethnic immigrant church can be a challenging place to minister, let alone understand.
For example, when someone asks me how many people attend my church, I hesitate for a moment, wondering how much this person wants to know or understand. I could give the total headcount, combining the children’s ministry with the Mandarin, Cantonese, and English congregations. Or I could give the headcount of the congregation where I worship. Or I could give the whole background.
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
