Multilingual church can be a challenge.
Some immigrant churches describe themselves as one church with multiple congregations. While each congregation meets according to language, they maintain institutional unity under one name and roof.
But who decides what the church does? Are members of one congregation responsible for members of another that speaks a different language?
These are tough questions! Tension can arise due to the relationship between congregations of different tongues. How should they relate?
Here’s a thought experiment: could the way congregations of different languages relate to one another be informed by how denominations connect churches? Let’s examine how three denominational structures compare to immigrant church structures and draw some conclusions.
1. EPISCOPALIAN
Many immigrant churches have a structure where one senior pastor leads associate pastors, who lead congregations of their own language. The senior pastor usually leads one congregation, and the associates submit to him and function as the main pastors of the other congregations.
A pastor who oversees other pastors, who oversee individual congregations, parallels an episcopalian structure. Bishops oversee priests, who oversee their individual parishes. While each priest focuses on their own congregation, the bishop over them has greater authority.
2. PRESBYTERIAN
Other immigrant churches may
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