Cross Cultural Ministry Model

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Cross Cultural Ministry Model

• Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
• Irving, Texas

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ORLC Five-Seven Years Ago!

• Fairly Ethnically Diverse Parish in a community
  alongside Dallas, TX
• A Pastor in place who had built some strong
  congregational relationships and had at least Six
  years of ministry with the people.
• Building debt of over 454,000 had been
  aggressively retired 7-9 years ahead of schedule

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ORLCFive to Seven Years Ago!

• Strong Christ-centered Congregational leaders who
  were aware of changing ethnic makeup of Irving.
• No Congregational conflict!
• About 230 in worship a week!
• No predominant ministry outreach effort that was
  manpower intensive and financially straining!

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ORLCFive to Seven Years Ago!

• Congregation with a strong growth mentality.
  Congregation had seen several new families enter
  its presence. A strong core of young families
  developing friendships through sports activities.
• Congregational ministry team was growing to
  facilitate more effect growth in the parish.

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How Did We Start

• Period of discernment through prayer,
  presentations by District Officials.
• SLOWLY!
• Lots of Communication with the Congregation.
• Leaders of parish had to be on board from the
  beginning!

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How Did We Start

• We became a externally focused congregation!
• We started determining what type of relationship
  would exist between the existing parish and the
  new predominantly Spanish-speaking members who
  would become members.
• We determined to be one integrated community of
  faith instead of two parishes worshipping in the
  same building!
• We had to accept a lot of unknowns as we moved
  into the future.

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What Step Did We Take Early On!

• We ask for visible support of District Leaders.
• We sought out models already in existence of what
  we wanted our parish to look like!
• We began the discernment process in terms of what
  type of Latino outreach leader we needed.

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• What Did We Find As Work Started!
• English as Second Language Classes were in huge
  demand! Library had a waiting list! Many
  immigrants thrilled to find that they did not
  have pay to attend our classes.
• Child-care and food were pretty essential. Lots
  of immigrants are new to area, uncomfortable
  leaving children with others, coming to class
  straight from work.
• ESL gave us an opportunity to start building
  relationships even though we had just a handful
  of truly bilingual people to help with the
  program in its infancy.
• When Pastor Gonzalez was called to ORLC, we
  already had a connection to the Latino community.

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• Ways We Have Expanded Upon the Initial Work
  Through ESL
• Community Health Fair
• Service of Blessing
• Partnership in Education with Local School
• Pan-American Fair
• Expanding the ESL
• Soccer Camps
• Math Mania
• Worship Service in Spanish
• Initial Work in Developing Latino Leaders

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• LESSONS FROM THE JOURNEY!
• Successful Models to learn from are far and
  few! Mentoring is not really feasible!
• Lack of a Strong Voice at the Synodical Level.
• Ongoing training geared for Cross-Cultural
  Ministry can be difficult to come by!
• ALWAYS START FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH NOT
  WEAKNESS!
• Cross-Cultural Ministry demands a very close
  relationship between the Existing Pastor and the
  Pastor called to work in Ethnic Outreach!
• You must accept that cross-cultural ministry will
  take a high toll on existing ministries in terms
  of manpower!

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• LESSONS FROM THE JOURNEY!
• Culturally Latinos are very different. Dont
  assume that because something is done in the
  Mexican culture that it is done throughout the
  rest of the Latino world.
• Immigrants have tons of personal problems they
  become addicted to materialism quite rapidly,
  they have relatives dependent upon them back
  home, they are struggling to let go of their
  homeland, their children take on American
  values that sometimes cause real struggles, and
  financial challenges
• Non-Latinos know absolutely nothing about
  Latino History!
• Conveying information across linguistic lines is
  very difficult.
• Bilingual Worship is one of the least effective
  ways to build community in a congregation.

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• LESSONS FROM THE JOURNEY!
• Anglos struggle with why Latinos are slow to
  embrace English.
• THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ISSUE IS OFF THE CHARTS IN
  TERMS OF A BARRIER TO OVERCOME!
• Latino Outreach will quickly meet resistance from
  the lower economic sector of your parish on up to
  the lower middle class. These are the ones
  losing their lifestyle and jobs due to the rapid
  immigration into our country. Plain and simple
  Immigrants will work for less money!
• You must have a poll of bilingual members to help
  with connecting the different languages in your
  parish.
• Develop a name in your community as a church that
  is welcoming to Latinos and strives to reach out
  to them.

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• LESSONS FROM THE JOURNEY!
• The person answering your phone will have to be
  bilingual if you are to be effect at connecting
  to the immigrant!
• Do not expect Latino ministry to be
  self-sufficient anytime soon.
• The children/youth will be the area where you see
  the fastest integration of the two cultures. You
  must strive to have a great youth program.
• In a cultural diverse congregation, you have a
  small image of what heaven will be like. There
  is a richness to the diversity. There is an
  expanding of boundaries outside of our comfort
  zones that cause us to grow dramatically in the
  faith.
• Latinos are very serious about their relationship
  with God and are incredibly faithful in worship
  and activities at the church.

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CROSS-CULTURAL MINISTRY IS AN INCREDIBLE BLESSING
TO ALL INVOLVED! GO FOR IT WITH THE
CONFIDENCE THAT GOD WILL PROVIDE WHAT IS NEEDED
TO BRING THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST TO THIS
GENERATION OF TEXANS!!!