Welcome to the April edition of
Cross-Cultural Ministry eNewsThis is the last time we will automatically send you this Cross-Cultural eNews. If you haven't subscribed already, please click on the link below, so that you will continue to receive future editions. We respect your privacy so if you do not subscribe, we will delete you from our mailing list.
Hello everyone, The most common statement I’ve heard in conversation in the last few months is...I’m tired! Perhaps you are also experiencing this strange weariness that is following us from 2020. Well let’s face it, the Kingdom of God usually advances when things are unsettled, so even though we are tired, our Lord is on the move and we lean into him to renew our strength.
Craig Heidenreich Cross-Cultural Ministry Facilitator
Beyond what has happened in 2020 one of the tiring things for many of us is the growing multicultural nature of our society. Increasingly we find ourselves interacting with people who have different worldviews. This challenge calls for a mature response from us. Do we want a comfortable life, or do we want to please our Lord? The most well-known verse in the New Testament is probably John 3:16. The statement ‘For God so loved the world that He gave……’ is a clue to what is important here. As Jesus left us, his final command
was that we take his love out into that world and frankly this is ‘what pleases the Lord’ (Eph 5:10). If pleasing the Lord is important to us - How should we respond? There is a very simple thing we could decide to do...talk to people! When was the last time you opened a conversation with someone from another ethnicity? (that you didn’t already know). The challenge for many of us is to break the sound barrier and talk to the people we are called to influence. In the case of people of other ethnicities (cultures), we might hold back because we think that we don’t have much in common and they may be ‘English challenged’. I have found over and over that when I initiate a conversation with a person from another culture, they respond warmly – I encounter a thirst for connection. If they are newly arrived, you might be one of the few people who has shown any interest in their welfare. Remember it's the Lord who wants us to connect in his name, so when we step out he will help us. If you are like me, you might even steadily memorize some friendly greetings in other languages. It’s a great conversation starter to greet someone in their mother tongue. (and google translate makes this easy). Our ethnic
focus this edition is Punjab and the Sikhs – so a good greeting to learn is ‘Sat sri akal’ I'm here to help you with your cross-cultural adventure. Call me (08 8267 7300) or email me craig.heidenreich@lca.org.au
We're taking this event on the road! The recent cross-border travel restrictions mean we have decided to bring this wonderful event to each of the districts of the LCA/NZ during 2021 and 2022. After Sydney in May, we head to Melbourne. (24th/25th July). Dates for other districts will be announced as they are locked in, so keep checking our New Horizons webpage for updates www.lca.org.au/new-horizons
NSW/ACT REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN NOW!
New Horizons Conference in Adelaide In February we kicked off the first of the New Horizons conferences in Adelaide with more than 50 delegates gathering for a day and a half. We explored how to be more outward focused and how each of us can love our neighbours in unique ways. The outstanding feature of the Adelaide conference was the real sense of joy in the room as we encouraged one another. We’re looking forward to the Sydney and Melbourne legs later this year.
Our Indonesian and Chinese groups find out they like each other! One tangible conference outcome has been a wonderful connection forged between our Chinese and Indonesian groups in SA. They have co-hosted two worship gatherings since March, using multiple languages and traditional instruments and welcomed the rest of us into their midst. I urge you to come along next time if you want to be blessed and well fed.
St Paul's in Shepparton need a hand Do you remember the story in Luke 5 when Jesus was teaching the disciples about becoming ‘fishers of men’ and he filled Peter and Andrews net so full that they needed to call their partners over to haul it in? (filling both boats) Well, the St Paul's team in Shepparton have a very full net at the moment and they are calling out for partners. Is your congregation ready for an adventure (with an African flavour), or are you personally able to free up a couple of months to join them? St Paul's has become a ‘little bit famous’ in the region for the way they have responded to a large number of African arrivals. The team has developed a lot of expertise in multicultural ministry, and are showing the community what Jesus is like. They feel that it's time to open up to other congregations and share the things they have learned over the past 15 years. If your congregation becomes a partner, take care - you might catch the bug too. We will soon be in a position to give more details about how you can join them.
Click on the video link for more about the Shepparton ministry journey.
Nunawading Victoria and Mountainside Auckland. These 2 LCA/NZ locations have recently secured Cross-Cultural Ministry grant funding to enhance their evangelistic efforts out to Mandarin speakers. Please pray that the leaders within these two congregations can work well with each other and people from various ethnic backgrounds can experience the Lord’s love for each other. A prayer request Please pray for our Nuer brothers and sisters in Melbourne as they contest for the next generation. Making a start in a new country for a refugee family is really tough going, and it can be heartbreaking for parents if they lose connection with their teenagers while they are in transition. Let's pray for special grace to cover these families. Geelong Tamil family Many of you would know about the fine work being done to support asylum-seekers by Michelle Filipovic and the Geelong congregations. One of the Tamil men was tragically killed in a car accident last week leaving a widow and 4
children. Our LCA family over in Geelong are doing all they can to respond and have set up a 'go fund me page' for donations. This is a painful situation, but these are the times when Jesus love is most obvious. Please help if you can.
Introducing Julian and Lidya Mazzeo of the Adelaide Deaf Community Church
Ps Michael Prenzler reports an exciting development from the Magill Pilgrim congregation that Julian has been accepted as a Specific Ministry Pastoral trainee to study with ALC. Michael has become proficient enough in Auslan to guide Julian (who is deaf) through the customised SMP course that he will undertake for the next two years. What a blessing it will be to have Julian and Lidya in a position to minister among the deaf community – pray that Julian and Michael will fuse together as partners in this journey and Julian will have the grace to pioneer this important work.
If we think about engaging unchurched people, it’s worth noting that people are attracted to situations where they feel loved and are likely to stay in a group setting that is marked by love. If love is missing, it’s going to be very hard to attract people to our group. A congregation has a certain group atmosphere, but at the end of the day, it is made up of individuals like you and me So, a most basic question I face is: Am I a loving person? Do unchurched people like being with me, and do I like them? Am I like Jesus, the ‘friend of sinners’?
The Punjab is a region of North-west India and Pakistan with much of the population following Sikhism
In each edition, we focus on a different part of the world and this time it is the Sikhs from the Sub-continent. If you have the feeling that you are seeing more men wearing these turbans lately, you would be correct. Over the past 20 years, there has been a nearly 10-fold increase in the number of Sikhs in Australia and NZ, now numbering 125,000 and 40,000 respectively. So, who are they and what do they believe?
An interesting taxi ride! There are now more taxi drivers in Australia who are Indians than those who are Australian born, so there’s a fair chance you have been driven somewhere by a Sikh man with his distinctive turban. Recently I heard a good story from my cousin about the last time this happened to him. My cousin would agree that he is not very cross-culturally proficient, but he took courage and asked the Sikh taxi driver about his faith. Not surprisingly a hearty conversation opened up and they both shared their beliefs. As it happened that day, the destination was a Christian book shop. As the driver pulled up (fresh from their conversation) he said: “Would it be okay if I came in for a while to have a look at the books?” After some time together the two new ‘friends’ decided to part, only to find that the taxi driver had unwittingly parked illegally and scored a parking ticket. My cousin (bless his heart) immediately felt prompted to pay for the ticket, much to the shock of the driver. Later we reflected on how the sharing of the gospel had been capped off with a parable of grace that day - a day that will be long remembered by a sincere Sikh man on a journey of faith (not to mention my cousin who had an unexpected blessing) Sat sri akal! Punjabi for - God is truth!
Local mission appeal You have probably received an appeal letter in the last few weeks that have been distributed throughout the LCA. There are many calls on our resources, but please pray about whether you can support what the Local Mission teams are doing. Our Cross-Cultural ministry team are sensing that the Lord is calling for evangelists to go out into the harvest and help link enquirers into our LCA congregations. We have some wonderful people with this calling and sometimes it comes down to finding those few extra dollars. Perhaps your gift can help ‘haul that net in’.
Committee vacancy The Committee for Cross-Cultural Ministry is seeking nominations by May 15th to replace various long-term members who are stepping down. If you are ready to join us in assisting churches to minister across cultures and work with church leaders and pastors to build cross-cultural understanding, then complete the nomination form and return to nominations@lca.org.au Visit our webpage for more information about the work of the committee.
This is the last time we will automatically send you this Cross-Cultural eNews. If you haven't subscribed already, please click on the link below, so that you will receive future editions. We respect your privacy so if you do not subscribe, we will delete you from our mailing list.
You are receiving this email because you have shown an interest in cross-cultural ministry and/or you have indicated you wish to receive it. To subscribe to other LCA eNews, click here. To unsubscribe from this list, click here. To change your email address, click here.
|