The Multi-Congregational Church
By Executive Director John Wesley Yoder
This is the last of four blogs regarding three models of church relevant to ministry in a multicultural society. I define the multi-congregational church as three or more congregations whose pastors view themselves as peers and engage in joint ministry.
I realize that the concept of the multi-congregational church is new to many. Much has been written about the homogenous church and the multicultural church, but much less has been written about the multi-congregational church. I will begin by telling you the story of the one that I know the best.
For several years, I was one of the pastors of the Beijing International Christian Fellowship. Beijing is one of the most strategic cities in the world, with 300,000 expats among its 21 million residents. The Chinese government isn’t favorable to the presence of a high number of churches in society, so it grants a limited of church permits to foreigners. As a result, our international church had church 3,000 people from 70 nations and held services in 11 languages.
The hundreds who attended our English-language service were approximately half Asian, one-fourth African and one-fourth Caucasian, from countries all over the world. Our Mandarin-language service included ethnic Chinese from many different countries and cultures. Together we experienced the kind of worship described in Revelation chapters 5 and 7, where every nation, tribe, tongue, and people come together in worship before the throne of God and the Lamb. Worshipping and serving together with pastors from around the world was an unforgettable experience! In Beijing, I experienced the unity of the global body of Christ in ways that I have not anywhere else.
Our elder team met together every Wednesday morning for shared learning, encouragement, and prayer. Some were church staff. Others worked for ministry agencies and volunteered a part of their time to pastoral leadership. Others held secular jobs in Beijing and volunteered a part of their time to pastoral leadership. All were well-educated English speakers. We made theological and counseling training available to all who needed it. Our pastors were highly diverse, but we made a strong effort to work together and to love one another as a team of peers.
The greatest advantage of the multi-congregational model is that it combines the advantages of both the monoculural and the multicultural models. In Beijing, our Russian, Japanese, Cantonese, and Indonesian congregations were very homogenous, but our English and Mandarin congregations were highly diverse. The 11 congregations together as a whole were remarkably diverse.
There are several wonderful benefits of the multi-congregational church:
- It models the unity of the body of Christ to both the city and the congregation
- It provides pastors with a venue for mutual learning and encouragement
- It allows for efficient use of staff, facilities, finances, and systems
- It provides the healthy reputation of the entire church for newer, smaller congregations
The biggest disadvantage to the multi-congregational model is: Without regular engagement by a Connector (my term for the point person of a partnership), it’s easy for pastors in this model to function independently in silos. This is also true for the relationship of a husband and wife in marriage. Unless we invest regular time in deep communication with our spouses, we’re going to lose a certain level of intimacy. The same is true for ministry leaders in partnership. If consistent relationship develop is not baked into the calendar of each pastor, there will be a natural drift into task-focused independence. Immigrant Ministry Connections emphasizes to the pastors it coaches that each church in a partnership must appoint a Connector for monthly relationship and ministry development.
What I have expressed about each of these three models only begins to scratch the surface. May God guide each of you who innovate new models of ministry. May your new wineskins overflow with new wine!