As you cultivate skills to serve alongside believers from other cultures, would you like to...
- Learn from others' mistakes, so you don't repeat them?
- Know whether others have experienced success or difficulty in situations similar to yours?
- Understand church systems from an organic, relational, fluid perspective, as well as from a highly structured perspective?
- Validate and refine your processing through discussion with an experienced consultant?
Consulting will help you identify action steps to break through barriers,
enabling you to move more quickly to higher levels of ministry effectiveness
Which of these
9 phases of cross-cultural partnership development skills
best describes you?
Disillusioned
Had a negative experience
with an immigrant congregation
Curious
Open to learning more
Learning
Gathering information
and moving toward implementation
Networking
Beginning to meet
immigrant ministry leaders
Connected
Formed a mutually trusting relationship with a healthy immigrant pastor
Jumpstarted
Held an initial joint activity with a partnering congregation that resulted in positive short-term momentum
Thriving
Experiencing sustained church momentum through ongoing joint ministry with a partnering immigrant congregation
Multiplying
Serving together with
multiple healthy immigrant churches
Mentoring
Modeling and networking other churches
in your community for ministry alongside immigrant believers
Meet JOHN YODER
Executive Director, Immigrant Ministry Connections
Over the past 16 years, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with American and immigrant pastors about their ministry relationships.
I’ve pastored in a multi-congregational church with services in 11 languages, and worshipped with over 60 diverse immigrant congregations.
These experiences have shown me the common practices that do and don’t work.
I can tell you heartening stories of churches that received fresh momentum through cross-cultural partnerships.
Unfortunately, I can tell you far more stories of churches that are “religious roommates”, sharing nothing more than space.
Throughout my career, I’ve profited from experienced coaches and consultants who have been invaluable in my skill development. If you are a leader in a local church, whether or not you have a salary or formal theological training, I’d be glad to hear about the blessings and struggles of the cross-cultural ministry God has entrusted to you.
