CROSS-CULTURAL MINISTRY
Task Force Report
Task Force
AssignmentIn response (to the changing demographics within a 5 mile radius
of the church), the lead pastor in consultation with the coaches will appoint a team of lay people and staff (including Pastor Armando) to develop a significant strategy for cross cultural ministry.
This team will report to the Church Council by November 15, 2012.
(Note: Date was later amended to December 4, 2012)
The following people met with or contributed to the Task Force Report:
Staff membersLay members
Senior Pastor Lonnie PhillipsRobert Felder
Associate Pastor Linda GwathmeyCliff Neely
Pastor Armando RamirezRick Plouch
Martin Valenzuela
Tanya Valenzuela
Procedure: Each member of the Task Force was given a packet of readings concerning cross-cultural ministry and asked to be familiar with the concepts and language used by other churches to describe and encourage cross-cultural ministry. The group met for discussion and each member was asked to do some writing about the reasons for cross-cultural ministry and some ways our congregation might strengthen our ability to communicate and serve across the cultural divisions of our community. Some work was done through e-mail exchanges. Prayer was a part of the process each step of the way.
Meetings:The Task Force met on the following dates:
October 29November 12
November 5
Rationale:Paul Grant writes that “In the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, Jesus has given us a culture-transforming dynamic which confronts ethical categories of all societies and ethnic groups.” Jesus tells his followers that “when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, The Message)
The Apostle Paul teaches that we are to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ engaged in ministries of reconciliation. He and the early church demonstrate the need to witness and minister across cultural barriers in order to reach all people—Jew and gentile, slave and free, male and female.
John Wesley proclaims that “The world is my parish”, and he devotes his life to taking the Gospel the places where people work and congregate and to organizing circuit riders to preach and baptize in frontier areas.
The United Methodist Church calls us to have “Open Hearts, Open Minds, OpenDoors.” Our corporate mission as a denomination is to “Make [new]disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”
The mission statement of Windcrest United Methodist Church has included for many years the imperative “to break down walls and build bridges.” Our Healthy Church Initiative demands that we become more aggressive and more intentional about the ways we use our resources to accomplish this mission.
Geography &
Demographics:WUMC was begun by residents of the new City of Windcrest (within the City of San Antonio) with the expectation that members would probably live within the Windcrest community. Over the years the church attracted more and more members from outside the city limits, and the congregation began to recognize that being near the intersection of Loop 410 and Interstate 35 made the location desirable for many persons living in the areas beyond Windcrest itself.
Today’s Demographics:
Within a 5 mile radius of the church,
41% Hispanic, 37% of the residents are Anglo, 15% Black, and 5% are Asian.
In addition, 45% of that same population (within a 5 mile radius of the church) is under 45 years of age. Within that segment of the population, approximately 100,000 are unchurched.
The predictions suggest that the number and percentage of Hispanics will increase rapidly over the next 5-10 years, both in this radius and in San Antonio and in Texas.
There are 2 elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school near WUMC
These facts and predictions suggest an amazing mission and ministry opportunity for WUMC.
Cultural differences weare called tobridge:
There are many gaps we may be called to bridge in our ministryefforts.
They include (but are not limited to) the following:
Age differencesYounger adults--Older adults
Family differences Anglo -- Hispanic -- Black -- Asian
Residential differences
Single – Couple – Two parent family – One parent family –
Three generation family – Unrelated, shared residence
Mixed incomes Low income - Median income -- High income
Employment status
Working--Non-working--Retired
Military--Retired military--Civilian
Residential differences -- House --Apartment -- Mobile home -- Homeless
Educational differences
Language differences, notably English –Spanish—bi-lingual
Differences in comfort levels with new technical devices
High tech--Low tech
Some of these differences exist already within our congregation. They affect our ability to communicate and cooperate successfully with one another. Others affect our ability to impact the community without letting biases, preconceived notions, and previous experiences reduce our effectiveness as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Recommendationsto the WUMCCongregation:
Recommendation 1:
Develop a training course for cross cultural ministry and insist that staff and leaders participate.Learnings from this course should be shared by clergy, staff, and leaders through sermons, teaching, ongoing discipleship training. Where we learn to:
Listen more than we talk
Be open-minded about the dress, behaviors, and needs of those we are called to serve.
Cultivate and sustain radical, overwhelming hospitality here and elsewhere.
We need to recruit leadership teams that are multi-cultural.
Possible resources: Robert Felder, Ron and Fran Wood, a book used by UMCOR to train volunteers--Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humilityby Duane Elmer
We will be training disciples for specific ministries even as we are ministering to people in our target group(s).
Recommendationsto the WUMCCongregation (Continued):
Recommendation 2:
Choose one target group and focus a significant amount of attention and energy to an outreach plan for that group over a significant period of time (like 2 years), so patterns can be established, feedback can be heard and evaluated, plans can be tweaked, and a track record can be established.
(Example: Focus on ministries to preschool and elementary age children and their parents. Promote the variety of ministries we already offer. Open them to the community. Expand the week day program. Highlight Girl Scouts, Boy Scout, Iwanas, VBS, etc.
*Offer frequent sessions for parents to improve their skills and enhance family life.)
Recommendation 3:
Focus on common interests that affect people of all cultures: healthy marriage relationships; child development issues; parenting skills; fiscal responsibility; employment issues; planning for retirement; developing healthy lifestyles; dealing with illness, grief, death.
Recommendationsto the WUMCCongregation (Continued):
Recommendation 4 (All About Communication):
Upgrade and refine the communication patterns of the church.
Saturate the community (within the 5 mile radius) with information about what WUMC offers that will benefit them.
Intentionally work to capture the names, contact information, and preferred methods of contact for every member, visitor, and participant in church-sponsored activities.
Maintain contacts weekly (or more often) by telephone, mail, e-mail, texting, Facebook, etc. with each person and group in the contact list.
Work to utilize words, expressions, images, and pictures that will communicate clearly across cultural barriers.
Use worship and hospitality to build bridges to all who come here.
Consider the development of an internet radio station to broadcast music, worship, Bible teachings, etc. around the clock.
Recognize that the long wall on the Midcrown side of our property makes us look as if we want to be cloistered. Paint a bright mural on the wall showing people of all ages engaged in inviting activities.
Put big colorful banners on the Walzem side of the church and change them often until the big digital sign can be installed and put into use. Find ways to “open” doors on that side so people can be invited and welcomed in.
Recommendationsto the WUMCCongregation (Continued):
Recommendation 5:
Have more family events that include meals and entertainment. Locate them outdoors on the Walzem side of our property. Advertise widely. Demonstrate that our campus is a welcoming, safe, fun-filled place to be. Don’t be shy about charging a moderate amount for the events. Families are looking for cheap, intergenerational entertainment.
Develop worship services and events that invite and celebrate many nationalities and cultures with flags, foods, music, crafts, etc.
Recommendationsto the WUMCCongregation (Continued):
Recommendation 6:
Consider changing the name of the church to appeal to a community beyond the City of Windcrest and embrace the rest of the area within 5 miles of the church. This closes the gap of class, location, generation, denomination, economic status and more.
Example:
Walzem Road
Community Church
Recommendation 7:
Strengthen security measures in and around all buildings.
Enforce safe sanctuary policies at all times.
Recommendationsto the WUMCCongregation (Continued):
Other Recommendations:
- Develop a spiritual network in the surrounding area. Strengthen the Ministerial Alliance. Participate in the SAMM convening’s in our area. Plan more cooperative efforts with churches in the area. (Example: our cooperative ventures with New Creation Christian Fellowship and the Hispanic Religious Partnership to bring the Mobile Food Pantry to our neighborhood.)
- Use the church bus more often for bringing folks to WUMC and taking members to other sites for ministry.
- Recognize that our Red Tree facility offers a more comfortable and accessible gateway to our faith community than the Gathering Place and Sanctuary do for many unchurched or unhappy-with-the- Church folks. Clean up, paint up, and fix up Community Hall, the kitchen area and bathrooms. Then utilize it for more events like Games Day, Roots, Neighbors Helping Neighbors, and Soul Café.
- Make the church more visible in the community by having more meetings and events in apartment complexes, mobile home parks, Starbucks, local restaurants, the library, Takas Park, etc. (We should never be surprised to find the church has left the building.)
- Offer “bi-lingual” English/Spanish classes where English speakers are paired with Spanish speakers to work, practice, and build relationships.
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