The theme of my Christian life (and probably yours, too) has been that God keeps putting me in the right place at the right time for ministry—to my excitement and sometimes to my chagrin. God has used everything from my bench-warming position in high school athletics to my choice of pediatricians and everything in between to open doors for me to share with those who don't yet know Him.
Acts 17:26-27 tells us that God is ordaining moments for people to seek and find Him, so I've learned to try to keep my eyes open for opportunities wherever I am.
One of those particular moments happening now is the global movement of peoples. From refugees to business professionals, people are on the move across the globe in unprecedented ways. Our local community is also a global community, which means we can access the nations without buying a plane ticket. There’s even a whole branch of missions geared for this—diaspora missions. Watch this video for a quick explainer.
Diving into the Diaspora
I was fresh off the boat after two years of mission work in West Africa when I first heard about diaspora missions. While visiting churches in a new city, I learned one had just committed to engaging the West African population around them—simplifying my decision of which church to join. God had brought me to just the right city and situated me perfectly to continue engaging the people so near and dear to my heart.
Before long, I found myself neck-deep in the Gambian and Ivorian communities of Raleigh. Despite my mission experience, figuring out how to do this kind of ministry was more difficult than I anticipated.
But if I can do it, so can you. And so can anyone else in your church. Here are some tips to get you started.
1. Find Them
Naturally, the first step to engaging the peoples around you is to find out who and where they are. My church had already done some demographic research to understand the community around them. Fortunately, people tend to cluster around those who understand their language and culture. In so doing, they create ethnic enclaves that make them easier to identify.
As you're going through your day, pray and keep your eyes open. That authentic Asian market, the Lebanese restaurant, or the African store near your church or house probably indicates a large population of that people group nearby. You can also use tools available on your phone or various local programs to get connected with internationals.
“God is ordaining moments for people to seek and find Him (Acts 17:26-27). One of those particular moments we must take advantage of is the global movement of peoples.”
Begin making these places your haunts, and pray for a "person of peace" in that community. That's someone who will welcome you and connect you with others. That person may or may not even be receptive to the gospel, but they are essential to gospel advancement. If you're prayer walking, look for opportunities to pray for and even with people you meet.
As I went out, I made it a point to take at least one other person with me—but not a huge group of people all at once. If you have a large group, break up into pairs or groups of three. It helps to have another person to bridge the conversation and connect with people in a way you might not see. For a bonus, consider bringing along someone you’re discipling. This is a great opportunity to teach them ministry as you are going.
Just as a caution, you may have to fight against distractions, prejudice, or apathy. In our busyness, we can easily overlook and misunderstand the people around us. Plus, it's much easier to spend time around people "like us" and cultures we understand. It’s going to take some effort on your part.
Like all ministry, this is real work.
Like all ministry, it’s absolutely worth it.
2. Be Willing to be Awkward. Try Not to be Offensive.
Now that you know where a community is, it's time to get to know people. For me, that meant walking into African hair braiding shops—as your basic white girl—and striking up a conversation.
Was it awkward? Absolutely!
But they didn't seem to mind.
Diaspora people tend to be much better at hospitality than Americans. Many that I have met were hurt and confused why people in the U.S. seem distant, individualistic, and hard to get to know. They don't understand the caution that drives Americans to meet people in public spaces—instead of inviting them into our homes—and keeps our eyes on the clock to respect everyone's schedules. A simple invitation to dinner could mean the world to them.
So, it’s worthwhile to spend some time learning about culture. Foreign to Familiar is an especially good (and short!) book to help you better understand yourself and those you meet. Remember any specifics you learn about a culture—even here—will be a generalization.
The best place to learn about someone's culture is from that person themself. Imagine each person as a city with two culturally-designated walls around them. Someone with a high inner wall may be friendly and open to talking but guard their personal thoughts and feelings.
Someone from another culture might have high outer walls to guard their social circle from strangers but be very open with their thoughts once you have finally met them. Westerners tend to be the latter.[1] So, you'll likely experience a lot of discomfort in extending a hand of friendship to diaspora people.
“Be willing to be awkward. Try not to be offensive. Be humble when you misunderstand each other.”
Be willing to put yourself out there, and be humble if—and I mean when—you mess up. Most foreign-born people have a lower threshold for what is "awkward" in our context and are used to being more forgiving (or unaware) of social blunders. They usually appreciate the effort.
Speaking of social blunders, please don’t assume someone is foreign-born because of how they look or where they are. I’ve learned to ask questions that allow me to continue a conversation in peace if that person I’m certain is from Somalia is actually from South Carolina. For example:
"Where is your family from?"
"What's the origin of your name?"
"How long have you lived here?"
When entering a place I don’t seem to belong—like African hair braiding shops—I have actually used my faith as the bridge by saying, "As a Christian, Jesus tells me to love my neighbor. And I can’t love a neighbor I don’t know. You're my neighbor, so I'd like to get to know you."
3. Be their Friend
Now that you've met someone, it's time to get to know them—culturally and individually. Just like you probably don't fit their stereotype of an "American," the person in front of you is also an individual within a larger cultural context. Compare and contrast each other’s misunderstandings, and be ready to laugh together.
A diaspora community has a culture in and of itself. After a few years in the US, a Nigerian living in Houston will probably be more similar to the larger African community of Houston than to other Nigerians still living in Nigeria. A first-generation Nigerian American will be even more different still.
Brush up on your communication skills. Ask good questions. Question your assumptions. Be ready to be wrong about them and for them to be wrong about you.
Keelan Cook has a trove of resources about how to understand religious categories, how to understand someone's real beliefs, and how to ask the right questions concerning culture. You should definitely take the time to read those when you can. In sum, he says that we can’t assume anything about people but should instead learn directly from them by asking questions about 5 basic areas.
These are not only great questions for understand a person's culture as it actually is, but they’re also fun ways to break the ice and get to know the person better.
4. Tell the Truth
As you're having these conversations, don't shy away from talking about Jesus! That’s the whole point. As you talk about culture, it should open a wide door to share your testimony and talk about how you—as a Christian—differ from your larger cultural context.
For me, learning how to story has helped me naturally weave gospel truth into my conversations. Situate your story within the larger story of the Bible by explaining things in terms of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration.
When I get nervous or overly concerned about how the person I'm talking with will receive my talk about the Bible, I try to think of them as a friend from my small group. This trick eases my fear of telling truth and allows me to share freely—with some less churchy terms—what God has been teaching me lately. My Muslim friends tend to be very receptive to these kinds of conversations.
5. Keep Being Their Friend
Reaching out to people from different cultural and religious backgrounds can be very difficult and discouraging. You may need to prepare to be in dialogue for a long haul while praying to see them come to Christ quickly.
Ask them to consider a low-risk Discovery Bible Study with a group of their friends. This way, they can ask questions and dialogue about what Christians believe together. God may choose to save a whole community of people at once and plant the seeds for a new church! This would be our ultimate goal!
Still, your friendship shouldn't be dependent upon their salvation. These are people, not projects. Sometimes, it takes a long time. Sometimes, you may not see the fruit. Be faithful, listen to the Spirit, and trust God with the results.
There may come a time to shake the dust off your feet and move on, but until then, keep the door for dialogue open, and be a friend to them. Prayerfully consider how much time you should spend with which people, and commit to loving them well.
Tools for Your Tool Belt:
Pray
Bless Every Home uses public records to help you pray for your neighbors by name. You may very well have diaspora people living next door.
As you’re learning the demographics of your area, make time to pray for specific points of interest.
Study
Keelan Cook (former UBA Associate Director and current Associate Director of Missions at Southeastern Seminary) has a whole blog to help you see and engage the “Peoples Next Door.”
Foreign to Familiar is one of my favorite short reads on culture.
Cultural Intelligence discusses how to build cultural intelligence to effectively work across national, ethnic, generational, and even organizational cultures.
Cross-Cultural Connections helps navigate issues we may experience in doing cross-cultural work. It’s full of practical examples and exercises to show us how to be ambassadors for Christ in any context.
Connect
University of Houston’s International Friendship Program connects international students to Americans who can make them feel welcome and help them navigate the culture.
Many churches have ESL classes, and Prestige Learning Institute is always needing volunteers.
Houston Community Cup of Nations has a soccer program with a competition where the immigrants and refugees compete under their own flag.
Houston Welcomes Refugees has a program to adopt a newly-arrived refugees and help them get acclimated to our culture.
Cris Alley, UBA Church Consultant, has missionary experience and specializes in helping churches think like missionaries in their context.
Sally Hinzie also has a wealth of experience and knowledge about places to get you started.
Share
Access the Bible in many other languages here. This app reads the Bible aloud and even has the Jesus Film embedded.
For a shorter summary of the whole Bible story in other languages, The Story Film App is also very helpful.
Marie Burrus is a UBA Church Consultant. Her primary responsibilities are consulting on mission engagement, Sending Pathways, and church communications. She also manages, edits, and contributes content for UBA's blog, website, and social media outlets.
