In depth | Evangelicals Now

How do we navigate religious diversity in our country today?

Dr Iain McGee

If you live in the UK you don’t need me to tell you that we are living in a multi-cultural and multi-linguistic society.

Some of you embody this diversity, others may feel somewhat remote from it – perhaps even threatened by it, and still others might appreciate the potential opportunities and enrichment that result from it – whether relationally or culturally, in a variety of ways (clothing, food, sport, etc.).

Homogeneous churches in multi-ethnic areas – yes or no?

Neil Robbie

I have served as the pastor of the same church since 2009. In 2018, our church council made a controversial decision. We asked the Punjabi church which had rented space in our church buildings for nearly 20 years to find somewhere else to meet.

The separation did not go well, but the gospel fruit of that decision is clearly evident today – and the fruit continues to grow.

The changing face of UK evangelicalism

Peter Lynas

"Who do you actually represent?" It’s a question I am often asked in my role at the Evangelical Alliance. Usually it is followed by another: "How many evangelicals are there in the UK?" Then, "What actually makes someone an evangelical?"

For years, those questions did not have straightforward answers. We pointed to our 30,000 personal members, and to our more than 3,000 church members. We might mention charity Tearfund's research from 2007, which estimated there were around two million evangelicals in the UK. It was the best answer that we had, but it was almost 20 years old.

Churches, do you really know your communities?

Rebekah Carter

Who is missing from your church?

Who feels at home in your church? And who doesn’t?

A culturally diverse Britain: How should we react?

Rick Raja

Britain is becoming more culturally and ethnically diverse.

Hard data from numerous sources demonstrates this trend. ¹ In addition, soft data from numerous church leaders and Christians backs this up. This is how the conversation goes: “Our communities are becoming more diverse, as people from other parts of the world and other parts of the UK move and settle here”. ²

updates from the mission field

The UK as both mission field and mission force

Pioneers

“Mission on our doorstep” is a phrase we’ve heard again and again over the last decade. The idea is simple and observable: record numbers of migrants (whatever their motivation – economic, educational, political, etc.) have been streaming into the United Kingdom, and we only need to step out our front gate to see that people from all over the world are choosing to make a life for themselves alongside ours.

Because of migration, cross-cultural mission has never been easier. The mission field is literally next door.

faith and life

The challenge of diversity

Debbie Dickson

One of the joys of arriving for our Sunday morning service is seeing who is on the welcome team. It is, I think, a feeling which reflects the growing cultural and ethnic diversity in our churches; for sure, there will be a mix, but where might the welcomers be from? Hong Kong? The UK? Nigeria? Iran? India?

Firstly, this growing diversity means we have the potential to reach a wider variety of people unfamiliar with the church or the Christian faith. This is reflected in my own experience when, a few years back, some Hong Kong Christians invited a neighbour – who was not a Christian – to a Chinese New Year party organised by my church. Though not a believer, he was an excellent calligrapher and kindly made decorations for the party – red banners of Bible verses in Chinese characters. Many others have found a warm welcome which has been instrumental in their wanting to know about Christ.

Communion from the hands of the tailored and the track-suited

Jason Roach

There was a glint in his eye. I couldn’t quite tell if it was a tear or a smile. He grinned, put his coffee down on the table and said: “As a teenager, it was the most special thing about church every Sunday.”

We’d been talking about life on estate churches.

The little boy who prays in colours - and more stories

Kay Morgan-Gurr

I’m often asked if the children and young people I work alongside have the capacity for faith. Others question why my colleagues and I continue to teach because, quote: “Why bother if they will never understand?"

Many times, these questions come from evangelical circles.

Is the dream of a diverse Western church fading?

Layo Obembe

I’m particularly struck at how much it feels like a significant season to write my first article for Evangelicals Now.

I am humbled and shaken by recent shifts in the global political landscape, and I hear similar sentiments from friends who look and sound like me: young(ish), Black, African, Christian and resident in multi-cultural cities in the West.

Saved by grace, not by race

John-Edward Funnell

I have just returned home from a missions conference in Constanta on the Black Sea, where I was invited to speak on “Gen Z and the exclusivity of Jesus.”

Hundreds of people attended from across Europe, Asia, Africa and even South America, yet we met together as one, to worship the same Father in Heaven. We had a beautiful time together.

New resource launched to help churches address racism

Evangelical Alliance

A new resource aiming to help churches tackle racism has been launched by the One People Commission and South Asian Forum.

Visions of Justice and Hope explores one of the most contested cultural questions of our time: What does it mean to be human and a Person of Colour?

bridging cultural divides

Are you only friends with people like you?

Jason Roach

In my experience, eating fish and chips at the seaside can be a life threatening experience. Not because of the quality of the fish and chips, but because of the flocks of birds trying to eat it at the same time.

On one memorable trip, I was in the process of trying to rescue my daughter's meal from a veracious seagull, when its partner in crime took the opportunity to swipe mine. I think they must have enjoyed it, because a few minutes later they deposited most of what they had digested on my head. In His wisdom, the Lord has ordained that trips to the beach would remind me of that old adage: birds of a feather, flock together.

bridging cultural divides

Crossing cultures as an introvert

Jason Roach

A common concern around welcoming people from different cultures into the local church is that it is impossible for introverts. I remember one person saying, 'I find it hard enough to speak to my friends, let alone to strangers!'

It’s part of a bigger fear among Christians that we just don’t have what it takes to reach out to those who are different from us. What do we do when we want to communicate across cultural differences, but the bar just seems too high?

bridging cultural divides

Bridging cultural divides: it takes one small step

Jason Roach

'I gave them my freedom (bus) pass and scribbled down the address of the church on the back of a receipt! Praying that they'd come along today.'

If I could have raised one eyebrow I would have. As it was, I simply smiled. It seemed risky... He had only met Araz, Dilvan and Genc* - the three Kurdish men that he spoke of - the day before. They had been housed in a local hotel while their Asylum claims were processed.

FIEC considers how to be intercultural

FIEC

Phil Topham writes: Communities are becoming more culturally diverse as people from around the world make Britain their home. How can we prepare to welcome those from a diverse range of cultures to our churches?

The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) has gathered a group of pastors and ministry workers for a consultation to help launch our first Intercultural Ministry Team. By intercultural we mean churches that are neither mono-cultural nor multi-cultural, but rather communities of believers where different expressions of culture are welcomed, refined, and celebrated in the life of the church.

Highfields Cardiff – welcoming internationals

Nicola Laver

Newcomers from across 10 nations were recently hosted by Highfields Church, Cardiff with a membership dinner for people to get to know each other.

The church runs a quarterly membership evening at Highfields where, explained lead minister Dave Gobbett, they ‘share the vision and values of Highfields, and why we encourage those who see us as their spiritual home, to formally join as church members’.

Inter-cultural commission marks ten years

Milla Ling-Davies

More than 100 delegates have gathered at the London City Mission headquarters to celebrate ten years of the Evangelical Alliance’s ‘One People Commission’ (OPC).

Anchored by Titilola Babarinde, the co-ordinator of the OPC, the celebration began with a time of collective worship.

The challenges of deep multi-cultural integration

Al Gibbs

One of the joys of living in multi-cultural Britain is that we have people arrive from all over the world, and in recent years the numbers from other countries have only been increasing.

God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 speaks of how he always intended to bless all nations. The church has a special privilege to welcome those from other nations: to help those in need, to share the good news and to disciple believers.

Ten questions: Rejoice in diversity

Elinor Magowan

1. How did you become a Christian?

Seven ways to spot a ‘BWW’ and why it matters

Nay Dawson

I’ll never be one of the ‘Blokes Worth Watching’ (BWW) nor will many of my friends that don’t fit.

I love leadership and evangelism. I want to invest precious years into mission and the future of the church, so I’m wondering how do I become one of the BWWs [as described in this article in last month's EN] ? How do I get mentored? How do I get invested in so that I can make a significant difference? The problem is, I can’t. I’m a woman. I’ll never be a ‘Bloke Worth Watching’ and neither will half of those made in the image of God.

Evangelical crisis? I don’t think so

Andy Mason

What is the state of conservative evangelicalism? Glen Scrivener has given us a challenging answer in his article in the July 2022 issue of en, ‘BWWs: the “Blokes Worth Watching” conveyor belt…’

His article is a strong critique, essentially arguing that we evangelicals are in something of a spiritual crisis. The strength of its criticisms invites a rejoinder. As a fellow pastor, I know Glen and have worked with him. He is a wonderful evangelist, a man of integrity and a very gifted preacher. Most importantly, he loves Jesus and cares for the abused. I think, though, there are some real problems with Glen’s take on our churches.

Affinity seeks diversity, welcoming ethnic minority churches

Affinity

It has been an exciting first half of 2022 for Affinity, a network of around 1,200 churches and Christian organisations working in partnership for the sake of the gospel, writes Graham Nicholls.

We were delighted to welcome new members to Affinity – churches from a diverse range of backgrounds including majority Jamaican, Congolese and Chinese churches.

Evangelical Futures: Diversity - a powerful witness to a divided world

Graham Miller

As we consider our future as evangelicals, we should return to the commission the Lord Jesus gave before His ascension: ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).

Sharing our faith is core to our identity as followers of Jesus Christ, and Christians sharing their faith with others has been used by God to underpin the growth of the global church – despite heresy, persecution and scorn, the gospel prevails!

Disability, diversity, Frodo Baggins and Aslan

Cassie Martin

September is one of my favourite times of year. Keats called it the season of ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness’.

It marks the start of the academic year – new school shoes and lots of enthusiasm from both teachers and students. If we’re lucky, there’s an Indian Summer beautifully balanced by that crispness in the air in the early mornings. Closer to home, it is the month of our wedding anniversary and my youngest son’s birthday; he has the distinction of being born on Hobbit Day. Hobbit Day is the 22nd September, a date chosen because it is Bilbo and Frodo Baggins’ joint birthday. In the last few decades, it has become an opportunity for Tolkien fans across the globe to share their appreciation and enjoyment of Tolkien’s work.

Israel to champion ethnic diversity

Baptist Times

Israel Oluwole Olofinjana has been announced as the Evangelical Alliance’s new One People Commission (OPC) director.

The OPC seeks to ‘reflect, celebrate and serve the ethnic diversity of the church in the UK by helping to reshape the focus and the feel of the Evangelical Alliance and its membership’.

In Depth: diversity

How do we navigate religious diversity in our country today?

Homogeneous churches in multi-ethnic areas – yes or no?

The changing face of UK evangelicalism

Churches, do you really know your communities?

A culturally diverse Britain: How should we react?

The UK as both mission field and mission force

The challenge of diversity

Communion from the hands of the tailored and the track-suited

The little boy who prays in colours - and more stories

Is the dream of a diverse Western church fading?

Saved by grace, not by race

New resource launched to help churches address racism

Are you only friends with people like you?

Crossing cultures as an introvert

Bridging cultural divides: it takes one small step

FIEC considers how to be intercultural

Highfields Cardiff – welcoming internationals

Inter-cultural commission marks ten years

The challenges of deep multi-cultural integration

Ten questions: Rejoice in diversity

Seven ways to spot a ‘BWW’ and why it matters

Evangelical crisis? I don’t think so

Affinity seeks diversity, welcoming ethnic minority churches

Evangelical Futures: Diversity - a powerful witness to a divided world

Disability, diversity, Frodo Baggins and Aslan

Israel to champion ethnic diversity

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