CROSS-CULTURAL Q&A
What is Cross-Cultural Q&A
Cross-Cultural Q&A is a series of short videos that answer your questions about long-term cross-cultural work. In this first installment of our video q&a experienced leaders answer 19 of the most asked questions. The videos were taped at the Mission Leaders Meeting in 2007.
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A designated mentor in the local church allows time to build relationship and encourage growth. Confidence in the long-term cross-cultural worker is built through mentoring in the local church. Strength of relationship with someone back home is vital for honest and timely help in the overseas location.
Bert Waggoner unpacks the Vineyard’s approach to missions as an extension of the core value of churchplanting.
Partnerships provide a larger vision to the local church. Partnerships help churches of all sizes participate in sending long-term cross-cultural workers. Sharing resources is a vital aspect of partnerships. There is a safety factor in working together.
Value the new culture and find ways that it is better than our own. Be aware that there are significantly different ways of understanding relationships, conflict resolution and leadership in each culture. We build trust in new cultures by monitoring our expectations and going to learn. We can encourage Vineyard values that are shaped by the local culture and local believers. Understand the impact of culture on what we consider “Biblical Values”. I need to go with the attitude; “God is building His church in the country and fit in with that”.
Where has God called a local church to “go in missions around the world?” Maintaining sensitivity to individuals with a call and the call for the local church are both important. It takes courage and confidence on the part of church leaders to have specific focus and stay with that focus. It is important for a husband and wife to have a “call” to the work and location. A specific call from God helps us stay productive in the difficult times. Children have to make the same cultural adjustments as the parents and they need assistance and encouragement too.
Flexibility and adaptability are important traits when working in other cultures. Cross-cultural training is very important for success. Be humble in building relationships. Those who preserver in building relationships and handling changes gracefully have the greatest chance of success. Look to send people with successful relationships and ministry in their home culture. Single people may have extra pressures. Be convinced that past issues of relational or sexual brokenness are well resolved least the pressures of cross-cultural ministry lead to serious problems for the individual, the ministry team and the local people. A developed and practiced spiritual life is essential.
A strong sending team is essential. Sending with a team and a primary leader are very important. Watch out for “ministry drift.” Partnerships and sending churches need to set parameters for the work and work in concert with those on location. If sending churches are not a safe place LTCCWs will not reach out if they are struggling. Written contracts are helpful for the church and worker as they commit to each other.
How to help workers stay on task. We don’t micro manage but we do keep track of important variables. When change of direction is needed that is a mutual decision with worker and partnership. Fatigue and loneliness can drive workers to make choices and they need connection to their partnership to address their needs and help in making decisions about ministry focus. When we stop getting emails and phone calls we need to check the well being of the worker. There is no substitute for visiting your worker on the field. Communication is a two way street; everyone has responsibility to communicate.
Take time to prepare your worker and invest in them. Character is vital for sustainability. Observe character before sending. Get training from people who have been in the country. Help the worker develop cross-cultural skills.
The church should establish a “care team” and a prayer team for their LTCCWs. Help with practical areas like international tax and insurance issues and logistics. Communicate regularly about life in the sending church. Remember birthdays, anniversaries and special events. Remember the children. Have a lead person who stays in contact with the LTCCW and reminds the church about the LTCCW. Take a week or two visit with the worker in the field.
Evacuation plans, including a budget for repatriation are necessary. Be ready to go for a pastoral care visit. Address the impact of trauma. Have training in assessing risk and making contingency plans. Conflict resolution and team building skills are very helpful to work through a crisis. Find help from local resources whenever possible. Returning to the USA can be a crisis in the form of reentry stress.
Apply long-term thinking to short-term visits. Focus on relationships that can be sustained over time and short-term mission may develop into long-term relationships. Developing one vision takes time but allows for meaningful long-term involvement.
We do the same kinds of things like building relationships, identifying gifting, encouraging leaders; we do these tasks with cross-cultural understanding. Understanding of authority is often different in other cultures; having a title may more helpful in other cultures than in the USA. It takes time to have understanding and trust in relationships and this may be more so in other cultures. May Christians are in the persecuted church and we are in the pampered church. Social issues must be addressed not just spiritual issues. Felt needs can be addressed in our home churches and those abroad.
Make visits to the places you want to work. Look and see. Look for others with similar vision. Go slowly and find those who we can work with in the other culture. Invite them to see what we are about so they can decide if they want to partner with us in their country.
How do we tell people we have supported for years that we are making a change? The definition of support includes more than finance. Continue to communicate from the church about vision and changes. Where is God calling your church to focus? Give advance notice of change and have a graduated approach to financial support. Relevant cross-cultural church planting is what we are about.
Partnership churches can be paired up with different aspects of the work and have a feeling of direct involvement. Working in an orphanage, in the area of human trafficking, relief, development and environment works better in partnership with other churches. Understanding the theology of The Kingdom of God and the reality of social issues goes together. Find ways to let the poor and weak participate in their own help. In some areas of the world there are many women as leaders and US churches need to keep this in mind that women should be part of ministry teams. Be aware of refugees and those who are coming to us from places of suffering and significant need. Find practical ways to help them.
Without struggle there is not progress. When we make a heavy investment and see some progress and have it fall apart is possible. How we handle money and local leadership are important. Don’t be too romantic about the work. When you get involved do it “unto the Lord and hold it with an open hand”. With Christ help we can survive many kinds of losses and continue the work.
Vision trips provide some perspective and a window of reality in that place. Vision trips can bring something alive about what God is doing in that group of people. Listen and learn a lot. Find a way to bring pastors on vision trips. It helps us count the cost. Getting a look at the basic issues of life in that place.
Is mission about the sending church or the host country? Where can we add the most value for the people we are serving? What is our value of the host country and the leaders there? Dreaming and strategizing with the local leaders and believers helps us arrive at how to be helpful and add value to the local church. Partnerships are vital for successful work and frequent respectful communication is necessary to achieve mutual goals. Recognize the value of seeing the church in the other country as part of the partnership with real partnership.
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