Four Helpful Analytical Frameworks for Intercultural Ministry

The journey toward becoming an intercultural church is both a spiritual calling and a practical challenge. As part of the ongoing development of the Intercultural Tool Kit, several foundational resources have been identified to help congregations move from a "multicultural" presence to true "intercultural" engagement.

One such resource is "Getting the Most out of the Intercultural Cohort," a framework originally designed for learning communities of congregations. While initially created for specific cohorts, these analytical frameworks offer a vital path forward for any church discerning its call to build bridges between cultures.

Getting the Most out of Intercultural Cohort: Presentation

The Intercultural Cohort is a learning community of congregations who sense a call to ministry that builds bridges between cultures as they follow Jesus. This powerpoint presentation helps us understand the difference between multicultural and intercultural and also gives us a path forward to grow through an introduction to the Intercultural Development Inventory. 

It also looks at the goal of each church part of the cohort by asking four questions. These questions can also be relevant to all congregations discerning their call in intercultural ministry. These questions are:

• What does the theme [intercultural ministry] look like in your context?
• Where is it expanding your imagination?
• Where is there room for experimentation?
• What are other congregations doing that spark your interest?

One key aspect of intercultural ministry is the need to be aware of your church’s own culture - ethnic and organizational culture. Something to think about is what parts of your congregational culture support hospitality to people who may be different than the majority of your church make up and what parts of your congregational culture make it hard for hospitality to flourish.  

The presentation also reminds that intercultural ministry is a learning journey that fully depends on the Spirit of Christ. In line with Resonate’s Go Local, the presentation asks churches to join what the Spirit is already doing among them. It asks these questions:

• Discern- What is God inviting us into?
• Experiment- What small experiment might we try to see if we are on the right track?
• Reflect- What went well? What might we need to tweak? How sustainable is this type of change? what might we have to give up?

A large part of intercultural ministry requires organizational change to church structures. The final part of the presentation offers some insight into beginning this journey well. 

If you would like more information on Intercultural Ministry please visit our website or email us at [email protected]