When The World Comes To Your Field
Posted by C. Holland on Apr 14, 2009After the Bible study, Marta asked to speak with me, away from the others. We’d been leading in this Baptist church in Western Europe for a few months now and were getting to know the regulars.
“I am confused,” she said in staccatoed English. “In Chile, I went to a Baptist church, too. And this is why I come to your church, because it is Baptist. But it is not like my church at home at all!”
Marta went on to describe the customs in her church in great detail, from the music to the worship style to the way the leadership evidently was heavily involved in the daily decisions that each member made. And she was right, it sounded nothing like how church was here. None of it sounded sacrilegious or wrong, just different and closer to how I suspect a Latin culture might praise God.
Her genuine confusion brought home the point that culture shapes our Christianity. Like Marta, I hadn’t anticipated how very different the Christian faith can look here in Western Europe compared to my West Coast experience in the States. I had expected perhaps a few minor changes, but melody changes to the same songs or traditions dictating when to stand to sing a song (here it’s about four beats before the group should sing, not immediately after the song is announced) had thrown me slightly.
Western Europe has seen a huge increase in immigrants, mostly from Third World countries. Many have little to no grasp of the English language. Because of all the prior mission work that’s happened in the 10/40 window, a good portion of these immigrants are evangelical Christians. And when they land here, they look for a church to join, which is a great thing. But it’s presented some interesting dilemmas in a country where less than 1% are evangelical Christian.
Firstly, when we did our statistical research, we found that evangelical churches in our field were growing quickly. Interviews on our fact-finding short-term mission bore this out. And it’s true. But what no one told us (and the statistics didn’t break this down) was that most of the growth was swelling by existing Christians from other countries. Everyone made it sound like the nationals in our field were making first-time decisions and running to church. They were not.
Secondly, the nationals in our field have only recently had to contend with other races (and other colours) living in their country. And the unfortunate but honest truth is that they do not like this at all. The only reason this is important to mention is that when a native walks into a church here that has a high mixture of all these cultures, they’ll turn around and walk right out. They won’t mix in secular life, and they certainly won’t mix in a church, no matter what God says about it.
Thirdly, this means that many of the evangelical churches here contain a huge mix of immigrants from all over the place, all with their individual interpretation of how to “do” church, don’t want to acclimate to how church is experienced in this nation and hardly any of them speak a common language. One church I know counts 17 different nationalities represented in their body. Meanwhile the nationals are mostly absent, even though this particular church is lead by them.
So, I’ve come halfway around the world to bring the Gospel to people who don’t know Jesus, but the people who will show up are Christians who all think their vastly different ways of worship is the only way we should have church here. If we had just one particular outside group represented here, we could have specialised services, perhaps in their native language and closer to their culture. But, considering that I studied up on the history, culture and language of this mission field, which of the 17 nations do I choose to learn their customs or language?
The question may already be answered for me, as many of the immigrants can no longer find work here due to the economy. Tens of thousands have already left, many more will be right behind them. But in this shrinking world with a global economy, it does make you realise that you may go to one country to be a missionary but end up serving a completely different nationality set in the same place.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!Related posts:
- Missionary Defined
You Said What?! The Importance of Context in Culture
Is Evangelicalism Uniquely American?
Missionary Confidential by Email
April 14th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
One thing I appreciate about your blog is the depth of honesty. Most Americans would be surprised at how racist the average European is. In Nicaragua I was constantly around Europeans and sometimes, usually after a few drinks, they’d loosen up a bit and quit blowing smoke and start to tell how they really felt about the Turks and other immigrants. One Brit even bragged about how he goes around beating up “Pakis.” I enjoyed pointing out to them that with their birth rates in the negative they’d better be a little nicer to the immigrants because in a couple of generations Europe’s going to be a heck of a lot browner…
April 16th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Thank you, Greg. I think what I’ve learned is that no race is immune to racism against others. I know in America we haven’t stamped it out, and some of the European racism goes back to WWII or further, so colour doesn’t always play a factor.
You’re right about the birth rates and immigration, it’s reported here all the time. Things are changing all over this globe.
April 17th, 2009 at 9:34 am
I thought you might find this study interesting:
http://www.gnxp.com/blog/2009/04/religion-united-states-sweden-south.php
April 17th, 2009 at 11:55 am
@Greg: Fascinating info, shows how prevailing secular wisdom seems to play a part even in cultures that are considered majority Christian.
September 24th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
It is estimated that in 10 years or so Europe is going to be a lot different than it is today. I think more missionaries are needed in Europe, there is great spiritual needs there.