What does cross-cultural mission mean to you? Brave souls hopping on a plane and flying across the world? But what about Britain? In many towns and cities, different faith communities live cheek-by-jowl.
If you are contemplating mission abroad but have not yet reached out to Asians here in Britain, why not? 'Reaching out to Muslims in Huddersfield' may not have quite the same ring as 'pioneering mission in rural Pakistan' but it is essentially the same thing.
Respect and welcome?
'Ministry among Asians in Britain' (MAB) is the home ministry of Interserve, an international Christian mission with over 400 partners in Asia, the Middle East - and the UK. The MAB team has over 30 partners (some of Asian origin themselves) serving Christ in multi-racial areas of Britain. MAB places workers with local church projects, encouraging Christians to reach out to their Asian neighbours. There are many issues to work through. In Britain, Asians are a minority community, so particular sensitivity is needed when reaching out with the gospel. Then there's culture. Many Asian people understandably hold on to their culture to maintain their individual identity in the cultural and moral vacuum of contemporary Britain. We need to respect that. Then there's the church. Are British Christians ready to welcome Asians or do we subconsciously expect them to follow our culture? Did you know that there are an estimated 40,000 Asian Christians in Britain, many of whom belong to a network of Asian Christian fellowships?
