CultureConnect - A ministry of Interserve Australia
Bridging the gap from the church to ethnic minorities in Australia.
We have great opportunities for cross-cultural ministry in Australia!
Australia Today
Australia is one of the most multi-cultural nations in the world. By
the year 2025, 50% of Sydney’s population may be from non-English
speaking backgrounds and Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide will not be
far behind.
Big changes are taking place in Australian demographics simply because
our land is becoming home to hundreds of thousands of newly arrived
people. Some are
migrants, some are
refugees, while others simply
decide to stay in Australia after they have completed their studies.
A
gap has opened up in Australia between the traditional church which had
been comprised of mainly white Anglo-Saxons, and these new migrants.
Many of the people who have moved to Australia have had
very little
contact with Christians and
few opportunities to hear or read the good
news of Jesus. Many within
the Australian church have sensed the
implications of this trend and so
begun ministries to close the gap.
They are
reaching out through identifying the needs of these new
migrants,
serving them, and presenting them with the
good news.
A
study commissioned by Interserve Australia in 2007 found that
plenty is
happening around the country, but often
on a small scale. Many
denominations feel they are
simply not keeping up with the needs, while
most para-church organisations have very
limited work amongst ethnic
minorities here in Australia. There is also a need for more funding
aimed at this growing need, along with more organisations which can
work co-operatively.
CultureConnect
Against this background,
Interserve Australia is
now
actively involved in Christian ministry
amongst people of
non-English speaking backgrounds. Interserve is engaged in similar
ministries in the UK and the US, and such ministry is a part of our
international strategic focus.
This ministry is called
‘CultureConnect’ and its
goal is to help the
Australian church engage
in cross-cultural ministry within
local communities.
We’re doing this through:
Envisioning: helping Australian Christians to see how they can reach out to people of other faiths
Networking: focusing on cooperation and consultation so that like-minded groups and individuals can work together
Training: individuals and groups from the “traditional church” in a range of cross-cultural skills
Resourcing:
sourcing existing materials and commissioning new resources to assist
cross-cultural workers, as well as keeping a database of useful
resources
Recruitment and deployment: increasingly
recruiting and deploying people to work cross-culturally in various
organisations and projects as we build our capacity.
Our vision is to see: “Lives and communities transformed through encounter with Jesus Christ.”
What about you?
Please support this great opportunity for ministry here in Australia.
You can:
Pray for this ministry: monthly prayer notes are available. Email Andrew at
andrews@aussend.org.auFinance this ministry: contribute to the support of our workers and to getting this ministry off the ground. Contact Ross Wilkersen. Email
finance@interserve.org.auNetwork with us:
we’d love to hear from you if can inform us about groups working
amongst ethnic minorities or if you have other valuable information
that will help us plan and strategise.
Join us: as street-level workers or administratively as we set-up this ministry.
Already working cross-culturally in Australia?
If you're already working cross-culturally here in Australia, why don't you become a user of our website designed to link workers like you, at
www.cultureconnect.net.au ? On the website, you can
- look at who else is working cross-culturally, and contact them. You
- can search for your own particular kind of people focus group, as well
- find Resources that might be useful in your work, or post up
- resources that will be useful for other workers
- search for upcoming Events, or enter an Event of your own
- take part in a Forum, or begin one of your own
For more information contact:
Andrew Schachtel
Email:
andrews@aussend.org.auTelephone: 02 4227 4978
Mobile: 0433 827 431 (Virgin Network)
Skype: andrews2121
Address:
CultureConnect
PO Box 5167
Wollongong NSW 2520