By Rick Love, Ph.D.
A woman we’ll call Brenda emigrated from west Asia to Canada and was very motivated to learn English. She was preparing for a professional exam and had a time limit to see her IELTS score high enough to qualify for that exam.
At our church in Calgary we have created a ministry for new Canadians that consists of three parts. This pathway is a strategy for intercultural ministry. Stage 1 consists of classes and events that help new Canadians settle in Canada. These classes have little or no spiritual content. Stage 1 is for those looking for friendship. It includes ESL conversation classes, a public speaking course, employment classes, a citizenship course, pronunciation classes, and specialty classes such as ESL for music and ESL for gardening.
Stage 2 is a transition from Stage 1 to Stage 3 classes. It is a gentle introduction to the gospel for those who are curious about Jesus, Christianity, or the church. We use the life and teaching of Jesus to learn English vocabulary and to ask questions that focus on the life experience of those new to Canada.
Stage 3 consists of spiritual classes for those who want to follow Jesus or who are looking closely at what it would mean to follow Jesus. It includes ESL Bible studies, the Alpha course, church worship services, and small groups.
The pathway is designed for our new Canadian friends to move from stage 1, to stage 2, and then to stage 3.
Brenda enrolled in every class that we offer at our church. In addition, she was registered for classes in at least three other churches! She was taking classes at all three stages of our intercultural ministry pathway to Jesus: stage-1 conversation classes, our stage-2 ESL Bridges class, and stage-3 ESL Bible studies and Alpha.
Over the course of about 6 months it became clear that Brenda had become a follower of Jesus. She then invited her husband Charlie to join her for the Alpha course. Every week we discussed questions like “Who is Jesus?”, “Why did Jesus die?” and “Is the Bible reliable?”
One day Charlie said to us, “I really like the way you answer our questions. You always give an unbiased answer.” I think Charlie said that because we always try to be as honest as we can about all the mistakes the church has made in the past. We want to make it clear that we’re not trying to defend or justify violence perpetrated by Christians, and to admit that the church has often ignored Jesus’ teaching about love and forgiveness. To be honest, we were quite surprised and very pleased at how quickly Charlie also became a follower of Jesus.
Charlie and Brenda asked if they could have a private baptism, because they didn’t want family in their home country to be negatively affected by their choices in Canada. This couple continues to mature in faith as part of a small group that meets regularly for prayer, Bible study, and fellowship. They have invited friends from their home country now living in Canada to attend classes as well, and we’re hopeful those friends are also on a pathway to Jesus.
Rick serves as Pastor of Intercultural Ministries at Foothills Alliance Church in Calgary. He is also the President and Cofounder of Love New Canadians (https://www.lovenewcanadians.ca/), a ministry that has worked with leaders from 490+ churches and ministries in 17 countries as they develop pathways to Jesus for immigrants.