MIDWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

CROSS-CULTURAL EXERGESIS RESEARCH PAPER

PRESENTED TO

DR. RODNEY HARRISON

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENT OF CROSS CULTURAL COMMUNICATION ISSUES

DR 30921

BY

NATHAN STRACHAN

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

JUNE 21, 2013

CONTENTS

Chapter

ONE CULTURAL EXERGESIS ANALYSIS3

TWO HISTORY OF CHURCH5

THREE COMMUNITY CULTURAL EXEGESIS 22

BIBLIOGRAPHY26

The term cultural exegesis is difficult to define, because

it is the combination of two words: cultural and exegesis. When I

take a closer look at the word “exegesis,’ it means “to take out

of or extract from a text.” Earnest Goodman says that cultural

exegesis means “discovering why people in a particular culture do

what they do by observing them and viewing their cultural

influences from their perspective rather than interpreting their

behavior through our own cultural lenses.” Notice the emphasis is

on observing and interacting with a particular culture from their

perspective. On the other hand, Rodney Harrison has provided what

I believe to be the most practical definition of cultural

exegesis. Harrison said, cultural exegesis is the “critical

exploration and analysis of the ways a community and its people

live and interact, with emphasis upon those preferences

influenced by social, ethnic, political and religious values.”

This is the cultural exegesis for the Bible Way Baptist

Church, University City, Missouri. The exegesis began as the

pastor and four members of the church leadership team completed

the Contextual Exegesis Worksheet. This data was compiled over a

three day period. The participants were selected by the pastor

based on their role on the church leadership team. The pastor did

not explain the meaning of most of the categories to the

participants. The makeup of the demographics for this group is

as follows:

Member 1 was a teenager

Member 2 is an adult male

Member 3 is an adult female

Member 4 is an adult female

Member 5 is Pastor Strachan

Table 1.1. Bible Way Baptist Leadership Contextual Exegesis Worksheet Data

Categories Members Xs numbers Members Os numbers

General Mood -3 -4

Worship Planning 7 6

Use of Technology -14 2

Music Style -5 -3

Preaching Focus -7 8

Response to Invitation

5 8

Formality 9 14

Use of Arts/Drama -14 4

Visitors Recognized Publicly

-16 -11

Church as a Community Activist

-13 -18

Church as Service Provider

-10 -19

Analysis

It is clear that the members from the leadership team completing

the survey came up with some interesting conclusions. Keeping in

mind that the x’s in the survey is how the respondents perceived

their church, while the O’s represent the type of church they

believe people in the community would most likely attend. Based

on the Divergence Scale, here are the conclusions:

General Mood: Church members (x) and people in the community (o)

are both culturally connected.

Worship Planning: Church members (x) and people in the community

(o) are both culturally disconnected.

Use of Technology: Church members (x) feel connected, but people in

the community (o) would be culturally disconnected.

Music Style: Church members (x) and people in the community (o) are

both culturally connected.

Preaching Focus: Church members (x) are connected but people in the

community (o) may feel culturally disconnected.

Response to Invitation: Church members (x) and people in the

community (o) are both culturally connected.

Formality: Church members (x) and people in the community (o) are

both culturally connected.

Use of Arts/Drama: Church members (x) are connected but people in

the community (o) may feel culturally disconnected.

Visitors Recognized Publicly: Church members (x) and people in the

community (o) are both culturally connected.

Church as Community Activist: Church members (x) and people in the

community (o) are both culturally connected.

Church as Service Provider: Church members (x) and people in the

community (o) are both culturally connected.

History of the church

Bible way Baptist Church was constituted twenty years ago in

the living room of its late pastor, Dr. Ronald Vail. It started

with ten people and grew steadily for a decade. The church moved

from the St. Louis suburbs of Webster Grove to its current

location in University City, Missouri in 1996. Following the

death of its founding pastor, Dr. Ronald Vail in 2004, the church

experienced a split. More than half of the members left the

church, while half of those who remained stayed home most Sundays

and did not give or send their tithes and offerings to the

church. The church eventually dwindled down to about ten people

who attended Sunday morning service regularly.

During its biannual meeting in the fall of 2004, the church

members considered a motion to disband the church and turn over

all properties to the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association.

However, a few of the members encouraged the others to hold on

and not give up on the work of the ministry and the church.

Needless to say, this was a low point in the life of the

church. With less than a dozen people actively involved in the

life and ministry of the church, a drastic change had to take

place to make this church, the “great commission” church that God

intended for it to become. During this time period there was no

evangelistic outreach to the University City community taking

place. In addition to this, the church had lost its joy and

passion for reaching the lost, unchurched and the uninvolved. To

most of the members who had left, Bible Way Baptist Church was

already dead, but they just had not had the “funeral service”.

The leadership knew that they needed to make some bold decisions.

The first was to begin to fast and pray. The second was to

appoint a pulpit committee. While these two steps were pivotal

to the church stabilizing the ‘bleeding’ it was still not enough

to help the church deal with the problem of evangelism and church

growth.

Bible Way Church has struggled over the years with its

evangelism and outreach ministry. This is quite evident after

the church moved to its current location. For example, the

church focused in the late 1990’s on having one or two major

outreach efforts, during the year but not a sustained outreach

effort. One of the main reasons for this was the makeup of the

demographics within one mile of the church. In fact, 50% of those

living near the church were practicing authordox Jews. These

neighbors were not interested in coming into an evangelical

Christian church. Therefore, the leaders were not interested in

going out on evangelism outreach and did not participate in

evangelism training.

Consequently, the church experienced slow growth during the

mid to late 1990’s. This growth did not last long because there

was not an emphasis on connecting with new people in the

community as well as discipleship training. The church

eventually went through some conflicts and there was a split in

2000. After the split, the church experienced a slow decline in

its membership as well as its evangelism effort. In essence,

that was the mindset of the leadership of the church during that

time period. However, a change was needed and change eventually

happened.

Having served as the pastor of Bible Way Baptist Church for

the past seven and a half years, I have come to realize that our

community, our city, is changing before our eyes. The spiritual

needs of the University City community are many and varied. The

community is lost and this can be seen in every area and sector

of our city. Our schools have become the devil’s playground and

citizens do not feel safe in their homes or on the streets.

Therefore, there is renewed urgency for us as a church to share

Jesus with our community. He is our only hope for turning around

our community. With this in mind, I decided to ask three of our

members who had been members for the past fifteen years to answer

eleven questions about the church’s history and its openness to

people from different cultures. Here is a list of the eleven

questions:

1) When did you become a member of the Bible Way Baptist

Church?

2) What was the reason for becoming a member? What enticed you

to become a member?

3) Why do you think most people become a member of our church?

4) What has been a major change in the church over the past 5 –

10 years?

5) Do you believe that the church is welcoming to people from

different cultures?

6) Do you believe our church make an effort to reach out to

people of different cultures? Explain!

7) How many people have you met who live in the city of

University City?

8) What do you believe a person from another culture would

think/say if he/she visited our church?

9) Do you believe the leadership in our church is interested in

diversity in the church? How do you know?

10) Do you think most people within one mile of our church

know that we are here?

11) Have you ever invited someone from a different culture

to our church?

Member one made the following observations:

She was one of the founding members of the church back in 1992.

She became a member because of her relationship with the minister

as well as her friends who attended the church. She said that she

believe the population in the city has increased over the past

ten years. In response to question five, she believes our church

is friendly and does not judge people including those from other

cultures. She does not believe that our church make enough of an

effort to reach out to people from different cultures. However,

she indicated that she met at least ten or more people who live

in the city. She further states that a person from another

culture would feel comfortable in our church because it is a

welcoming community of faith. She also believes that the current

leadership in the church believes in more diversity, because she

has heard other members reference how the leadership invites

people from different cultures and ethnicity to visit our church.

What was interesting was this member’s response to question ten

in the survey. She stated that she still think that our church is

somewhat invisible to about half of the population within a mile

of the church because of its location. Finally she did recognize

that she has not invited anyone from a different culture to our

church.

Another member had different responses to these questions.

After becoming a member in 1995 due to being a member of a church

that had dissolved, she noticed the love of the members at Bible

Way church. A major change in the church over the past ten years,

have been the drastic reduction in the number of young people and

young adults. This began to happen when the former pastor was

diagonosed with cancer, eventually succoming to the disease in

2004. She believes that our church is a welcoming community. The

example she provided to support her response is an Anglo lady

(friend at work) who was unsaved, was invited to our church, came

and later became a member, and is actively involved in the life

of the church. Her response to question six was astounding. She

does not believe that our church make an effort to reach out to

people in the community and especially people from different

cultures. She believes that the main reason for this is that a

great majority of our members are much older, and younger people

feel inadequate to witness. She indicated that she has not met

anyone who lives in the city, and she also feels that if anyone

from another culture visited our church, they would feel lury and

out of place. In addition to this, she does not believe that the

leadership of our church is interested in increasing diversity

because they are comfortable with the status quo. She does not

believe most people within ten miles of the church believe it is

there.

The last interviewee became a member of the church in 1995.

At that time her parents were founding members and she wanted to

be a part of the same church that they were. She did indicate

that one major change that happened over the past ten years was

the split that occurred immediately after the pastor died, which

also resulted in the loss of over 50% of the young adults.

According to this member, the economy is the main thing that has

changed around the church. She does believe that there are less

stable businesses around the church, thus affecting the economy

of the whole area. She also noticed that there are more single

parents around the neighborhood. In addition to the changes, she

believes that we must begin to reach out to the Asian community.

She indicated that as a rule our members do not socialize with

people from other cultures, and that is probably the main reason

that w do not have more diversity in our church. For her the

bottom line is for us to get out of the pews, change our way of

thinking and go where the unsaved people are living, working and

playing.

However, before that change can occur, and before we can

develop a strategy to reach our city we must know the

demographics. To help us get a clear understanding of the

University City community let us first look at the history of the

city, followed by data collected in 2010.

HISTORY OF UNIVERSITY CITY/RESIDENTS INTERVIEW

The decade of the 1920's was University City’s period of most

rapid growth. This growth continued through the next three

decades reaching a peak population of 51,200 in 1960. The total

population has decreased since 1960. This is part of a national

trend toward smaller family size and is not the result of housing

vacancies or abandonment. University City currently has in excess

of 18,000 housing units, more than it had in 1960. Demand for

housing in University City remains very strong. University City

is a mature, inner-ring suburb of St. Louis. It covers

approximately six square miles and is surrounded by incorporated

communities, leaving no opportunities for expanding its

boundaries. The city has a population of thirty-five thousand

based on the 2010 US Census report. When compared to the

population data from the past two decades (1990 – 2009), it is

clear that the city experienced a decrease in population growth

overall. However, the city government of University City has

opened its door to a more ethnically diverse population. Our

church has made a decision to develop a plan to reach a more

diverse population moving into the University City community. It

is important to note that the University City Government set a

goal to encourage diversity and it is definitely working. The

City’s goal reads as followers:

A population representing a wide variety of ethnic groups, ages and incomes, with a

predominance of those who have the means, will and energy to provide the resources

required to insure the long-term vitality of University City.

University City, with its central location, wide selection of

housing types and prices, accessibility to universities, cultural

institutions and public transportation, hold an historic reputation

as a liberal community, with a variety of ethnic and economic

groups. This diversity has created a viable alternative to the

homogeneity of most St. Louis suburbs and tends to make University

City a lively, stimulating, and exciting place. The goal statement

supports this diversity with a frank acceptance of the reality of

community life: adequate financial and human resources are

necessary to sustain University City as a functional entity. (City of

University City Comprehensive Plan 1999).

While University City is a vibrant exciting progressive

community with a population of over 35,000, it still has problems,

it needs to deal with. This was made clear during my interview with

a few business owners, less than two miles from the church. My

first interview was with Damon who manages the Firestone Mechanic

Shop about 1000 feet from our church. Damon indicated that he had

been the manager at firestone for the past six years, and he has

noticed a spike in the types of crimes being committed in the city.

He stated that the subway sandwich shop was robbed just last week.

He also stated that just last month a young man was killed in the

parking lot of his business, and the crime has yet to be solved. I

must say that this was a shocking revelation, because I did not

know nor heard about it from any of our members. He did mentioned

that it would be a good idea for churches to hold community meeting

and bring people together from different areas of the city to

discuss crime issues as well as other problems affecting residents

in the city.

The other business personnel I spoke with was Pam, who was the

general manager of the local laundry mat. She shared with me a few

concerns that I had never heard before, and that was the problem of

teen crimes and the lack of a teen curfew in the University City

community. In addition to the teen crime problems, she stated that

she observed a young man snatching a client’s purse. She said that

because there are fewer police officers on the police force, crime

has escalated over the past few years. She also stated that late

last year on her street, there was a gang style shoot out and one

person was killed. She believes that the best way for the church to

impact the city is for the churches to be the light that God

intended for it to be. Another problem she noticed is the amount of

vacant building in her neighborhood. She believes that the city

must do more to rehab these buildings and sell them or lease them

to churches or other non-profit organizations that help the poor,

homeless and needy.

During the past two weeks, I spent over ten hours driving and

walking through the neighborhoods of University City. I discovered

that there were landmarks, parks, housing complexes, churches,

schools and businesses that I did not know existed. For example,

while I was canvassing the community, inviting residents to our

community block party, I came across a community park named in

honor of a long time educator of the city. I also notice that there

was an apartment complex less than two miles southwest of our

church. This apartment complex housed a number of African refugee

families. I had the opportunity to speak with them, invite them to

our block party and invited them and their children to our vacation

bible school and church services. In addition to these important

structures in the city, I was able to speak with a police officer

and a fireman who were rescuing some residents who were stranded in

a car that was partially submerged in rising flood waters after a

heavy downpour. They indicated that it was a difficult day in the

city for them and some residents whose homes had flooded. The

police officer did indicate that certain crimes were up in the

city.

With this information in mind, I decided that it was time to

look at more data to get a clearer understanding of the crime

statistics in the city. Below is a diagram showing the six regions

of the city.

Table 2.2: FBI University City Crime Data 2011 - 2013

JANUARY 2013LOCATION STREET HOMICIDE ARSON ASSAULT LARCENY MV THEFT BURGLARY ROBBERY6800 Vernon

Ave0 0 0 0 0 0 0

HOMICIDE ARSON ASSAULT LARCENY MV THEFT BURGLARY ROBBERYINCIDENTS:

31 0 1 0 11 7 9 3

JANUARY 2012HOMICIDE ARSON ASSAULT LARCENY MV THEFT BURGLARY ROBBERY6800 Vernon

Ave0 0 0 0 0 0 0

HOMICIDE ARSON ASSAULT LARCENY MV THEFT BURGLARY ROBBERYINCIDENTS: 23 0 11 3 8 1 0

JANUARY 2011LOCATION STREET HOMICIDE ARSON ASSAULT LARCENY MV THEFT BURGLARY ROBBERY6800 Vernon

Ave0 0 0 0 0 0 0

HOMICIDE ARSON ASSAULT LARCENY MV THEFT BURGLARY ROBBERYIncidents 15 1 7 3 3 1 0

Map 1: University City Map Regions

I selected the Northwest Region because this is where our

church is located. From the data collected by the FBI crime

reporting division, it is clear that incidents of crime are on

the rise. The tables show that the total incidents of crime for

the Northwest Region in 2011 was 15. However in just two years it

had doubled to more than 30. This is convincing evidence that we

have a crime problem in this area of our city. Therefore, we will

began communicating with the mayor office, police officers,

business leaders and residents regardless of their cultural or

political identification to began discussing these issues and

coming up with possible solutions.

Table 2.3: Total population University City per 2010 US Census.

Total Population **35,371 100.0Sex and Age Male 17,225 45.9Female 20,237 54.0Under 18 8,158 21.818 to 64 24,283 64.965 and over 4,987 13.3Median age (years) 35.4RACE

White 18,605 49.6Black 16,572 44.2American Indian 75 .2Asian 1,146 3Other 1,064 2.8Educational AttainmentPopulation 25 years and over 25,195Not high school graduate 3,173 12.5High school graduate 4,300 17.1Some college 5,378 21.3College graduate 11,348 48.9Employment Status

Population 16 years and over 30,031 100In labor force 20,134 67

Civilian labor force 20,121 67o Employed 19,257 64.1o Unemployed 864 2.9

Percent of civilian labor force 4.3 (x) Armed forces 13 0Not in labor force 9,897 33Construction, extraction, and maintenance occupations 611 3.2Production, transportation, and material moving occupations

1,572 8.2

IncomeHouseholds 16,448 100Less than $10,000 1,741 10.6$10,000 to $14,000 1,094 6.7$15,000 to $24,999 2,285 13.9$25,000 to $34,999 1,961 11.9$35,000 to $49,999 2,561 15.6$50,000 to $74,999 2,812 17.1$75,000 to $99,000 1,474 9$100,000 to $149,999 1,308 8$150,000 to $199,999 570 3.5$200,000 or more 642 3.9Median household income (dollars) 40,902 (X)PovertyIndividuals 5,414 14.7Under 18 1,54518 thru 64 3,28365 and older 586Families 868 9.5Families with female householder, no husband present 573 20.9Housing TenureOccupied housing units 16,487 94.2Owner-occupied housing units 9,534 57.8Renter-occupied housing units 6,953 42.1Vacant 1,014 5.7Owner Housing Value and Median RentMedian Value $104,800

My outreach plan calls for the creation of four zones. These

zones will cover four areas all within two miles from the church.

These areas will include the four geographical regions of the

city: north, south, east, and west. I decided to use the

University City redevelopment zone maps that was developed by

the comprehensive plan committee ten years ago.

Map 2: Bible Way Baptist Church, University City

Zone 1

This zone is in the northwest part of the city. Its citizens are

usually single parents who are in their thirties and forties.

They have indicated an interest in church, but very often their

children are involved in sports and recreational activities, and

This map showed areas of growth/redevelopment about a quarterof a mile away from the church.

they do not have time to attend church at this time in their

lives. This region also includes a number of Jewish families.

Map 3: Bible Way Baptist Church , University City Zone 2

This zone is in the southern part of the city. The citizens

who reside here are usually retirees, and upper income and middle

class families. About half of the citizens living here are

This map shows areas of possible redevelopment about one tenth of a mile from the church.

Orthodox Jews. They are extremely private, and will not even sit

and talk with any Protestant about their faith. A majority of the

remaining half of the citizens in this zone attend church in the

St. Louis city area. However, there are new transplants moving

into this area and they seem open to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Several Hispanic residents have purchased homes in this region of

the city. They have indicated an interest in becoming part of a

church, but they struggle with the language.

Map 4: Bible Way Baptist Church U City Zone No.

3

As we interpret the different maps, it is clear that the city is

preparing for the growth of minority groups in the University

City main areas. Most of the growth of minority groups for the

city has occurred among the African-American and Asian

communities. This is very clear as you study the table below.

Table 2.4 African-American Population Percentage, 1970, 1980, 1990

Area% AA1970

% AA1980

% AA1990

% AA1998

North of Olive Blvd to City Limits

38.7% 75.7% 81.8% 89.0%

This map provides an outline for the community

immediately around the church.

Between Delmar Blvd & Olive Blvd

12.4% 30.2% 41.2% 47.0%

South of DelmarBlvd to City Limits

1.5% 3.2% 11.3% 6.5%

Citywide 20.0% 43.0% 48.0% 50.7%

According to the Table, the African-American population increased

from 38.7% in 1970 to 89% in 1998 in the northern part of the

city, and 50% overall citywide.

Table 2.5: African-American student population U City School System

School Year Percent African-American

1967-68* 16%1970-71 42%1975-76 67%1980-81 74%1981-82 76%1982-83 77%1983-84 78%1984-85 80%1985-86 78%1986-87 78%

This table shows dramatic increases in the migration of

African-Americans into the University City school system over the

past thirty-five years. This is a great opportunity for our

church to begin to target families with school age children with

the gospel message. If we carefully craft our message towards

meeting the needs of each school age child, then we will see God

move in a mighty way to transform these young lives. While there

is an increase in the number of African American students in the

University school system, the same is not so for the Asian

community.

Consequently, the need to address the lack of an outreach

program at the Bible Way Baptist Church is critical to the

success of the church and the ministry. It is important for the

pastor to focus on the center piece of the mission of the church.

The mission for any church is to evangelize the lost, and equip

new converts to serve. What makes this mandate so challenging is

the reluctance of church members to participate in the great

commission of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

For leaders in black churches carrying out the mandate

across cultural barriers has been difficult. Francis Dubose

states that the black church was created originally out of a

survival motivation when blacks were treated as second-class

Christians in predominately white churches. (Dubose, p. 124)

Blacks see themselves as the main vehicle to spread the Gospel in

words and deeds to black people in the community. Because of

what the white culture has created, it has made it extremely

difficult for the black church to evangelize and address the

needs of non-blacks, particularly Hispanics and Asian Americans

(Dubose, p. 125)

This realization makes it difficult to reach not only the

majority white culture, but also the Hispanic and Asian cultures.

This obviously does not line up with what Jesus intended when He

gave us the great commission for His church to reach the world.

The purpose of the church is to help as many people as possible

find a relationship with God through Jesus. That is the laser

beam focus of the gospel; reach people who do not look like us

and introduce them to Jesus Christ.

Cultural Exegesis based on community input.

One of the main reasons that I enjoyed going out into the

community is because it allowed me to meet people from different

cultural and socio-economic walks of life. It was refreshing to

speak with city residents who were unsaved or not attending

churches on a regular basis. They provided the following data in

their responses to the community and cultural exegesis worksheet.

Table 4.1. Bible Way Baptist Leadership Contextual Exegesis Worksheet Data

Categories Residents Os numbers

General Mood 5

Worship Planning 7

Use of Technology -4

Music Style -1

Preaching Focus 8

Response to Invitation

-4

Formality 0

Use of Arts/Drama 5

Visitors Recognized 4

Publicly

Church as a Community Activist

-8

Church as Service Provider

0

The analysis of the data shows that residents of University

City are interested in church worship services that are somewhat

solemn and well planned. However, they do not want a lot of

technology in the worship service. They will enjoy a mixture of

traditional as well as contemporary music in the worship service.

During the preaching part of worship, they prefer messages that

are relevance and applicable to their lives and their culture.

They prefer that the invitation to discipleship be private and

the service more liturgical. Using a variety of arts/drama might

feel out of place for some residents in the University City

community. They also prefer that visitors are given a choice as

to the way they want to be recognized during the worship service.

Finally, they all agreed that the church must become more

involved in the community to help solve social problems.

IMPLEMENTATION

With this new data from residents, we are now ready to come up

with a strategy to reach every resident in the University City

community. While, many of our members may get a bit nervous when

reaching out to people from different cultures, they must begin

by following the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus lived out and

practiced what he preached. We must begin to live the gospel in

front of our Hispanic, Asian and Anglo brothers and sisters. We

have the “good news,” and now it is time to share it. The Holman

Bible Dictionary says evangelism is derived from the Greek word

for “gospel” or “good news.” The verb form means “to announce

good news.” When a person evangelizes, he or she is sharing a

message of good news. (Zimmerman, p.63)

When Jesus says, “Be my witness in Judea, Samaria, and

unto the utmost parts of the earth”, He is saying that this must

start at the top with the leadership and then proceed to the

pews. The gospel must be proclaimed from the pulpit and enacted

by those in the pew. It is both a spiritual experience and a

physical challenge, because the mandate says for us to “go and

make disciples”. The challenge for every pastor is to present

biblical evangelism as a mandate, “go”, rather than “stay” and

sit. As the pastor shares this mandate with his leadership team

and members in the pew, he must remind upon them that evangelism

is about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Thabitic M.

Anyabwile states that evangelism does not depend on eloquence,

using the correct mood lighting, emotionally sappy stories and

songs, or high pressure sales pitches. We are free to simply and

deeply trust God and the power of the gospel to produce the fruit

he desires. (Romans1:17) We realize that while we are

ambassadors for Christ, pleading with men to be reconciled to

God, it is God Himself who makes the plea through us, His fellow

workers (I Corinthians 3:9; II Corinthians 5:20) and His spirit

who guarantees that His word will not return void. (Anyabwile,

p. 58)

Bible Way Baptist Church is at a turning point in its twenty

years of existence. We must make a change in how we carry out the

work of evangelism for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. To

that end, I have set up an evangelism/outreach team. This team

will be responsible for focusing on the four outreach zones

around the church. These zones will cover one mile outward from

the church moving north, south, east and west.

Consequently, this team will work with various businesses to

address the growing crime problems in the city. We will also

invite business owners and managers to community round table

which will be held at the church. We will celebrate special

cultural days for the Hispanic, Asian and African cultures. We

will send out invitations to community leaders as well as

residents to share in these events. Our church will also sponsor

ESL classes for those whose native language is not English. We

will work with the school district to identify students and other

family members who can be helped by taking this class. Our

evangelism/outreach team will also work with our music ministry

team to coordinate concerts and music events in the park where

any resident can attend. We will bring in local choirs and

singers across the cultural spectrum.

While these are some bold plans to better help our church

engage our culture, it is going to cost the church some extra

money. We will request donations from our church family as well

as friends of our church. Additionally, we will ask musicians and

singers to donate their time in this effort to reach as many of

our residents as possible. Our goal is to reach at least ten new

families from different cultures within the next year. We believe

base on the changing demographics in our city, this is possible.

Bibliography

Anyabwile, Thabiti. What is a Healthy Church Member. Wheaton: Crossway

Press. 2008.

Coleman, Robert. The Master Plan of Evangelism: Grand Rapids: Fleming

H. Revell. 1993

Malphurs, Aubrey. A New Kind of Church: Grand Rapids: Baker Books:

2007

City of University City Comprehensive Plans, 1999