Don’t Pursue Multi-ethnic or Multicultural Ministry Without Asking These Questions: Part 6

It's time to wrap up this series on key questions involved when contemplating multicultural ministry, so the next two postings will finish the most critical questions...though, I'm certain I'll continue to grow my list.  Do you out there have any suggestions?

Here are the prior questions with their links:  

Part 1 - "What is our church’s track record with Otherness in our community?"  

Part 2 - "Do we see those with different languages, cultures and beliefs as a threat to cohesiveness in our community?" 

Part 3 - "How does God want us to relate to Others in our neighborhood?"

Part 4 - "If mission among our Neighbors is biblical (and not just recently biblical with the sudden interest in ‘missional’ ministry), why are we not already in relationship with Others in our midst?"
Part 5 - "What in our church life and practice has prevented us from living in relationship with Others in our community?" and  "What would such scrutiny entail for a congregation contemplating a move toward multicultural ministry?"

Here are the questions for Part 6:

>Can we presume to be ready for a multicultural ministry when we have only had homogeneous church experiences?

Imagining a multicultural trajectory, or harboring dissatisfaction with monocultural churches, does not mean that we are prepared for the challenges and skills necessary for multicultural ministry.  Where we are determines what we see.  This is consistent literally, for where we actually live shapes our conception and opinion of where and how others live.  Likewise, our ethnicity, upbringing, traditions, education, politics, experiences and exposures all contribute to what we see (and don’t see).  We are a product of what we have known…even if we are in contention with that paradigm.  Therefore, we cannot presume to be ready to lead in multicultural ministry just because we desire it. 

>What is the outcome we envision for ministry among diverse peoples in our community?

Any effective endeavor must begin with a clear vision of the outcome.  If one’s understanding of the outcome is incomplete, the processes one employs to reach the outcome will be equally incomplete.  Therefore, the question, “What will it take for us to reach ­­­­so-n-so people in our community?” usually means an outcome vision based upon a pre-determined, homogeneous church planting model.  However, our communities in the USA are exponentially multicultural, as well as socially and spiritually complex.  Thus, a mature missional vision asks, “How does God desire that his kingdom flourish here, right now?”  Instead of us presuming that it is our calling to ‘reach’ ______ people, we are recognizing that God’s kingdom narrative for a particular time and context involves a multitude of considerations, actors, and roles, many of which we are unaware (and which may not even include us!).  If we are truly seeking to be who God calls us to be in space and time, then we will be seeking to understand the story he is writing in a given context.