GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT ADDRESSES LEADER’S EDGE RETREAT

When twenty-one ethnic ministry leaders met from October 31 to November 1 in Kansas City, Dr. J. K. Warrick met with them for more than three hours in a dialogical setting of listening, encouraging, and challenging. Admitting the burgeoning growth of ethnic ministries in the Church of the Nazarene in the past ten years, Warrick stated, “The gospel is an incredible message that meets us where we are but never leaves us where we are. We live in a world in which cultural indifferences may be paramount, but the gospel is the great equalizer.” The group, which represents the future in ethnic ministry leadership in the denomination, was encouraged to hear that “we can rekindle the passion to reach all people without neglecting our responsibility around the world.”

The retreat is part of a continued strategy to recruit, develop, empower, and deploy leaders who would live out a passion to reach all people where they are with the gospel. With significant growth in recent years being among the immigrant groups, Dr. Tom Nees, director of US/Canada Mission Evangelism Department, warned the church’s approach to ethnic ministry should never be, “Join us so we can be hailed as a denomination of diversity.” Instead, our motivation should be an “invitation of partnership to carry the holiness message to all people groups.”

Consultant for the retreat was Dr. Russell Begaye, retired director of Multicultural Ministries with the North American Missions Board. Begaye said, “The church needs to have the same wisdom as businesses in addressing these important groups. Just like successful businesses, we need to research the demographics, lifestyles and interests of the groups we want to reach.” Begaye related that the challenge for the church today is to:

• learn to ask the right questions;
• anticipate change and track emerging trends;
• develop programs tailored to each ethnic group; and
• consult with and equip ethnic leadership

“The future for ministry among people groups is a challenge and an opportunity,” reported Oliver Phillips, director for Mission Strategy US/Canada, and sponsor of the event. “To ignore constantly changing demographics is to misread what God is doing in our urban centers of the country. God is internationalizing our cities. Our vision for the future church must include a radical strategy to recruit, equip, and empower leaders from the various people groups.”

Hispanic congregations are growing exponentially, with more than 400 congregations; 145 congregations serve Black communities; 75 congregations provide ministry for Haitian immigrants; 58 Korean congregations minister to Korean communities; and 45 congregations provide ministry opportunities among the Native Indian communities. In all, the Mission Strategy office has developed 21 Strategic Readiness Teams to provide strategies for reaching specific people groups with the holiness message.