MentAC - Mentoring Across Cultures - is a two year CMS programme offering training in the context of cross-cultural relationships here in Melbourne.

“ ...understand even if we don’t always agree ...”MentAC starts with ministry, real relationships in real contexts. It can begin with smiling and saying ‘hullo’ to someone, swapping phone numbers and agreeing to meet up again. We learn to respect others and their values, to understand even if we don’t always agree: and to talk the God-talk, and live out the God-walk with them.

Each MentAC trainee meets regularly with a mentor, to think about their ministry, to learn about training or resources that could be useful, and to reflect on their own walk with God.

“ ... shared fellowship, encouragement and prayer ...”Trainees and mentors also meet regularly for a meal together. Whether weekly or monthly, it’s a time for shared fellowship, encouragement and prayer.

One trainee wrote: “MentAC has helped me pray more intentionally for the Islamic world. I feel encouraged by our meetings and spurred on to keep learning how to articulate my faith and take opportunities to speak about God.”

Find out more by emailingmentac.vic@cms.org.au

BranchMatters

September 2014Vol 8 No 8

Cross-Cultural Mission Begins Here

CMS VICTORIA630 MITCHAM RDMITCHAM, 3132

03 9894 4722PO Box 2150

RANGEVIEW, 3132vic@cms.org.au

cms.org.au/vic

Cross-Cultural Mission Begins Here

People

Editorial

What Cultural Understanding Really

Means

Helping Out

The Young Adults’ Winter Dinner

Diary

Victoria

S

VV

MulticulturalMelbourne

Mission

Of Melbourne’s 4 million inhabitants today, 30% speak a language other than English at home; 24% come

from a country where English is not their first language; and, while Christianity is nominally by far the dominant religion, more and more people follow Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism.

God has brought the nations here. Mission from everywhere to everywhere has never been more real. But we encounter each other from very different worlds.

Susan chatted to a young Pakistani woman with her toddler in the local playground. She found out that Fauziya lived nearby, so went over to invite her and her family to come to her house for a meal. Her husband answered the door. Susan could see Fauziya in the kitchen. The husband thanked her for the invitation - but she wasn’t invited in, and the family didn’t come to visit. Susan was bewildered.

People’s behaviour comes from underlying values - about gender and modesty, family and loyalty, shame and honour. Values come from beliefs - about the nature of people, God, and other forces that affect our lives.

How can people here engage with the very different worldview of their cross-cultural neighbours?

image from Sheng Han, Flickr.comimage from Sheng Han, Flickr.com

By InvitationEditorial

Revd Wei-Han Kuan is CMS Victoria’s State Director.

He leads the staff team, recruits new missionaries and is keen to encourage Gospel-shaped mission wherever he can.

People

Come over to Macedonia and help us. After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once

to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them.Acts 16:9-10

Here in the CMS Victoria staff team, we have finished reading through Acts as part of our weekly team meetings. What a great book, full of wonderful truths for missionary endeavour!

The vision of the man from Macedonia is often seen as God intervening in a direct way, redirecting Paul and his missionary team away from Asia and towards Macedonia. However, it’s striking that the vision is of a Macedonian appealing for help, not of an archangel commanding Paul to go in a certain direction. It is an invitation to come, not a direction to go.

“... an invitation to come, not a direction to go ...”As I speak with potential missionary candidates, I always tell them about the distinctive way in which CMS does mission. One of these is that CMS missionaries always go on the invitation of a local partner. Our missionaries work under the authority and oversight of local Christian partners. We don’t send out lone rangers who do ‘their own thing’ in another country.

“... missionaries work under the authority and oversight of local Christian partners ...”Another thing that I always say, half-jokingly, is that CMS has been around a long time – since 1799 in fact. We’ve probably made every mistake in missiological practice over that time, and we’ve hopefully learnt from them.

We’re now much more sensitive to the dangers of imposing our culture along with the Gospel. Going to a place by invitation and then working under the authority of local partners means that we’re much less likely to entertain imperialist or colonialist or supremacist notions that ‘we’ve got the Gospel sorted, and we’re going to teach you how to be good disciples of Christ’.

The history of CMS in East Africa, for example, is celebrated for many good reasons. But it’s always struck me as a little odd that the Anglican church in Africa is filled with clergy who are invariably heavily robed-up in the hot weather, and bishops whose authority is often unquestioned.

“ ... more sensitive to aspects of local culture ...”What did our CMS missionaries transplant to Africa along with the Gospel? Could we have been more sensitive to aspects of local culture? Could a more appropriately African form of Christianity have been allowed to develop if we had done things differently, and more by invitation?

Today CMS works extremely hard to establish clear partnerships between each of our missionaries and local leaders who invite us to share in their Gospel ministry. Our workers may have more theological education, qualifications or ministry experience, but we go on the invitation of local Christians who are saying, ‘Come over and help us’. We go with humility and a readiness to serve under local authority.

“... go with humility and a readiness to serve under local authority ...”I wonder if you serve in that way in your local church or community? Let’s keep praying that we each will, to bring greater glory to the Lord Jesus who came not to rule, but to serve.

Laura is an active member of St Jude’s Church, Carlton, where she has also been training in children’s and families ministry. She is about to take her skills to South Asia for three months.

“I grew up in a family that taught me about Jesus. I was always interested in other countries and my kids’ church supported a missionary in Russia. I remember being fascinated with the idea of kids in another country learning about Jesus just like I was.”

Now Laura has the opportunity to see firsthand how kids in another country learn about Jesus. She will be a teacher’s assistant at a small expat Primary School, where there is just one full time teacher.

Her wide experience through her traineeship in children’s and families’ ministry, as well as previous work as an integration aide and behavioural therapist with children on the autism spectrum, is likely to prove invaluable.

“I am excited to see what God wants to teach me, doing fairly familiar work in an unfamiliar context. For many of the students English is their second language and so I expect to learn a lot in this area.”

Helping out

Congratulations to Anna and Stephane Hinkeesing, who proudly welcomed Abigail Clare into the world on Saturday 12 July.

Anna is currently on maternity leave from her role in mission development for CMS Victoria.

It’s a Girl!

Food and PrioritiesMission

What Cultural Understanding Really Means

The annual Young Adult Winter Dinner was held at St Silas’ church in North Balwyn in July and was a wonderful time of fellowship.

More than 60 young adults gathered over excellent Indian cuisine and heard from Peter Blowes and new missionaries L and J. The focus of the evening was on understanding the impact our priorities have on short and long term decisions.

This brought the challenge to put God as number one and expect this to shape our lives in a significantly different way from our non-Christian peers. Peter and his wife Terry served for 19 years in Argentina, and plan to return in 2015 after a ten year spell in the CMS Federal office.

“... shape our lives in a significantly different way ...”Sam Creek commented “I was reminded whom I serve, so that I am always thinking, whether at work, home or church, that it’s God I’m serving. I was encouraged in this way to see my whole life as mission”

L. and J., missionaries preparing to serve in East Asia, shared the life events that shaped their decision to serve God overseas.

J. spoke with conviction of God’s grace in bringing us opportunities to share the gospel in His perfect time, and the necessity of trusting Him to use our words to bring people to himself.

We look forward to supporting both L. and J., and Peter and Terry Blowes as they go and make disciples of all nations.

Thanks to Iain Payne for organising and hosting this event!

Young Adults

M. and L. serve in one of our near-neighbouring countries, where M. lectures at a theological seminary and L. teaches at a state university. Recently she spoke at a conference on the true nature of cross-cultural understanding. She writes:

Society here greatly values harmonious relationships. While this may seem admirable at first

glance, it can actually become a barrier to sharing the gospel.

Many locals preserve harmony by avoiding areas of difference, especially religion. There is often a reluctance to discuss one’s faith or differences between faiths. Being mindful of this context, I was delighted to be asked to speak at a conference on tolerance and cross-cultural communication. What a great opportunity to break down some barriers and stereotypes that hinder people considering the good news.

“... an awareness of one’s own cultural blinkers ...”

I discussed the nature of culture, and examined how tolerance is misunderstood (for example, tolerance is not agreement, nor is it avoidance). I then built a positive model for tolerant cross-cultural communication, focussing on: an awareness of one’s own cultural blinkers; a willingness to learn, change, and grow; humility; and a boldness to explore new ideas.

These characteristics echo the disposition a person needs to come to faith in Christ - an awareness of their sin, a knowledge of salvation through Jesus, repentance, and a new commitment to Him.

“... true cultural understanding ... can only really come from a right heart attitude ...”

I concluded by saying that true cultural understanding and tolerance can only really come from a right heart attitude, an attitude that puts other people before ourselves.

I suggested that such an attitude is reflected in a passage about what love is, and I quoted 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, [ ...]It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

I did not say where the quote had come from, preferring to let the audience think about it and react to it without prejudice.

“... the quote ... prompted a great deal of discussion ...”What I said, and the quote in particular, prompted a great deal of discussion. When people expressed interest, I told them where the quote comes from. A colleague became very thoughtful and said “that’s interesting; someone wrote that on one of our wedding cards.”

Student A expressed surprise and said “wow, I really need to read your Holy Book!” After a further long chat with her and another student, she has taken a copy of the gospel of Luke especially produced for other faith believers.

“... ready to seize opportunities as they arise ...”Opportunities to share the gospel come in all shapes and sizes. My role as a Christian here is to be ready to seize those opportunities as they arise. This can be in class, in conversation, through Facebook, or at a conference!

And as I play my part of planting seeds, pray with me that God will grow those seeds to bear the fruit of repentance and new life in Christ.

To support this work, in prayer and/or finance, please contact the CMS office on 9894 4722, or email vic@cms.org.au.

The Young Adult Winter Dinner 2014, described by Rachel Jaraba, one of CMS Victoria’s interns.

Missionary Care FellowshipAt Holy Trinity Church, 106 Church Road (corner Doncaster Road), Doncaster.

Wednesday 10 September, P. will be sharing on his training of preachers throughout South Asia.

Come at 10 am for morning tea before the meeting.

Contact: Maurelle Thompson 9850 6850.

Diary

Giving Electronically

To support CMS financially is easy.There are three options:

Direct Credit: Westpac BSB 033-112 Account 280677Put the name of the fund or missionary in the transaction description field. This is the favoured option - it costs nothing to process, so all your dollars go to support CMS!

Direct Debit: Go to www.cms.org.au/vic/give/directdebit, download the form, complete and send it to the office.

Credit Card: go to give.cms.org.au and follow the prompts. We pay a fee on each transaction with this option.

Prayer for the world of a different faithSt Andrew’s Hall, 190 The Avenue, ParkvilleFirst Friday of the month with staff and residents.6pm pot luck dinner for 7-9.30pm prayer.

Send an sms to 0488 101 470 if you’re coming.

The annual Spring Dinner is a great time of food and fellowship. This year we shall hear CMS workers John and Jill Morshead and others share their stories. Get eight friends together, book a table and enjoy a three-course buffet meal.

Book now and come to One Community Church, 184 Surrey Road, Blackburn at 7pm on Saturday 13 September for this annual event.Only $35 per head or $250 for a table of eight.

Visit cms.org.au/springdinner to reserve your space - be quick, bookings close Tuesday 9 September!

Summer Under The Son 2015Start planning now to begin next year at Summer Under The Son. Set aside January 12 - 15 to be refreshed by God’s Word and encouraged by what God is doing through CMS.

Bible studies in 2 Corinthians will be led by Dr Rikk Watts, Professor of New Testament studies at Regent College, Vancouver. Our keynote speaker will be Dr John Azumah, Associate Professor at Columbia Theological Seminary, Georgia, USA who will speak on Christian mission to another faith.

Steve and Jenny Sonneman (Pakistan) and Inpa and Vana Eliezer (Cambodia) will share news of their ministries. L. and J. (East Asia) will describe their call to ministry amongst international students.

Youth Camp is at CYC, Phillip Island starting Saturday January 10, ending on Thursday 15.

Car needed during Home Assignment 2015

Inpa and Vana Eliezer will arrive in Australia for Home Assignment on 8 December. They will need a car for about seven months until June 2015. Can you help? If so, please call Annette in the CMS office on 9894 4722.

1MPG (First Monday Prayer Group)

Prayer for God’s worldwide mission at 630 Mitcham Road, Mitcham.

Monday 1 September, BYO lunch at 12.30pm and then we pray for the hour 1-2pm. All welcome.

Contact: Hugh Prentice 9014 0968.