As a result of the ministry of Rosedale Network Overseer and Immigrant Church Growth Consultant Yemiru Mintesenot, a growing number of Ethiopian immigrant churches are seeking affiliation with Rosedale Network of Churches. Add to that our Spanish-speaking churches in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, New York, Ohio, and California, a Nepali church in Ohio, and a predominantly Kenyan church plant in Texas, and you’ll find that over 10% of Rosedale Network’s congregations are “other culture.”
We can do more with others than we can alone.
In a recent meeting with several leaders from Rosedale Network’s agencies, and then again at the most recent Executive Board meeting, we discussed our growing connection with immigrant churches and the need for a clear vision for what we are doing and why we are doing it. There are many good reasons why we should embrace churches from other cultures and welcome them into the Rosedale Network family:
- We care about the stranger and the foreigner. It gives us an opportunity to exemplify the love of Christ for all people. Immigrant congregations often feel isolated. By welcoming them into Rosedale Network, we can provide a sense of belonging and affirmation that they are part of a larger spiritual family.
- We can learn much about being on mission and living fully surrendered to God from our immigrant brothers and sisters.
- We can do more with others than we can alone. We can learn and benefit from the creativity, resilience, and spiritual giftedness of those from other cultures.
- We can offer theological stability, structure, and accountability for church leaders who are finding their way in a new culture.
- It fits our mission of maturing and multiply churches locally and globally, and our vision of being a global family of Anabaptists.
- It complements Rosedale International’s work of going to unreached people groups by investing missional energy into immigrant churches who are reaching people groups that are coming to the U.S.
- It gives us an opportunity to exemplify in at least a small way the body of Christ from every nation, tribe, and tongue.
If I were to sum up the reasons why we should embrace churches from other cultures and welcome them into the Rosedale Network family, it would simply be that we are better together. It’s a biblical concept:
“Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecc. 4:9-12 NIV).
If it is true that “better together” applies to congregations and not just individuals (and I believe it is), what can we do to foster a sense of togetherness with immigrant churches who are joining us? One Rosedale Network pastor suggested we implement a sister church plan where each church coming into Rosedale Network (immigrant or not) would be paired with an existing church in a sister church relationship. Perhaps we could call it the Better Together initiative.
We don’t have plans to implement a formal or required sister church program, but we would be very interested to know if your church would like to be included on a list of churches who could potentially be matched with an incoming church for the purpose of mutual encouragement and support. This could simply mean praying regularly for each other, or it could also include things like keeping each other informed about special events in the life of the church, and maybe even visiting each other occasionally. Let me know at brian@rosedalenetwork.org if you’re interested in exploring what it might look like for your church to be a sister church to one of our incoming churches.
Photo credit: Darren Peachey, RNOC pastor
