Part One: An Overview of Multicultural Team Development
Up until my lifetime (1949), missionaries came from the Western world (Europe and America) and labored in the Eastern World (everyplace else). After the second World War, the globe began to quickly de-colonize. Half of the world changed from European colony to independent state. Western missionaries could no longer minister with paternalism among a colonial people. Whether by necessity or strategy, we of the West have learned that missions must involve local churches and church leaders in the holy task of evangelism. Proclaiming the Gospel is a requirement of all Christians no matter their country of origin. Missionaries from the West are now learning to develop multicultural teams to spread the Gospel to the ends of the world.
This idea of a multicultural team is not new. The Apostle Paul wrote of his multicultural team approach as he addressed the Philippians: "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel (Phil 1:3-5)" Paul was in partnership with his team members in Philippi.
Two books provided me with extensive information about developing multicultural teams. One book was Partnering in Ministry1 by Luis Bush and Lorry Luty . This book emphasized the absolute necessary for Western missionaries to partner with local Christians to develop truly effective means of pursuing the Great Commission. The book provides a history of multicultural missions and speaks to "crucified nationalism", "the daughter becoming a friend", and discusses various partnerships with national churches and national ministries.
Partnering in Ministry lists several ingredients for success when developing a multicultural team:
1. Team Members agree on doctrine and ethical behavior.
2. Team Members share a common goal.
3. Team Members must develop an attitude of equality.
4. Team Members avoid dominance of one over the other.
5. Team Members require open communication.
6. Team Members demonstrate trust and accountability.
7. Team Members must have clear financial policies.
8. Team Members demand the sharing of complementary gifts.
9 Team Members demand sacrificial commitment.
10. Team Members pray for one another.
A second book, Building Credible Multicultural Teams by Lianne Roembke, points out how multicultural team building must be a deliberate effort. Healthy multicultural teams do not happen by accident. This excellent book contains methods and strategies for building multicultural teams and is filled with significant data, relevant insights, and practical ways to help multicultural teams work well. The theological and anthropological underpinnings of the book lay a foundation for the practical discussion and guidelines for multicultural team life. The book contains sample questionnaires and working agreements to use in building a multicultural team.
Using these resources, I am beginning to understand how critical it is for Christians in the sending country to work together with Christians in the receiving country. We must seek out partnerships. We must develop successful multicultural teams.
Part Two: Developing our own Multicultural Team
For the past two summers, my wife Kim and I have traveled to East Africa as one-month missionaries. We have been blessed to preach and teach in Uganda, Congo and Rwanda. Our mission has been a part of a larger Korean missionary effort called "Christian Life World Mission Frontiers" (CLWMF). This band of Korean missionaries is based in San Jose, but has supporters and participants from all parts of the USA and in Korea as well. With God's help, the two of us plan to return to Rwanda as far into the future as we are financially and physically able.
Rwanda is a hurting country that is finally on the mend. For fifty years there was tribal fighting between the Hutu and Tutsi people. This fighting culminated in the Rwanda genocide of 1994 in which about one million people were murdered and another million displaced. All this happened in a compact country not much larger than the six Bay Area counties. Much of this killing took place in local churches. Because of this recent trauma, Protestant churches in Rwanda are in disarray. Many righteous pastors were murdered protecting their flock. Baptist missionaries left the country during the genocide, never to return. Today there is no "official" IMB presence in Rwanda.
Christian Life has been in Rwanda since 1995, growing slowly every year. We have organized local pastor committees in all eleven prefectures. Our proclamation of the Gospel is our most important task, but nearly as important has been our ability to draw the myriad of local denominational pastors into the planning and supporting of crusades and workshops. Kim and I want to continue in this tradition of tribal reconciliation and denominational cooperation. To facilitate our long range plan of yearly visits, we are forming our own non-profit organization to focus our personal efforts on the university town of Butane, Rwanda. We will call our non-profit "Rwanda Association of Christian Educators" (RACE). My background is in higher education and Kim is a college professor, so spearheading a group like this is a natural for us. We hope to gather enough resources to hold a yearly (or bi-yearly) convention at the Rwanda University in Butare. We have two overarching goals: (1) to prepare Rwanda nationals for the task of Christian education, both child and adult education. (2) to create culturally appropriate teaching material for Christian educators in the Rwandan language.
We are in the process of developing a multicultural team to meet this challenge. The several books that I have read in preparation of this report have provided insight into building this team. These are five points that I am keeping in mind as I begin to turn RACE from an idea to a reality:
1. RACE will be an East/West partnership from the beginning.
The whole idea of "multicultural team development" involves partnership. Our partners in the East (Rwanda) do the best that they can do in the things that they to best. We in the West (USA) do likewise. Partnership means accepting and embracing equal authority and responsibility. Teamwork means working together in a coordinated manner toward a common goal.
2. RACE will arrive at a common East/West vision of Christian education in Rwanda.
Before we establish a working partnership with the goal of fostering Christian education in Rwanda, we must all meet together to reach a common vision. It is so important to set forth a simple understandable goal that all participants can buy into. This should not be my vision, but our vision.
3. RACE will fully cooperate with other Great Commission organizations.
We understand that we are not alone in our effort to spread the gospel across Africa and specifically Rwanda. We can help other groups to evangelize by providing Christian educational material. Others can help us by distributing our material to churches. I am confident that God smiles when his children "play well together".
4. RACE will seek to hand over authority and responsibility to Rwandan leadership.
I believe that foreign missionaries should work hard to make themselves obsolete. We should always be welcome in any church across the globe, but an indigenous church with local control is a healthy and growing church that can in turn send missionaries to other parts of the world.
5. RACE will appoint Rwandan leaders of integrity and ability. During our two missions and through many letters and e-mails, we have established close relationships with three Rwandan Christians: Frank, Amon and Paul. Each is a wonderful person with special gifts and talents. We are praying about how to best build a multicultural team with these three at the core.
Bibliography
1. Bush, Luis and Lorry Luty. Partnering in Ministry: The Direction of World Evangelism. Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 1990.
2. Robb, John D. Focus the Power of People Group Thinking: A Practical Manual for Planning Effective Strategies to Reach the Unreached. Monrovia, CA: MARC Press, 1989.
3. Roembke, Lianne. Building Credible Multicultural Teams. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2000.
4. Ethnic Harvest: Resources for Multicultural Ministry at http://www.ethnicharvest.org. (accessed on 12/2/02).
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