Linda Geevanathan shared this as a seminar at Unreached21. You can watch the full talk here or listen to it here.
Part 1
There are several questions we need to ask ourselves if we want to be a church that reaches the unreached.
What do unreached people look like in our context/ community? Are we winning people into churches and then seeking to make them clones of ourselves?
The beauty of the church is that she is made up of diverse people, who are one in Christ. This is part of our witness to a sceptical world. When we reach out to people from other backgrounds and ethnicities, when we welcome them into fellowship, we want them to bring who they are into the church; we want to learn from their culture, enjoy their food, experience their language, we want to appreciate and honour their culture and background.
The challenge is do we want to do this at a surface or superficial level for those coming into the church from different backgrounds? Or do we want to give space for them to have a voice and influence the shape of the church. This can make things inconvenient and sometimes even uncomfortable. It may not be our preference or to our taste, but we need to keep reminding ourselves that following Jesus is about counting the cost, and we may be surprised by the blessing that openness to others brings into our lives. So, the question is are we ready and willing to compromise and give space to embrace the beauty and diversity of the unreached coming into our churches?
Read More in Part 2 – Published 8/9/22.
Linda Geevanathan has lived in several countries around the world including Singapore, Australia and Nigeria, but she spent the first years of her life here in Luton. She loves travelling and spending time with her family and friends. Linda is an experienced teacher who still teaches in Luton. She has served on a number of different teams both at school and within the church and brings considerable leadership gifting to Hope Church. She also brings oversight and support to various leaders in the church.
