According to the 2021 census, London was the most ethnically diverse region in England and Wales – with the smallest percentage who identify as white British. 46.2% of London residents identified with Asian, black, mixed or other ethnic groups, and a further 17% with white ethnic minorities. Every religion is practised in our city and over 300 languages are spoken.
God has placed our network of churches in London. Reaching the different cultures and nations on our doorsteps and neighbourhoods, in our part of the city, is part of God’s plan. This is both a daunting challenge and an exciting opportunity – the task is big, but God is bigger!
For God is the missional God whose gospel transcends cultures. Jesus’ Great Commission is ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ (Matthew 28:19). In the book of Acts, the first disciples modelled this as they travelled to new geographic areas and spoke to new people groups. The future reality in Revelation 7 depicts people from every nation, tribe, people and language around the throne of the Lamb.
As a church, we have realised that if our personal friendships do not reflect the diversity of our local area, neither will our church.
Here are some things to think about as we navigate Christian life in this diverse city.
- Open your eyes to who is around you, what your neighbours are like. Invest time in relationships, and learn people’s names.
- As a church build inter-cultural teams which reflect your local area. If we desire to reach the whole diversity of London, this needs to be reflected in our leadership teams, ministry teams and the gathered church on a Sunday.
- Understand your own cultural blind spots and biases and the lens through which you see the world. This will in turn increase our cultural awareness and humility, and enable us to embrace strengths as well as weaknesses of other cultures.
- Saturate the whole of church life in cross-cultural mission: in the welcome given and hospitality shown; in our gospel communication; in how we steward our resources and time; in growing a culture of raising up, training and sending cross-cultural gospel workers.
Someone who recently joined the All Nations Church Barkingside & Clayhall family said, ‘I enjoy coming to this church community because I neither feel like a majority nor a minority.’
Every individual should be involved in cross-cultural mission. So, pray that the different nations in our city would be reached and that the Lord would cultivate a heart of compassion towards those who are lost. Also, engage the people in your local area by stepping out of your comfort zone – remembering you do all things for the salvation of many to the glory of God!