Crossing Cultures and Loving Our Neighbours

CultureCross, a 12-week training course, was created to help individuals, teams and small groups learn what it means to cross cultures and truly love their neighbours. Launching June 3, 2024, CultureCross is designed to equip people just like you. Over the past few months, TWR Canada’s Content Writer and Digital Layout Specialist, Michele, participated in a CultureCross pilot group and is excited to share how the series transformed her. Read on to hear from Michele.

Canada ranks among the top countries for welcoming newcomers, receiving about one million temporary and permanent residents every year from all over the globe. However, many Christians in Canada feel unequipped to reach out to their new neighbours or to connect with people of other cultures. CultureCross, a 12-week training course, was created to help individuals, teams and small groups learn what it means to cross cultures and truly love their neighbours. Launching June 3, 2024, CultureCross is designed to equip people just like you. 

Over the past few months, TWR Canada’s Content Writer and Digital Layout Specialist, Michele, participated in a CultureCross pilot group and is excited to share how the series transformed her perspective and provided her with the tools to be able to respond faithfully and courageously in different cultural contexts. Read on to hear from Michele: 

Our diverse backgrounds shape how we express and perceive love. Perhaps in your life, you have encountered someone who called themselves a Christian but, in your experience, didn’t embody Christ’s love, which hindered your connection with them and distorted your perception of Christianity. For me, growing up grappling with these concepts was a profound struggle. However, the transformative discussions within CultureCross not only brought healing but also illuminated the depth of God's love and showed me how to offer that love to others.  

Through CultureCross, I began to understand that the collectively experienced influences of shame, guilt, and fear enable us to connect with our neighbours empathetically. Everyone has their own story wrapped up in these driving motivators, impacting how we show up in our interactions and relationships. Despite our fears of not wanting to offend anyone, or our fears of failure or rejection, evangelism isn't about seeing or achieving immediate results but about planting seeds of faith. Our role is to share the truth with love, and to trust God to do the work of convicting and transforming hearts in his own timing.  

Another concept that struck me was that if we profess to be followers of Jesus but live in perpetual fear, we don’t tell the truth about what God is capable of in our lives. We have eternal security and real power in our relationship with Jesus and his work on the cross – where he displayed power over authorities on Earth and rose again to demonstrate power over death. We, too, are set free when we move from fear to faith, and our neighbours can witness this outward demonstration of trust in God’s power, which can be life-changing! 
 
Our lifestyles reflect what holds power in our lives. When we prioritize comfort and privacy, or we idolize our need to be in control, this influences our interactions and hospitality with those we encounter. God’s Word teaches us that the body of Christ is made of many cultures, all in need of encouragement and support. And to love our neighbour involves seeking salvation for the lost, acceptance for the marginalized, dignity for the ashamed, and reassurance for the fearful. Through service, fellowship and compassionate curiosity, we can strengthen and unify the Church.  

When I think about how I can love my neighbour better, I ask myself, how can I lighten the burden of my neighbour and create space for Jesus to transform their life? The CultureCross series emphasizes that Jesus invites us all to sit at his table; his kingdom is a room for everyone who wants a seat, and this inclusive welcoming is how we can open our doors to newcomers. First, we need to create space to hear their story and to see where Jesus is already working in their life. Then we can offer support once we understand their needs, hopes and fears.  

CultureCross helped me to cultivate authentic relationships and reflect God's love more genuinely, to move from a posture of criticism and a need to be right to focusing more on building relationships with compassion. While guilt, shame and fear can motivate us to see our need for God, he does not want us to stay in the trenches of these experiences. He wants to uplift us through his Spirit to see his innocence, honour and power. And he wants his people to uplift each other. Recognizing God’s sovereignty in the timing of transformation encourages patience and trust in our evangelism efforts as God prepares hearts for the messages we share in our interactions. So, let’s listen to the stories of our neighbours and reflect Jesus’ character every opportunity we get!  

To learn more about CultureCross, click here!