Methodist Youth Fellowship

ARCHDIOCESE OF IBADAN

2024 Mission Conference

Date: Saturday, November 2, 2024.  Venue: Griffin Memorial Methodist Church, Akeetan Oyo,

Theme: Building a Missional Church

I thank God for the opportunity extended to me to be part of the 2024 Methodist Youth Fellowship, Archdiocese of Ibadan, 2024 Mission Conference. The central theme of this Conference is “Building a Missional Church.” My session will focus on a sub-theme: “Mission in Intercultural Settings.” In reflection on the purpose of this Conference to encourage our youth in their faith walk with God to be raised as missional youth to advance God’s Kingdom, kindly permit me to make a little moderation on my presentation with the theme: Raising Missional Youth: Power for advancing Mission in Intercultural Settings. To raise missional youth goes beyond ceremonial assembly or gathering. Advancing mission in intercultural settings in a world and Church marred by the divisions we create, the lines we draw, the leadership and border we impose, intercultural settings suggest a beacon of renewal, revival, hope, and unity. Methodism transcends cultural, racial, and societal boundaries. Methodism is a testament to the universal nature of the Gospel.  Methodism is a renewing and transformative force with the energy of the Holy Spirit that unites people across the vast spectrum of language, customs, race, and traditions (Rom 10:12).

The mission of God defined and described the ministry of Christ’s early disciples. Raising missional youth flows from the mission of God. The gap between the mission of God and (youth or clergy) the ministry appears in how we promote the service of the youth and persons (clergy) to the church structure and maintenance rather than call to God’s mission first as a personal relationship and secondly as a movement. To bridge the contemporary gap between the youth ministry and mission, the Church must recover its sentness (apostolic) nature. The need for recovery calls for a renewed understanding of raising the youth (clergy) as missional (not for maintenance) youth whom the Holy Spirit empowers to advance mission in intercultural relationships spreading scriptural holiness across the world.

Our text for this presentation is taken from Acts 2: 43- 47: Awe came upon everyone… All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together with one accord in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And day by day the Lord added to them those who were being saved.

Building a Missional Church is the humble desire to pattern ourselves after the New Testament church in hopes of experiencing the same and greater power, growth and effectiveness that it had. The missional church equips and sends people out, while the maintenance /attractional church sees itself as the centre towards which people and resources flow. Missional theology and philosophy point to Jesus Christ going out from the Church, through someone called (youth/clergy), to a people for the sake of the Gospel. God is a sending and a missionary God who sends a missionary youth, clergy, and Church. Sending from the scriptural context ‘reveals the missionary nature of the Triune God (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit), as well as the very essence of the Church. Methodism, as a missional movement, recognises God and its ecclesiology as a missionary. The missional Church is incarnational and not just attractional or ceremonial. The missional Church is about sending the people (youth and clergy) in the Church out among the people of the world rather than getting the people (youth) of the world in among the people (youth) of the Church. A Missional Church as a sending church is different from a ceremonial or a state church with a mission program and activity along with other church programs.

To build missional Church is not by magic. However, it is purely a discipleship process by missional leadership equipping members (youth) and the community to embody and enflesh the word, deed, and life of Jesus into every nook and cranny of Nigeria. The members (youth) and the communities in the context of this presentation suggest an intercultural setting/relationship, an interaction among members of two or more distinct cultural groups. Missional youth is a picture of kings and queens in mutual engagement, reflecting the wisdom and influence of the Holy God. Missional youth is a holy relationship, no longer as strangers and foreigners, ‘but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God’ (Eph 2:19). Missional youth reflect a picture of responsibility and cooperation.

Mission in Intercultural Setting.

Mission in intercultural settings is rich in the tapestry of Scripture; from the fundamental premise of the book of Genesis value of cultural diversity, every human being, irrespective of cultural or ethnic identity, bears the imago Dei, the image of God (Gen 1). The book of Revelation culminates in a missional scene of an intercultural gathering with people from every tribe, tongue, and nation gathering around the throne of God (Rev 7:9). Cultural diversity is not a divide but a central and indispensable, beautiful reflection of God’s multifaceted creation.

In Acts, the day of Pentecost presents a missional picture of interculturality shaped by exclusive inclusivity with diverse groups’ experience of the Holy Spirit, each hearing the message in their language, signifying the birth of a multicultural church (Acts 2). The Jerusalem Council also sets a missional precedent for intercultural settings and relationships within the Church (Acts 15).

The words GO … TEACH … BAPTISING…(GoTB) are called Christ’s Great Commission (Matt 28: 16-20). The Great Commission, which is Jesus’ primary command, instruction, and task- along with His disciples, with authority to make disciples of all nations- resonates with raising missional youth with the power to advance missions in intercultural settings. The command to make disciples of all nations that applied to all Jesus’ followers of every generation is a mission in intercultural setting/relationship, a community of believers centred on Jesus which intentionally celebrates God’s creativity by empathetically listening to one another.’ Mission in intercultural settings is a sign of the outworking of the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the peoples’ love as a clear witness to the world around them. Mission in intercellular settings summons the Church (youth) to go into the world and spread the message to people of all nations and cultures. The Church’s task includes equipping and being responsible for sending missionaries (youth) into every nation (Acts 13:1-4).

Just as contemporary society is a mobile, globalised society, the Church is a superfluid society characterised by diversity and change. The Church as Body of Christ comprises different ethnic groups, linguistic cultures and denominational backgrounds. The gift of diversity beyond the call for coexistence is about a mission in an intercultural setting, a missional necessity shaped by values of equality, visible engagement, interpersonal relationships, tolerance, openness, acceptance of differences, pluralism, and cooperation. Mission in intercultural settings is a visible expression of Jesus Priestly prayer for church unity, ‘That they may be one’ (Jn 17:21).

Mission in intercultural settings systematically enhances discipleship and development in the youth of the majority groups as in those of the minority groups, creating identities, social interaction, common worship, and humanity. Mission in the intercultural setting is a missional approach to cultural differences, a strategy through which the spiritual specificities or others are considered (gender, spiritual gifts, social or economic differences, etc.), ‘avoiding as much as possible the risks arising from unequal exchanges between cultures or, worse, trends of culture atomisation.’ Mission in the intercultural setting is a missional methodology that seeks to integrate and participate in the dance of love.

Interculturality is a missional action that occurs at the intersection of cultures. It is not an end but becomes an end when unnatural transformation or harmful behaviours are sensed at this level of crossing of cultures. A relationship is godly and golden. The mission in the intercultural setting is relational. Mission in the intercultural setting is a visible network directly proportional to Church net worth, bearing in mind that everything in life reproduces based on relationships. Mission in the intercultural setting is about a cupbearer telling the king that there is a Joseph that can interpret dreams. Mission in intercultural settings points to the heights and opportunities a church will never attain if there is no understanding of the power to keep valuable relationships.

Pentecost and Power for Mission in Intercultural Setting.

The intercultural model of the Acts 11 Antioch church is founded on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The baptism in the Spirit involves a noticeable renewal and transformation in the individual and groups from the inside out coupled with an expression of increased joy, Spirit-inspired praise in tongues, a language not learned by the speaker—Peter’s speech as a mission in intercultural setting silenced all objections. God had baptised the Gentiles, that is, people of other nationalities who were not Jewish in the Holy Spirit (Acts 11: 4-18; 10:45). The Gentiles’ experiences were accepted as authentic and genuine without doubt, hence a model of advancement of the Gospel and mission in intercultural setting in the 21st century.

The intercultural model of the Acts 11 Antioch church is welcoming. “Always be open to other cultures, no matter how different they are.” It is intentional about experiencing a different culture. It provides a window into understanding cultural challenges and history. It warns against assumptions about other cultures and people; hence, it is always respectful and kind. Missional youth are Pentecost youth empowered for mission in intercultural settings across the world as their parish.

JESUS,’ PAUL’S, AND WESLEY’S INTERCULTURAL MISSION.

An effective mission in an intercultural setting is Jesus-centred. Jesus’ intercultural mission creates a new humanity, a new missional youth, where people of all nations, tongues, and tribes will worship him in unity and diversity. Jesus’ intercultural mission model suggests a way to share the good news of Jesus by engaging with different cultures, promoting understanding, and learning from each other. 

Jesus embodies mission in intercultural settings as He crosses societal, cultural, and religious boundaries, dialoguing and offering love to all. Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well shatters the cultural and gender barriers of His time. He engages, understands, and validates the Samaritan woman’s culture (Jn 4). Jesus models their mission in an intercultural setting with his disregard for cultural prejudices in healing the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter (Mark 7:24-30).

Apostle Paul offers lessons on the importance of mission in intercultural settings. His missionary journeys reveal the missional roles that intercultural aptitude, the ability to understand ourselves and our neighbours, cultural humility, and cultural authenticity play. Practically, intercultural aptitude, humility, and authenticity are vital to God’s gospel mission.

In Paul’s first trip and appearance before the men of Athens, he functioned as a model of intercultural, Spirit-filled youth. Beyond moral neutrality or a moral pass, Paul demonstrates a cultural appreciation of Athens’ quiet religiosity to the unknown God, people outside the household of faith. Paul’s direction and conversation with people inside the family of faith about their very identities was not without warning to his friend, Peter and others against the heresy of cultural legalism (Gal. 2:11-21).

The intercultural setting of the Church from its beginning in Acts 2 till the Church in Heaven, according to Revelation 7:9-10 is not without a modern perspective. John Wesley and the early Methodist preachers speak about ‘the work of God’ and being co-workers with God rather than using the word’ mission.’ For Wesley, the Methodist movement is ‘a great work of God: beginning in the hearts of hungry disciples, prospering among those who gather to help one another work out their salvation and spreading out through their (intercultural) relationships in the world.’ The relational network of Methodism suggests ‘intercultural connectionalism’ across lines of culture and other elements of difference. For Wesley, ‘the medium is the message,’ and God’s chosen medium is the witness of ordinary people whose lives are made extraordinary by the holy love of God and neighbour.’

The origin and growth of Methodism is not without the intercultural influence of the Moravians on John Wesley. Methodism, starting as a small ‘society,’ illustrates the mission in an intercultural setting with a gathering of a few young men in a ‘holy club’ at Oxford University to a growing movement spread around Africa, Great Britain, Ireland and America. Methodism, a mustard seed of hunger for God in pursuit of holiness, has spread into ‘a large tree.’ In his cautionary prognosis about the future of Methodism, Wesley said, ‘I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid that they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. Moreover, this will undoubtedly be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, Spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.’ Raising missional youth to advance missions in intercultural settings could be a salutary diagnosis of contemporary Methodism to produce the founding charisms which gave it birth. Investing in the form of religion rather than the power of godliness may accelerate the decline of Methodism.

Ways to approach intercultural mission:

Willingness to enter another person’s culture: Be open to being mutually inconvenienced and seeing the Kingdom of God. 

Practice reconciliation: Jesus’s purpose was to create peace by destroying the barrier of hostility. 

Embrace a culture of welcome: Welcome people from all nations and integrate them into the worshipping community. 

Learn and adapt: Learn how to connect with people whose culture differs from yours. 

Be exclusively inclusive: Actively pursue relationships with people of other ethnicities and cultures (Jn 3:16). 

Be consistent: Remain available to your communities on a day-to-day basis.  

Be invested and trained: Have leadership teams and congregations committed to and trained for the mission. 

Problems in Intercultural Settings

Language: Language and communication can be problematic when the sender and receiver do not speak or understand a common language. However, language is a core element in intercultural communication. It is closely tied to one’s identity, worldview, and positioning, so it influences how people from different cultural backgrounds interact and perceive one another.

Cultural barriers: Cultural barriers are the communicational and missional challenges people (youth) face due to their cultural differences. Culture can affect how people communicate in different ways. For example, it affects communication styles such as phrases, words, gestures, and languages. Culture can also affect how people deliver information and their attitudes towards conflict. Other cultural barriers are ethnocentrism, stereotyping, psychological, geographical distance, and conflicting values.

Raising Missional Youth: The concept of missional youth is a paradigm shift for youth ministry from assembly and gathering teenagers to scattering disciples of Jesus Christ. Missional youth, dead to Mr FLESH but alive in Jesus Christ, are grounded in prayer, worship, community and spirituality. Missional youth is about equipping young people to be life-long participants in the mission of the Church. Missional youth is a community of disciples who gather to help one another become fully devoted followers of Jesus, in moment-by-moment dependence on the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit. As they invest in the power of godliness, Missional youth focus on becoming holy people.

There are five missional focuses for a fruitful youth ministry: To have a renewing relationship with Jesus, share the Gospel, make disciples of Jesus, empower young people to grow, and help grow the Church. The youth represent the future of the faith community (Methodism) as they bring vitality, fresh perspectives, and renewed enthusiasm to the congregation. Methodist Youth Fellowship provides a missional platform for engaging young people to ensure the continuity of Methodist traditions and to allow young people to develop a solid personal, moral, and spiritual foundation.

Youth missional focus offers a space to explore our beliefs, ask questions, and seek guidance, fostering a sense of belonging and identity within the faith community. Involving youth in the Church’s activities, such as volunteering, worship, and leadership roles, helps them develop valuable life skills, a missional sense of responsibility, and a deeper understanding of their faith. Equipping, mentoring, and disciplining the youth are investments in the long-term sustainability and growth of the religious community as they carry forward the teachings and values to future generations.

Youth ministry is pivotal in nurturing young individuals’ spiritual growth and engagement within and outside the church community. Youth Ministry provides a dedicated space to explore their faith, develop a solid moral foundation, and actively participate in church life. Youth ministry ‘ensures the continuity of religious traditions while empowering the next generation to become leaders and stewards of the faith by involving youth in church activities, such as worship, service projects, and leadership roles.’ To raise missional youth is about building a sense of belonging and identity among young members, connecting them with their spirituality, and encouraging a lifelong commitment to spreading scriptural holiness across the world as their parish.

Worthy is the Lamb!

Bishop Deji Okegbile, Convener, Wesley 100 International (WIN).