Covenant News

Mission Weekends Focus on Cultural Sensitivity

MOUNT VERNON, WA (April 3, 2001) - The North Pacific Conference doubled its pleasure with a pair of Mission Adventure Weekend events at McMinnville Covenant Church in McMinnville, Oregon, and at Bethany Covenant Church in Mount Vernon, Washington.

Mission Adventure Weekends provide opportunities for mission partner interaction, discussion on mission trip preparation and encouragement of career, short-term and Covenant Mission Connection commitments, according to Keith Tungseth, mission resource coordinator for the North Pacific Conference.

"This year's weekends gave groups planning mission trips the opportunity to learn from partners from the countries to which they are going," Tungseth said. "Plans came together for specific trips to two places in Russia and at least two places in Mexico."

The Mission Adventure Weekends started with a cultural immersion exercise. Long-time missionary to Colombia Mark Westlind and his 15-year-old son, Nils, began each session with a non-English conversation to help the audience experience what it is like not to understand the native language of a culture. The experience is designed to help participants consider the manner in which they view other cultures. Westlind suggested that instead of thinking of others as strange or weird because the language may be unfamiliar, that instead they may want to think of them as simply different.

"We want to go from a Western-centered theology to a Jesus Christ-centered theology," Westlind said. "We in the West have certain ideas (about Christianity), but you go into another culture and they may question the way you interpret scripture." Westlind suggested we "take our eyes off ourselves" and not fall prey to ethnocentrism, or the idea that only a particular culture is "right."

Many of the other messages and cross-cultural simulations during the weekends stressed the point that Christians in the United States who become involved in mission work need to go to different cultures with the mindset of a learner, prepared to honor other individuals and their cultures.

Mission partners representing seven countries reminded participants that not only is cultural sensitivity essential when visiting other countries, but that sensitivity is also needed when people from other cultures move into our neighborhoods. People of Hispanic origin are the fastest- growing population in the U.S. today, Westlind noted. Spanish is not the only language being integrated into U.S. culture, Westlind pointed out. He noted that his son is a freshman at Von Stueben High School in Chicago where some 150 different dialects are spoken.

Other activities included a cross-cultural simulation game, an Hispanic worship experience and international forums led by international and local missionaries. Missionary participants included Leonid Regheta (Russia), Eugenio Restrepo (Spain), Francisco and Stephanie Ramos (France), Randy and Sybille Baker (Germany), and Bonifacio Luis Hernandez, Nancy Jo Hoover, John Kerl and Isabeth Zarate Mazas (Mexico).

David Stockamp, coordinator of church relations for the Evangelical Covenant Church Department of World Mission, and Rose Cornelius, East Coast church relations coordinator for World Mission also participated.

Future North Pacific Conference cross-cultural ministry experiences are scheduled April 24 in Oregon and April 25 in Washington. Jim Gustafson, executive director of the Department of World Mission, will lead the sessions along with Hoover and Walter Contreras, director of Hispanic church planting for the Pacific Southwest Conference.

For more information on past or upcoming mission events in the North Pacific Conference, contact Tungseth by email at ktungseth@hotmail.com or by telephone at 206-275-3903.

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