Bridge Peoples: The Role of Ethnic Minorities in Global Evangelization | Lausanne World Pulse Archives

It doesn’t take more than a trip to the grocery store to recognize that we live in a time of profound cultural change. Even our smallest hometowns are no longer mono-cultural. Instead, they are mixtures of people from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds. As these new minorities integrate into society, they become bridge peoples, bi-cultural people who, because of their dual ethnic identities, fit in both their home countries and their new locations.

Rather than creating a “clash of civilizations” as some have feared, these ethnic minorities can become connections between cultures. Viewed in this way they become not people to fear, but people who bring opportunity. Bridge peoples need to be embraced by the Church in its future, just as they have been in its past.

Biblical Bridge People
The Bible is full of bridge people, persons who due to their bi-cultural identity were used by God in unique ways. In the Old Testament Joseph, Moses, Esther, and Daniel are heroes of the faith who fulfilled God’s unique purpose through their dual ethnic identities. They were culturally, if not ethnically, Jewish and Egyptian, or Jewish and Persian. It is exactly their ability to slide effortlessly between cultures that God used to make such an impact in biblical history. It is no accident that God prepared their bi-cultural heritage to be part of what he used in accomplishing his purposes.

Bridge people are central to the expansion of the Church in the New Testament as well. Often, we read Acts 1:8 only through geographical lenses, which is certainly one of Jesus’ intended meanings. But, upon closer examination, his words could also be understood through cultural lenses. The apostles would be witnesses first to the Jews, then to the half-Jew/half-Gentile, and ultimately to the entire Gentile world.

This was not easy for the first Jewish followers of Christ to comprehend. It wasn’t until the persecution following the martyrdom of Stephen that the Church began to take the gospel outside of Jerusalem. Yet, even though the Church was crossing geographical boundaries, it still was not crossing ethnic lines. For Peter, it took a vision from God to help him see that the good news of Jesus was for all peoples, no matter their race. God began to use a unique set of people as an intermediate step to move the gospel from the Jewish to the Gentile world.

Partnering with Bridge Peoples Be a Learner. The most important thing to remember when ministering to people of a different cultural background is to adopt the attitude of a learner. Nothing will limit your ministry more than coming in with your plan already decided without first humbling yourself to learn from them. Learn their culture, how they read the Bible, how they view God. You will find that they will have done more for you and your relationship with God that you ever did for them.