Picture a church where cultures don’t just coexist – they connect.
A church where strangers become family. Where cultural differences don’t divide but enrich.
A church where believers from different backgrounds worship, learn, serve and grow together as equals.
A church which witnesses to a broken and fragmented world the unity in diversity, in Christ, which will be found in the coming kingdom.
Many UK and Irish churches struggle to unite across cultural lines. Yet the Bible is clear: God’s church, his people, are one body. Our intercultural ministry team supports believers with training, resources, and support to break siloes and build bridges.
Our vision is to see churches in the UK & Ireland growing as Christ-centred communities of intercultural worship and witness where people of all backgrounds are welcomed in Jesus’ name, discipled and active in sharing him with others, across the street and across the world.
Intercultural Ministry Stories
What is intercultural ministry and what does it look like in the UK?
Nathaniel Jennings is a year into his role as OMF (UK)’s first Intercultural Ministries Director. We asked him to tell us more about what excites him about this new job.Â
The Age of Migration and a prophetic vision for the Church in the UK and Ireland
How would you define the times we live in? In light of there being over 280 million international migrants in the world today ‘the age
Intercultural Church for the 21st century – looking back on the conference
Manchester is one of the most diverse cities in the UK. So it was an appropriate venue for a conference on intercultural church last month.
Race and the gospel
Racism continues to be a focus in local and global conversation, often highly charged and politicised. Many Christians fear that becoming involved risks being distracted
Ep.31 | International Students, the nations on our doorstep. A conversation with CUI.
Nathaniel Jennings talks to CUI worker Hollie about sharing the good news of Jesus with international students. They share their own experiences of ministry throughout
Moving beyond multicultural church?
‘After a while, we realised the diversity of the congregation was not reflected in the leadership. Most of those who led from the front were white British and this filtered down into house group, student, and children’s work leadership’
Grace Robinson explains how she has been supporting the church as an intercultural worker so that everyone has an opportunity to give and receive.
Reaching East Asians in the UK
Many East Asians come to the UK & Ireland to study or work.
Drawing on over a hundred years of experience in the East Asia, OMF can help you share the good news of Jesus with them right here in the UK by welcoming them and making them feel at home.
Do an intercultural Serve Asia placement in the UK or Ireland.
We have opportunities for you to get involved in intercultural ministry across the UK & Ireland. Serve alongside our experienced long-term workers for 2-weeks to 6-months.
Ministry Partners
One of our core values is partnership. We believe what is written in Psalm 133: ‘How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.’
These are some of our key partner organisations. They have great ministries and resources which you can engage with.
Friends International
Seeking to see every one of the 700,000 international students who are studying in the UK and Ireland having Christian faith and friendship shared with them.
COCM
Seeking to share Jesus with and disciple the Chinese diaspora in the UK & Europe. Have a wealth of Christian resources in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Welcome Churches
Seeking to see every refugee in the UK welcomed by their local church. Have resources tailored for different cultures and languages.
Intercultural Churches UK
Seeking to journey with local churches as they seek to become intercultural, Christ centred communities. Have theological and practical resource for serving churches in this area.
EA One People Commission
Seeking to celebrate diversity and promote unity across the UK church.
Resources
If you want explore the ideas of intercultural church and Christianity further we would recommend the following books:
- Dynamic Diversity, Bruce MilneÂ
- Building Multicultural Churches, Tony Thompson
- Intercultural Church, Safwat Marzouk
- Effective Intercultural Evangelism, Jay Moo & Bud Simon
- Building Cultural Intelligence in Church & Ministry, Osoba OtaigbeÂ
- Chinese Heritage in British Christianity; More than Foreigners edited by Alexander Chow.
Â
Â
A special feature:
Polyphonic God: Exploring Intercultural Theology, Church and Justice.
In Polyphonic God, theologians and practitioners together contend that intercultural churches are significant in multicultural British society, and serve to create a counter-cultural kingdom narrative demonstrating how we can find unity in the midst of diversity and how this can enrich the lives of everybody involved.
