We are delighted to hear from Rev Lucho Sanchez, a Peruvian missionary serving with the Chinese Alliance Churches Union as a Mission Pastor, who brings a deeply moving perspective on ‘shared vulnerability’ in mission. He challenges us to see ministry not as drawing people into our programmes, but as creating a ‘third space’ marked by family and genuine hospitality.

As a Latin American serving in a Chinese church in Manchester, you act as a bridge between cultures. How does approaching people as a ‘fellow migrant’ rather than a powerful institution help you connect with people from different backgrounds? What role does shared vulnerability play in opening hearts to the gospel?

I do not come as an institution; I come as a fellow migrant. I know what it means to leave home, speak with an accent and constantly adapt. That shared vulnerability creates trust.

Many from other faiths, asylum seekers and secular Brits are not looking for a powerful church; they are looking for a safe one. When they sense that we are not asking them to adapt to us, but that we are willing to adapt to them, something opens. Mission is not about bringing people into our space; it is about creating space around people. The gospel travels most naturally through shared weakness and presence.

The Exploring Jesus ministry offers a ‘third space’– a family where people from different cultures can meet at the same level. How does welcoming people from different cultures through hospitality help members grow as disciples?

Our Exploring Jesus ministry is a small but deeply multicultural fellowship. We do not invite people into a programme; we invite them into a family. This ‘third space’ exists between cultures and is a place where no one has to perform or pretend.

When a Chinese believer opens their home to a non-Chinese seeker, both are changed. Hospitality becomes discipleship. Mission stops being something done by specialists and becomes a shared way of life. In this space, the gospel proves that it belongs to no single ethnicity or nationality; it gathers many into one new family.

Many first-generation believers worry that imperfect English makes them
unfit for mission. How have you seen love, service and shared meals communicate more powerfully than words in your ministry?

Many first-generation believers feel disqualified from mission because their English is not fluent. But in our experience, food, service, prayer and consistency speak more clearly than perfect language.

Our gatherings are simple: tea, snacks, a short time of worship, translated Scriptures and prayers woven into everyday needs. We keep things understandable, but never shallow. Love becomes the common language. When people feel safe and honoured, they become open. Words often come later, but trust comes first.

People often talk about the UK as ‘hard soil’ for the gospel. Based on your work with Exploring Jesus in streets and homes, what signs of openness give you hope? How can young people turn everyday encounters in their neighbourhoods and workplaces into opportunities for mission?

The UK is often described as hard soil, but what I see are hungry people carrying loneliness, confusion and spiritual questions. On the streets of Manchester and in our homes, people become open when they are listened to rather than corrected.

When they encounter humility, friendship and honest prayer, curiosity awakens. Mission is already happening around us– at work, in neighbourhoods and in everyday conversations. We don’t need to go far; we need to be present.

As a Peruvian missionary serving under a Chinese union, how does this partnership itself bear witness to the gospel? What can other diaspora churches learn about looking beyond their own ethnic community when choosing staff and partners to reach their city?

A Peruvian missionary serving under a Chinese union is already a witness. A Chinese church embracing a multicultural fellowship is already preaching. Before a sermon is heard, the gospel
is seen.

Manchester Alliance Church models this by welcoming many languages in worship, Scripture and prayer. We offer practical support through English classes, help with Home Office paperwork, translation at GP and hospital appointments and assistance with forms, since solicitors do not always have time to advocate for everyone seeking help.

Manchester Alliance Church demonstrates this by opening their homes and lives to us. Ministry doesn’t only happen from the pulpit; hospitality itself preaches before any sermon is heard.

Presence as Witness

We throw the net where the fish are. We adapt
before we explain. We walk before we teach. And when people feel loved, they invite others. This is how a small community becomes a living witness.

The future of mission in our cities will not be decided by how well we defend our theology, but by how deeply we are willing to love across differences. The question before the Church is no longer whether people will adapt to us, but whether we will adapt for the sake of Christ.

When a Chinese church makes room for many nations, when a migrant shepherds migrants, when homes become holy ground and weakness becomes welcome, the gospel is no longer explained– it is embodied. This is the ‘third space’ where the kingdom appears quietly but unmistakably.

If the Church is willing to slow down, listen and share life, the soil is not hard. It is ready. And Christ is already there, waiting for us to join him.

Rev Lucho Sanchez

Mission Pastor, Chinese Alliance Churches Union