We recently had the privilege of helping with a course called ‘The Culture Bridge’, led by Pioneers UK (https://www.pioneers-uk.org/).
According to the website, the aim of the course is to “help diaspora Christians navigate the challenges of integrating into British culture”. The word ‘diaspora’ refers to being scattered, and the course is aimed at Christians from other nations who have left their homeland for whatever reason and are now scattered here in the UK.
The course was made up of people mainly from African nations, and was led by people from Pioneers (we were there as guests and were able to help with some specific input). The participants learned about British culture and then they were able to gain more confidence in how to relate to British people, not to mention how to share the good news of Jesus here. I can only imagine how very grateful I’d be if I moved to a different country and had the chance to take a course like this. After all, things that have worked over here are not guaranteed to work anywhere else!
It was helpful for us to think about what it means to be British, and we had a good laugh about some of the quirks and oddities that seem to be engrained into who we are over here, such as how much we love queuing(!), and how we don’t always say what we mean!
There was one fascinating moment where someone said they had managed to turn a conversation with a stranger about the weather (a very British thing) into a conversation about Jesus!
If you fit the description of a diaspora Christian here in the UK, or if you know anyone who does, we strongly recommend The Culture Bridge as a tool that could be of great use. It isn’t just for individuals, but groups from the same church could also get involved. So why not email hello@pioneers-uk.org and ask when their next course is happening?