Celebrating 8 Years of Multicultural Response Ministry

We thank the Lord God Almighty for giving us the Multicultural Response Ministry and sustaining us in the past eight years.

The multicultural event, “Evening of Praise and Worship“, on 20th April 2013, marked the launching of the ministry.

Looking back, we had started the Multicultural Response Ministry weeks before by establishing the website and the first blog post on 9th April, 2013, which advertised the 20th April multicultural event.

The multicultural response programs through the years

We have developed solid multicultural response programs by organising quarterly multicultural events showcasing the Christian worship of the different ethnic groups in South Canterbury.

• Between 2013 to 2016, we held weekly home Bible studies in Clandeboye and Otaio. The concept of “meals-on-wheels” inspired us to bring the word of God to families that are isolated on the farm. We also started the Multicultural Believers Fellowship.
  
  
• When we started the Food Haven Cafe in October 2015, the multicultural response ministry became cafe-based. But, unfortunately, the busy work schedules of running a cafe business limited our time to visit.
  
  
• Nevertheless, we have met and ministered with more Filipinos and other migrants through the Food Haven Cafe. When the visa scam crisis erupted in 2016, we counselled and prayed for many who were affected. Food Haven Cafe wasn’t just another cafe. It became a gathering place and a haven for many.
  
  
• Our advocacy for migrants’ rights heightened because many migrants came to the cafe and shared their struggles and hardships. Then, one day, a kind Kiwi went to the café and shared his vision of helping the poor, so the Kind Kiwi Feeding Program started.
  
  
• When the Baptist Hui was held in Dunedin in November 2016, I got the opportunity to share the multicultural ministry we are doing in South Canterbury. This event marked the beginning of my ministry networking with the Baptist Union.
  
  
• In early 2017, I started writing the Ministry Appreciation and Participation Toolkit, pastoral ministry tools that pastors and ministry leaders can use.
  
  
• Inspired by the Heart-Worship workshop that Bethany Waugh conducted in 2017, we learned more about holding multicultural worship events.
  
  
• Started in 2017 by Abraham and Sara Lee and with our support, Shelter Place Multicultural Fellowship meets every 1st Sunday of the month at the Gleniti Baptist Church.
  
  
• In July 2018, the Aoraki Settling-in Collective in Timaru invited me to join. The Collective, which meets bi-monthly, provides a flexible opportunity for migrants and agencies to work together to improve the well-being of newcomers and Migrants in South Canterbury.
  
  
• In November 2019, we held the Theological Education by Extension Facilitators Training through TEE Aotearoa trainers Anneta Vysotskaya and Ann Borquist. The TEE and MAP Toolkit are components of the Ministry Resource Centre that we are establishing.
  
  
• Since the start of the Multicultural Response ministry, the Hopevale Trust has been our ministry partner. We have coordinated and implemented the Hopevale Trust’s programs, locally and internationally. For example, in 2020, we helped coordinate and facilitate the Hopevale Trust’s COVID response to some communities in the Philippines.
  
  
• The New Zealand Baptist Multicultural Inclusion Ministry (MIM) Team included the MAP Toolkit in their ministry toolbox in 2020. I started attending the Multicultural Inclusion Ministry Team monthly meeting in the last quarter of 2020.
  
  
• Then in the December 2020 MIM Team meeting, the Baptist Union National Leader, Charles Hewlett, invited the MIM Team to be his Advisory Group. This role has provided me with an avenue to share the multicultural response vision with the national leadership and the members of the MIM Team.
  
  
• 9th June 2021 quarterly meeting, Gleniti Baptist Church adopted the Multicultural Response Ministry and appointed Jonan Castillon as coordinator.

Challenges in the multicultural response ministry

Like with any other ministry program, we have encountered many challenges, and there will be more as we progress in the years to follow.

We are not discouraged. We pray, and we wait patiently for the Lord’s direction. We are thankful for those who are praying for the ministry and us.

Meanwhile, we will continue with the ministry programs that we have started and plan to do for the glory of God. Click on the button below to know more: