Jaffray-Ang Symposium | Jaffray Global

Beyond Multiculturalism: Intentional Intercultural Congregations in a Globalizing and Hybridizing World

The 2021 JaffrayAng Symposium will focus on bringing together people interested in exploring what it means to develop intentional intercultural congregations in an increasingly globalized and hybridized Canadian cultural landscape. As more ethnic expressions of the Christian church emerge across Canada, new and old Canadians alike need to explore innovative ways to move beyond our historic cultural and linguistic silos to greater collaboration and deeper covenantal unity “so the world will believe and know” (John 17:20-25). Through a variety of presentations, breakout sessions and personal interactions with scholars and practitioners, the symposium will engage a variety of theological and strategic issues associated with creating, sustaining and replicating intercultural churches. Along the way we will tackle a number of challenging matters such as:

How does the intercultural church challenge existing models of ministry that tend to be monocultural and ethnocentric?
What kinds of shifts do the historic euro-Canadian churches need to make in the face of declining church attendance?
What does accepting and understanding each other look like in the church given the kaleidoscope that makes up the Canadian mosaic?
Who are some of the people and churches that are developing uniquely Canadian expressions of the intercultural church?
What does sharing church leadership entail in an intercultural church?
What relevance does the intercultural church have for a society that is fractured and segregated?
How can the church help bridge the gap between the kind of ethnocentrism that breeds fear and hatred for the “other”?
How do we live in community with a diversity of people made in the image of God?