ABHMS partners with MBMM to help diverse American Baptist leaders build bridges across cultural differences in ministry

VALLEY FORGE, PA (10/24/2024)—In late September, several staff members of American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) traveled to Framingham, Mass., to participate in the “Allelon” (Greek for “one another”) gathering of the Massachusetts Baptist Multicultural Ministries (MBMM). Themed “Building Bridges with One Another” and connected to MBMM’s Thriving Pastoral Ministry Program (TPMP), the gathering focused on clergy of different ethnic and racial backgrounds having bold and honest conversations about ways to connect and dismantling barriers that prevent meaningful engagement.

“We hope that the Allelon gathering will improve race/theological/cultural/ethnic relations in our community/church and just being there in the conference will have been an important step. We are starting to move away from the ‘me’ and get people to think and talk about possible directions for change. Now it is our task to build a collective vision,” remarked the Rev. Dr. Mar Imsong, MBMM’s executive director, in a printed address to event attendees.

Imsong’s statement highlights a crucial shift from individual perspectives toward collective efforts, particularly in fostering dialogue and collaboration among clergy of different ethnic backgrounds. By encouraging ethnic clergy to think beyond personal cultural experiences, he emphasizes the importance of building bridges with one another. This approach focuses on strengthening relationships and fostering cooperation and shared goals in the pursuit of realizing the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ that “they all may be one.” It reflects his leadership and commitment to community-building, particularly within the context of ethnic pastors and immigrant and refugee support through MBMM.

ABHMS staff played an important part in the organization and delivery of the Allelon program. The Rev. Dr. Marie Onwubuariri, director of Intercultural Ministries, and the Rev. Abigaíl Medina Betancourt, national coordinator for intercultural engagement, were on the event planning team, while others in ABHMS’ Intercultural Ministries unit had leadership roles during the conference. In addition, ABHMS Executive Director Dr. Jeffrey Haggray delivered a lunchtime keynote address on the history of the African American community. Joining him and the other ABHMS staff that day were members of the Leadership Empowerment Team and Jennifer Sanborn, the organization’s national coordinator of learning initiatives.

Rev. Abigail Media Betancourt (standing) facilitates a conversation among a diverse group of clergy at the “Allelon” gathering of the Massachusetts Baptist Multicultural Ministries in September 2024.

American Baptist Churches USA was represented by the Rev. Dr. Gina Jacobs-Strain, who addressed attendees the day before Haggray’s presentation.

The TPMP, which MBMM has offered for three years, serves 96 African, African American, Asian, Brazilian, Haitian, Latinx and white clergy from 75 local churches. Through Ethnic Clergy Groups and Intercultural Groups, the program provides minority pastors with a “seat at the table” and connects them to a broader network of pastors beyond their usual circles. These groups foster environments and frameworks where multicultural approaches to ministry can be shared and valued, creating unique opportunities for ministerial growth and development.

In the spirit of building intercultural bridges at Allelon, small group conversations throughout the event focused on issues such as shared theological and cultural values, values and beliefs that may stand in tension, ministry landscapes, gifts, and mission concerns and building bridges around them.

Recognizing multiple missional synergies at work, ABHMS is excited to have partnered with MBMM. Both organizations have long centered on equipping ministry leaders and healing communities by bringing together those of different cultural backgrounds to build bridges. “The two organizations designed the gathering together, with MBMM casting a contextual vision, while inviting ABHMS to shape the gathering based on their expertise, experience, and perspectives,” said Onwubuariri. “We shared not only the planning but also visible leadership; we made on-the-spot pivots and decisions collaboratively.”

Intercultural Ministries’ expertise was important as it provided guidelines for connecting clergy who participated in the TPMP and attended the Allelon gathering across ethnic and cultural differences. “This gathering could serve as a model for intercultural engagement in other regions and communities. [We gave] them some tools for how to go a little bit deeper in our interactions, so that we can all have better understanding of why we might have different theologies, or why we might have different emphasis on missional concerns,” explained Onwubuariri.

One of the topics discussed was LGBTQ+ communities and how clergy can help their different communities recognize that the importance of LGBTQ+ rights extend beyond theology to the lives of real people who are experiencing marginalization and harm.

Brazilian and Haitian clergy had similar perspectives on challenges related to tensions between the language of their place of origin and English that affect intergenerational dialogue in church. Both ethnic groups also envisioned creating a joint task force that would streamline and facilitate churches’ efforts to support immigrants in the Boston region, enabling a stronger voice in the churches’ dialogue with the authorities.

The gathering also offered new perspectives to the ABHMS staff who facilitated the discussions. An important aspect of the engagement was listening and learning from one another about how the formative histories and current realities of cultural groups inform how they live out Christian witness and discipleship today and how the Gospel has been heard and received due to these histories and current social realities.

The event promises to have lasting benefits for attendees. According to the Rev. Jim Leavitt, director of TPMP, “around 60% of those who provided evaluations indicated a willingness to meet with other ethnic clergy groups multiple times throughout the year.”

The Rev. Ben Sullivan, ABHMS’ national coordinator for Native American Ministries, said, “I was able to learn new tools and models for connecting with other leaders. I expanded my own knowledge and ways to engage in intercultural work with hands-on experience. As much as the training was for the participants, it was a great learning opportunity for me.” Likewise, Medina Betancourt commented, “The Allelon gathering was an excellent opportunity to do hands-on work to build bridges between diverse racial and ethnic groups. The participants left the gathering with tools to implement bridge-building in their communities.”

Imsong expressed his deep appreciation for the ABHMS collaboration: “From the initial planning stages to the very last detail, your collective efforts and collaborative work with the MBMM staff ensured that the event ran smoothly and exceeded expectations. We did have honest and bold conversations that were sometimes very passionate. Yet, the overall positive feedback we’ve received is a testament to your professionalism, commitment, servant leadership, active listening, and the care you put into every aspect of the conference.”

Through the America for Christ Offering and mission support, ABHMS staff have been able to partner with MBMM, which shares with ABHMS the mission concerns of equipping leaders and healing communities. Your generosity and partnership with ABHMS allow us to continue this important work.

By Anna Piela, ABHMS senior writer and associate editor of The Christian Citizen