Connected communities

My Global Issues class headed out to Cabramatta last Friday to meet Pastor David Boyd from Jesus Family Centre. His church has about 400 people from what looked like 20 -30 different nationalities, and they have planted 38 churches in Asia, Africa and Latin America. David had all sorts of interesting and profitable things to say to which I said a hearty amen! but I'll just share one. He believes that the best missionaries are bicultural. He thinks it's foolish (wrong?) to send out, say Anglo missionaries to Latin America. The way they do it is to start with the multicultural people that come to them. They encourage these people to share the gospel with their communities of family and friends back home. And over time, they build up these communities. I'm not sure just how this looks in practice but God is clearly using it. David has written a book about his whole approach and its biblical basis, and I have no doubt that it is worth a read.