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Reading Your Context Great Commission Initiative

Reading Your Context Great Commission Initiative. To read and know your context means to understand current reality . To do this, you must account for the past. Once done, you can begin to imagine the future. . What’s a People Group?.

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Reading Your Context Great Commission Initiative

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  1. Reading Your ContextGreat Commission Initiative

  2. To read and know your context means to understand current reality. To do this, you must account for the past. Once done, you can begin to imagine the future.

  3. What’s a People Group? • “An ethno-linguistic group with a common self identity that is shared by the various members.” -Dr. Orville Boyd Jenkins • Factors for identifying a people group: • Language • Ethnicity • Common self-name • Sense of common identity • Common history • Customs • Family and clan identities Worldview

  4. Determine Your “Context” • What area can you effectively minister to? • What is your theological area of responsibility? • What people do you already know? • What can you realistically research with excellence?

  5. Tools • Current reality can be understood through a variety of means: • Statistics • Stories • Pictures • Experiences AWARE A– analyze W– watch A– ask & listen R– read E– experience

  6. What do you know already? Good research is done without bias, which means at every stage of the process we must always check our assumptions. To check your assumptions, start at the beginning…

  7. Current Reality-- Harris County • Growth • Population shift

  8. U.S. Census Figures—Harris County

  9. U.S. Census Figures—Texas (Counties by Race) 2006 American Community Survey Estimates

  10. Current Reality • Growth • Population shift • Diversity • Immigration • Language • Culture • Religion • Worldview

  11. Houston is… • the 4th largest city in the nation • home to 305-345 people groups among 139 nationalities • home to 209 spoken languages • home to the most numerical growth from 2006-07 and second most since 2000

  12. Harris County is… • home to 41% of people who don’t speak English at home • home to 956,000 foreign born (200,000 have been added since 2000) • home to 25% of Texas’s international population

  13. Los Angeles New York What is your current reality? San Francisco Chicago

  14. Who are your people groups?

  15. A worldview can seem to be a confusing mix of factors… Race Religion Language EPG Geographic Origin Culture Ancestry

  16. An EPG is found at an intersection of worldview influences Race Religion Language EPG Geographic Origin Culture Ancestry

  17. Where to start…The US Census • Nationality • Race • Asian • Hispanic • Native American • Foreign Born • Language • Ancestry • Potential Issues • (Vietnam vs. China) • (Cuba vs. Mexico) • (Korean vs. Spanish) • (German vs. Vietnamese) • US Census (www.census.gov)

  18. Statistical Sources • Online sources and professional reports • UBA Research Links (see next slide) • People Groups.info • www.city-data.com • Refugee resettlement agencies • Chambers of commerce, schools, realtors, etc.

  19. www.ubahouston.org

  20. http://imb.org/globalresearch/downloads.asp

  21. Stories & People • Personal Interviews • Listen to the stories • Look for anecdotal “nuggets” • Ask simple, open ended questions • “What’s the best thing about this community?” (and conversely…) • Surveys / Formal instruments • Community websites / Blogs

  22. Pictures

  23. Experiences Windshield surveys Anthropological observation

  24. Products • Worldview “Profile” • Lists • Spreadsheets & databases • Maps • Non-Christian religious institutions • Spiritual/ psychographic • Community markers (schools, churches, police, fire, etc.) **Map locations with GPS coordinates**

  25. Ethnographics Census Demographics

  26. 51,737 Asian Indian (Single race) 1.1% of Population For all census tracts on map Montgomery Liberty Waller Fort Bend Brazoria Galveston

  27. 63,723 Vietnamese (Single race) 1.4% of Population For all census tracts on map Montgomery Liberty Waller Fort Bend Brazoria Galveston

  28. 1,335,500 Hispanics 29% of Population For all census tracts on map Montgomery Liberty Waller Fort Bend Brazoria Galveston

  29. State of the Church in Houston • 75,000+ Asian Indians … 1 • 40,000+ Filipino … 5 • 70,000+ Vietnamese … 6 • 60,000+ Chinese … 10 • 25,000+ Koreans … 13 UBA Churches

  30. Reporting- Who Do You Trust? • Identify trustworthy sources online • Network with trustworthy sources in the community • People of influence (leverage): leaders • Other organizations/ partners • Only gather what you cannot trust to others (don’t reinvent the wheel) • Publish and disseminate only to trusted people

  31. Things to Remember… 1. Security is key– for them and for you. In today’s environment, no one is really excited about answering questions concerning their ethnicity, immigration status, etc. The best way to assuage concerns is to build relationships. If that is not possible, be patient. Learn a little at a time. Become familiar to them. Look for ways to build bridges.

  32. 2. Research is not the goal. Don’t gather more than you need. You probably don’t need to know the location of every Pakistani store owner in your area of study. If you don’t gather it, you don’t have to worry about it being leaked or hacked from your computer. For every person that intends to do something good with information you provide, someone intends to do something harmful with it.

  33. 3. Be aware of your language and appearance. Your initial research should cover the communicative customs of your intended people group. Know when it is appropriate to shake hands, cross your legs, etc. Also be wary of using the word “profile,”- these are highly sensitive times in regards to that word.

  34. 4. Be wary of too many handoffs. Suspicion can be raised among people groups if one individual establishes contact, several others conduct interviews, and yet others follow up on those interviews. Interview enough people within a group that an accurate assessment of the group can be gathered, but use the same interviewer for all interviews if possible. Relationships are key to people group research at all levels.

  35. 5.Be patient. Not all cultures share our Western/American view of time. An interview or meeting scheduled for 3pm might not start until 5pm, and only the American would be offended. That being said, the American must still hold themselves to ideal social standards; i.e. don’t be late, even if you know they will be.

  36. 6. Understand relationships that exist between people groups. From the outset, some groups will be able to worship/interact/socialize with other groups, and some will not. Don’t try to broker the peace before God leads and enables.

  37. 7. Be loving and be teachable. Showing interest out of the genuine love of Christ is the only way to reach unreached peoples. Remember that not everyone is ready for the gospel presentation, and indeed witnessing to one person too early can alienate the entire group. Anything they choose to share with you is a show of trust; building on that trust is the way to spread Christ throughout their people group.

  38. Josh Ellis Union Baptist Association 2916 West T.C. Jester, Suite 200 Houston, TX 77018 joshellis@ubahouston.org 713-957-2000

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