1. Someone trained in theology and knowledge of the Bible through classes offered This person is not necessarily seminary trained since most prospective leaders could not go to seminary, but Bible school training, even non-accredited, is enough to become an elder or deacon. In the Assemblies of God (Dr. Thomas' denomination), one can be licensed to preach upon passing district required comes.

2. A natural leader; someone who has the respect of the people. As Dr. Thomas puts it: "When he talks, people listen!"

Ethnocentricity, or even racism, are tremendous barriers to effective ministry in dealing with people from other cultures. For one who is working among the great numbers of refugees and immigrants coming into the U.S., there must be an understanding of their differences in background, culture, values and behavior. This focus is evident in all of the cultural situations researched in this report and is a primary concern for Dr. Thomas.

People from other cultural backgrounds come into this country as 'misplaced" individuals in our society. They may be poor, unkempt and untidy, or appear to us to be lazy or "unwilling" to get a job. An inability to speak English may cause them to become isolated as a people group, choosing only to fellowship with each other in a society where they are the minority. This deepens their growing sense of insecurity, fear, withdrawal and frustration. They may hold to a very different set of moral or ethical standards than is normally acceptable in our culture, or they may have very different behavior in social situations (overly distant and 'cold" or overly dependent ).

Again, Dr. Thomas emphasizes the focus in ministry on forgiveness, compassion for all people, awareness and understanding of cultural differences, and tolerance for these differences even when they are hard to accept. "We can't condemn people or talk negatively about them," says Dr. Thomas. "We must understand and be non-judgmental, we must have compassion for them, pray for them and be willing to help them financially. We can and we must identify with them, but we are not just like them".

This attitude of total non-judgmentalism can sometimes be a bigger problem for us than most of us would like to admit. We can easily encounter misunderstandings in communication with people of our own language and culture! Even when we are cross- culturally sensitive, it is much more likely that among people of other cultures, behavior will be misunderstood and judgments or wrong assumptions made. The inability (or possible inappropriateness) to effectively communicate feelings regarding an incident of misunderstanding creates unwanted barriers to ministry for both the individual who is in ministry and for the individual being ministered to. For the individual in ministry, the judgment of the other person itself is the initial barrier. The immigrant or refugee who senses these feelings may become distant, resentful, mistrustful or angry, thus continuing (or deepening) the process of communication breakdown.

An example of how a small misunderstanding can create barriers in cross-cultural communication occurred during the research and preparation for this project. After a service one evening at the Slavik church, I approached a woman whom Dr. Thomas had said would be helpful in answering some questions about the process in which she and her family had come to America. I introduced myself, explained the purpose of the project and that it was for World Relief. When I asked if it would be okay to talk with her for a few minutes, she seemed very hurried and said that she would not have the time to talk with me. I assured her that it would only take a few minutes, and she seemed to relax a little.

When asked about the transition period in Europe between leaving the Ukraine and coming to Seattle, she explained that they had stayed in very good hotels and received three meals a day. She knew that this had not been paid for by the Russian government and "appeared"' rather flippant in saying "I don't know who paid, I just know that somebody, maybe World Relief, did." It occurred to me then how easy it would have been to judge her motives - my first instinct, in fact, was to do just that! Even though she thought World Relief might have sponsored her "freedom", she appeared to have little time, motivation to help in return, or appreciation for the help given to her.

The fact that I had already spent ten weeks attending this church and had gotten to know the culture a little helped me to realize, however, that the behavior of the Russian- Ukrainian individual may easily communicate to us a rigid, distant and cold demeanor. (It is also not helpful in any communication to make judgments based on one incident!) I had seen this woman give much time to interpretation and leadership in the music for the services, and had already learned from Dr. Thomas of her transformation in adjusting to American culture. She is a dedicated individual, a committed Christian and a faithful servant.

Most people who are tying to survive in a foreign culture can be expected to have a difficult time adjusting. But when the change is a result of oppression or persecution, or it has been from a poor culture to our affluent culture, the pressures are enormous. It is no wonder that there was little time (and energy) for this woman to spare.

Another example might be the tendency of many people who appear to be unwilling to work. Do we really take the time to understand how we would feel if we were the ones in a foreign country, driven out of our familiar homeland, unable to communicate with other people and unable to understand why things are done the way they are? In defense of the lack of compassion for the situation, some have asked 'Why do they come here if they don't want to adjust to doing things our way?' If we have been born into the American culture, we must recognize and honestly deal with how easy it is for this thinking to creep up on us! The attitude of superiority, judgmentalism and arrogance in thinking this way has no place in ministry and it must be guarded against very carefully. Who of us can ever really say that we are free from all cultural bias or value judgment acquired from our own society?

Just when we think we are incapable of being so "narrow-minded", we may find this the easiest time to make wrong assumptions or judgments about people, no matter how small or subtle they are.

Dr. Thomas points out that by the time the second generation grows to an age where they become leadership of the church, the communication problems decrease greatly. Since they have grown up in American culture, have studied English in the American school system, and for the most part have adapted American culture, the ability to communicate effectively with English-speaking Americans is not a major problem. Also, having made the transition at an earlier age than did their parents, the adjustment would very likely have been much easier for them. Since the children need to go to school they do not have the choice of adhering to their first language or isolating themselves into communication only with people from their own ethnicity. Being more resilient, they are thrown into the new and unfamiliar experience of learning to cope with life in a different land. While the adjustments are not without difficulty, by the time they reach adulthood, they have usually been able to learn to function efficiently in their new culture.

Tolerance and compassion are important in ministry to ethnics, but how should we approach problems of moral indiscretion, violence or other such behavior that is Biblically wrong and socially unacceptable in our culture, but culturally acceptable for others? Dr. Thomas stresses, again, the need for sensitivity to good timing and spiritual discretion in such matters. "We must watch for sin and syncretistic practice of religion," he says, "but we must also be very careful that we are not communicating a Gospel that comes with conditions." Jesus did not expect people to completely straighten out their lives before He allowed them to believe in Him! He accepted people, all people, right where, they were, and promised the Holy Spirit to convict and bring growth.

Ministry among ethnic people requires the flexibility of a person who can let go of doing things his or her own way, often deferring to the cultural ways of the people group. When the "ways" are clearly unbiblical and "sinful" it is very difficult to let it go, even for a while, unaddressed. With people of other cultures (in most cases), conversion does not occur instantaneously. Dr. Thomas explains the need for much patience-. "It takes a long time to help a person to really understand Christianity and the meaning of salvation". Untimely judgment of culturally accepted behavior can be extremely detrimental to this process.

We all bring our past experiences with us into new surroundings; they have formed our personalities, behavior, self-worth and identification. Our world view is based on the value assumptions we make based on these experiences! It is no different for any other ethnic group who may have had life experiences based on a totally different set of values. They may make similar value judgments, based on Scriptural truth or our behavior! For example, the importance of consumerism and reliance on acquiring material wealth and property for the social status of most Americans is clearly unbiblical. With television and the media promoting these things as socially acceptable, it is no wonder that even the church has too often accepted this philosophy! What "value judgments" might people from other cultures, having lived in poverty, form of American Christians? An understanding of cross-cultural values, taking an "inventory" of our own personal shortcomings and spiritual poverty, and recognizing the full impact of 'spiritual value judgments" on effective communication of the Gospel are all essential. keys to developing the patience, wisdom and understanding that is necessary for an ethnic church planter in urban America.