The Mission of the International Church

How often does a person have the opportunity to regularly meet, converse and share significant life experiences with people from over fifty different national cultures? I have had this privilege for almost fifteen years as a member of Crossroads Church, an English-speaking international church for the greater Geneva area in Ferney-Voltaire, France. My husband Larry serves as Crossroads’ senior pastor and I recently completed a formal study of the congregation as part of my MA thesis at Redcliffe College.

Although the “many-coloured” nature of our international church is one of its most visible distinctives, my experience at Crossroads has revealed unique, often overlooked mission opportunities that challenge the long held view of the international church as “a social club for the diplomatic and business community who refuse to integrate into the host culture”; a “place of refuge…rather than a place for outreach” (Pederson, 1999).

In contrast, I argue that the international church provides a valuable and distinct missiological context from which all churches can benefit.  It provides a wide open door for the gospel, it models unity in its cultural and theological diversity, and it transforms and sends a unique and mobile mission force into an increasingly globalised world.  

A Wide Open Door

Crossroads has a wide open door for the gospel. Its multi-ethnic and multi-denominational character means it is a big tent which gathers not only those from many nations but also those from nearly all church (or non-church) traditions. There is no typical profile for those who are welcomed through Crossroads’ doors each week. This openness matches the open-minded nature of those attending—many who are not in their home culture and have had to adapt to the diversity and frequent change characterising the transience of our region. This means the congregation is constantly adapting, which allows for a unique freedom; the church is flexible and open to worship in different styles, languages and forms borrowed from various Christian traditions. This stretches personal comfort levels, but the shared respect for those of different Christian expressions allows for new growth and understanding and an openness to something that is not “church as usual”.

Crossroads’ common language of English can define and unite the church. But rather than creating insularity, I have seen its potential to be an open door to faith for non-native speakers; those attracted by the opportunity to learn and speak English and those who are drawn spiritually by another language. I spoke with Miriam Phillips, executive pastor at Crossroads International Church in Amsterdam who observes:

“People who hear about Jesus in their second language, also experience hearing without some of their cultural baggage against the Gospel (bad experiences, church history, etc.). An international church reaches a different part of the population than a local language church [and] can offer additional opportunities for the Gospel.”

“International church provides a missiological context from which all churches can benefit. It models unity in its cultural and theological diversity, and sends a unique and mobile mission force into an increasingly globalised world.
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A French member of our congregation told me, “We come to this church to find another kind of thinking…another mentality”; a Brazilian woman said she feels there is “nothing to learn” in her home church. The inherent flexibility and difference of the international church means its doors are open to people at all stages of their faith journey.

A Model of Unity in Diversity

The multi-ethnic nature of Crossroads is often compared to Revelation 7 as a future picture of “every nation, tribe, people and language” standing before the throne of God.  What I find even more significant is that the international church stands as a small-scale model of what God is doing across the world today, when world divisions based on ethno-national cultural difference are all too real. In the midst of our very secular and increasingly polarised European setting, we can look around the church and be reminded that God’s Spirit is alive and well in Europe and beyond. One leader calls Christian unity across racial and cultural divides “an amazing sign of God’s power in our broken world”.  The multi-ethnic international church has an opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences, leading to what pastor and author Jack Wald calls, “great possibilities for mutual correction”. International churches may serve as a model for other churches wanting to reach out to a more racially diverse or immigrant population.

This church model is especially inviting for those in mixed race families and for those who would be a more visible racial minority in a local congregation. One woman told me she was very aware of being “the only black” in her Swiss church; the reality that in comparison there are “all colours at Crossroads” was very important to her. A woman at an international church in Strasbourg wrote, “For our own interracial family, it was like a glimpse of heaven on earth” (Wilson, 2012). A couple from France and Madagascar expressed, “We are a normal couple at Crossroads, a normal family”.

Recognising the many church cultures and traditions represented at Crossroads highlights the need to prioritise the core truths of the gospel message, or as author Stephen Covey would say, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing”.  Attending an international church challenges its members to re-examine which Christian traditions are more ethno-cultural than biblical and to put aside personal preferences and secondary doctrinal issues that so often divide congregations. The International Church in Surrey makes this point on its website, stating, “In focusing on our core beliefs, we enjoy a wonderful sense of unity”. One Crossroads member uses the metaphor of a quilt:

“You have many patches of different colours but they are bound together in a framework. You are allowed to be different, but Crossroads shows you that you are connected somehow. There is a framework that binds us together.”

A Mobile Mission Force

A key characteristic of the international church, along with its diversity, is the mobility of its members. The mission for Crossroads is to train and equip a mobile mission force; I see this happening in at least two ways. First, the nature of the church context provides great potential for personal challenge and transformation; as one man shared, “Once you have experienced it you can't go back to being the same person anymore”.  This practical and transformative training in cross-cultural ministry benefits not only congregants but also short-term ministry interns invited from around the world, who then take a different world-view into their future churches and ministries.   

The church also serves as a spiritual anchor to counteract the instability often experienced by a largely expatriate congregation. Everyone has a particular call in the Great Commission - for some in our church it may be bringing a Christian perspective to their UN organisation, fellow CERN physicists or international school. These are mission fields of rocky soil so the church is, as one member says, a “place of replenishment”; a place to be equipped and encouraged as God moves these world leaders to new assignments.

In conclusion, international churches such as Crossroads have unique opportunities to reflect the true international nature of the Church of Jesus Christ. Each international congregation, within its particular local context, has been called to be a wide open door where many will find faith, present a model of unity in diversity and to be a mobile force for the gospel message both locally and globally.

Lisa Lloyd

Lisa Lloyd completed an MA in European Mission and Intercultural Christianity at Redcliffe College in 2015. She and her husband Larry have served at Crossroads Church in France since 2002.

Pederson, D. (1999) Expatriate Ministry: Inside the Church of the Outsiders, Seoul, Korea: self published, Korean Center for World Missions

Wilson, S. (2012) “Searching for a Church: Life on the Ecclesiastical Frontier”,Christian Century, 26 July, https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-07/searching-church,(Accessed: 3 January 2015)