Cross Culture: Go where the people are

By Kevin Carrothers

Editor’s note: This post is one in a series on cross-cultural ministry, taken from a round table discussion between four Illinois pastors and leaders. Click here to read more from their conversation, published in the September 29 issue of the Illinois Baptist newspaper. 

Kevin Carrothers is pastor of Rochester First Baptist Church and president of IBSA. He will deliver the president’s message Wednesday, Nov. 2, during the Illinois Baptist State Association’s Annual Meeting at Broadview Missionary Baptist Church in Chicagoland. The theme of the meeting is “Cross-Culture.”

On being an influential church
I was a couple of years into my ministry in Rochester when I sat down with a leader in town. I asked him, “What do you think about when you hear Rochester First Baptist Church? What comes to mind?” His words weren’t really a rebuke, but I didn’t like what he said. He said “You’re a nice little church.”

Well, we are a small church, unapologetically a small church, but that was his perception, a “nice little church.” Now, hopefully that has changed since then. Now, we’re “the church that does the party” (our annual fall festival). Or we’re the church that does VBS in the summer in a way that spreads the gospel to our community.

We don’t have to be the biggest church but we can still be the most influential church.

I don’t want to just be the nice little church, but we are still little. The word that I want is influence. We don’t have to be the biggest church but we can still be the most influential church.

On ‘incarnational’ ministry
God was incarnational with us—he sent Jesus to live among people. Likewise, we need to be incarnational. Sometimes I think that’s where we kind of miss the boat in the church. We think we have to come up with a new program or a new ministry. Instead, let’s find out who is doing something and go be involved in that.

For me personally, being incarnational is volunteering at my kid’s school. On my day off, I spend a couple hours at the schools and have a presence there. That makes an impact. It’s coaching Little League or youth basketball. You’re there with people. Then, you have to be intentional about making sure the gospel becomes known, about making sure that they know this is who you are.

It gets back to all the things we have been talking about. Cross-culturally we have to love our community; we have to show them that we care. We have to go where they are.