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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?. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Reading Your ContextGreat 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?
“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
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?
Tools
Current reality can be understood through a variety of means:StatisticsStoriesPicturesExperiences
AWAREA– analyze W– watch A– ask & listenR– read E– experience
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…
Current Reality -- Harris County
Growth Population shift
U.S. Census Figures—Harris County
1960 1970 1980 1990 20000
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
8073.9
69.2
62.6
54.2
42.1
19.8 20.1 19.6 19.2 18.2
69.9
15.3
22.8
32.9
0.3 0.8 2.14.1
6.5
Anglos
Blacks
Hispanics
Asians/Others
U.S. Census Figures—Texas (Counties by Race) 2006 American Community Survey Estimates
Bexar-2006
Dallas-2006
Tarrant-2006
Harris-2006
TX-20060
20
40
60
80
100
33.6 37.2
57.2
37.849.4
7.1
20.7
13.7
18.611.6
57.237.7
24.838.2 35.7
2.1 4.4 4.3 5.4 3.3
Asians/OthersHispanicsBlacksAnglos
Current Reality
Growth Population shift Diversity
ImmigrationLanguageCultureReligionWorldview
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
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
Los Angeles New York
ChicagoSan Francisco
What is your current reality?
Who are your people groups?
A worldview can seem to be a confusing mix of factors…
EPG
Race
Geographic Origin
Language
Ancestry
Culture
Religion
EPG
An EPG is found at an intersection of worldview influences
Race
Geographic Origin
Language
Ancestry
Culture
Religion
Where to start…The US Census
NationalityRace
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)
Statistical Sources
Online sources and professional reportsUBA Research Links (see next slide)People Groups.infowww.city-data.com Refugee resettlement agenciesChambers of commerce, schools,
realtors, etc.
www.ubahouston.org
http://imb.org/globalresearch/downloads.asp
Stories & People
Personal InterviewsListen to the storiesLook for anecdotal “nuggets”Ask simple, open ended questions
“What’s the best thing about this community?” (and conversely…)
Surveys / Formal instruments Community websites / Blogs
Pictures
Experiences
Windshield surveysAnthropological observation
Products
Worldview “Profile” Lists Spreadsheets & databases Maps
Non-Christian religious institutionsSpiritual/ psychographicCommunity markers (schools,
churches, police, fire, etc.)**Map locations with GPS coordinates**
Census Demographics
Ethnographics
51,737 Asian Indian (Single race)1.1% of PopulationFor all census tracts on map
Fort Bend BrazoriaGalveston
Waller
Montgomery
Liberty
63,723 Vietnamese (Single race)1.4% of PopulationFor all census tracts on map
Fort Bend BrazoriaGalveston
Waller
Montgomery
Liberty
1,335,500 Hispanics29% of PopulationFor all census tracts on map
Fort Bend BrazoriaGalveston
Waller
Montgomery
Liberty
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
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
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.
Things to Remember…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Josh EllisUnion Baptist Association
2916 West T.C. Jester, Suite 200Houston, TX 77018
