It may be a cliché, but the nations are here. In the US, and certainly in a college town like BCS, one does not have to go far before he or she encounters those "nations" right outside there door.
This is one of those places in the bible where the English fails to fully convey the sentiment which is found in the Greek. The word ἔθνος (ethnos) which is the word that is translated as "nation," does not carry the the political insinuation which our English word "nation" has. Instead of referencing a group of people defined by political borders on a map, this word is better seen to be referencing groups united through a common ethnicity or cultural practice. It is is arguable that what Christ was asking was for the his good news message to be spread among the cultures of this world.
And suddenly the whole thing opens up!
The local church might be able to send out missionaries to the nations, and vicariously minister there. But the command to bring the gospel to the cultures can be practiced right here right now. How many cultures in Bryan/College station?
The numbers show us that there is much diversity of ethnicity and culture, especially in Bryan. A closer look shows us that this is a diversity in disunity. Though there are many cultures they are, by and large, segregated and separated to their own neighborhoods and organizations.
When God called Erin and I to college station it would have been easier for me, as a white man, to seek to create a church which operated within the norms of my own cultural experience. But God didn't say go plant a church for the white people in Bryan/College station. And we would have to turn a blind eye to the reality of these cities we have been called to if we were to create a church which was only for those people who looked and acted like us. We have been called to start a church for these cities, and the people who are here. We have been called to start a church which is as richly diverse as Bryan/College Station is--a church for our community.
In the book of Revelation we see a picture of mankind, from every tongue, tribe and nation worshiping God. This is what heaven will be, a beautiful patchwork of diversity, perfectly united in the adoration of our King. Christ taught us to pray that God's will would be done "on earth as it is in heaven." For us this means that here and now is the place to see this unity of diversity. Why wait for heaven? We want to start now.
This is part of the vision of the Vineyard Church BCS--to be a church that reflects our community--to be a Culturally Diverse Church.
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