Tonight Jenny and I went to the “grand opening” of a new church in Valley Ranch called Crossroad Church. No, we’re not leaving IBC. We were intrigued by Crossroad’s mission and wanted to support it. Crossroad Church is an intercultural church that focuses on first- and second-generation South Asians, primarily Indians. The northern half of Irving has thousands of Indian, Pakistani, and Bengali residents, many of whom are here doing contract work in various high-tech fields. Crossroad gives them a place to worship with other believers both from their own culture and from others, including American.
Jenny and I attended with two good Indian friends from our apartment community. I looked around during the service and saw people of all colors – brown, white, yellow, and black. Some women wore shirts and jeans, while others wore saris. Most of the service was in English, which I was surprised to learn is the only common language among the 1 billion+ Indians. The pastor gave the final benediction in a major Indian language. Before and after the service we mingled and met people, somewhat like we do at my own church but on a much deeper and broader scale.
It’s been said that Sunday morning is the most segregated time of the week in America, and I’m inclined to agree. My own church has a variety of races and nationalities, but the vast majority is white. The DFW area offers churches whose members are primarily or almost exclusively white, black, Korean, Tongan, Hispanic, or a host of other classifications. I’m not saying it’s bad to have specialized churches. It can be comforting and encouraging to worship in your own language and culture. But I also think it’s easy to get so wrapped up in your own culture that you’re uncomfortable around people from other cultures, and that’s a shame.
At Crossroad, even though we had different cultures, nationalities, ages, and languages, one thing united us: our faith in Jesus. People all over the world believe in, worship, and love Jesus as the Savior. Heaven will be a rainbow of people of all colors. I think some people will be surprised at how colorful it is simply because everyone at their own church looks just like them. I imagine the world’s largest choir, hundreds of millions strong, singing praises to the Father, a sound fuller and richer than anything anyone has ever heard. In what language will we sing? English? Hindi? French? Swahili? Mandarin? Perhaps each will sing in his or her own language, creating a single voice with millions of disparate parts that somehow blend into something beautiful, all singing,
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
Who was, and is, and is to come.
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