English as a Bridge

What does it mean at Antioch Church when we say that English is a bridge language?  Largely we are talking about how we use English and other languages in our corporate worship gatherings.  While we will always attempt to integrate as many languages as we can as a part of how we celebrate in worship, we recognize that for our church English will always be seen as the overarching and unifying language.  Now, for some multi-ethnic churches the bridge language may be different, but it seems inevitable that there must be a choice made.

At this point it works out like this.  We are integrating Swahili and Arabic into our services through prayers by individuals.  These are not translated.  We also read Scripture in all three languages with translation being projected on the screen in the languages not being read at the time.  We are verbally translating the Bible story phrase by phrase.  We are still fine-tuning translating the main points of the sermon on the screen in both Swahili and Arabic.

We are still considering several other ideas.  One is to use electronic devices for headset translation.  This is a challenge due cost and the need for an extremely talented real-time translator.  It also raises the question of how many languages can be supported with this technique.  We minster in a neighborhood with 70 people groups and certainly can’t fully translate to all of the languages that might come to a service.  Another thought is to provide translators in cluster seating during the service, so that, those who want to hear things translated, that are not translated from the stage, can be close enough to do so.

The realities of striking a language balance in a multi-ethnic church are always going to be difficult.  It requires grace and understanding.  It requires sensitivity to those participating.  It demands careful and thoughtful planning by leaders.  But, believing that the celebration of multi-ethnic worship is one worth pursuing all of the demands are worth it.  One further note, this type of worship also demands that opportunities are given, in our case through weekly Family Groups, for gathering in a context where the language barrier is not issue.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment, or by all means, if your church has a handle on these ideas share your solutions.