Sojourner #057: Ministering In A Bilingual Setting For The Glory Of God

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9-10, ESV)

Ministering in a Bilingual Setting Para La Gloria De Dios

Bilingual ministry is hard. It slows us down, challenges our preferences, and forces us to share space in ways that feel uncomfortable. But in a world divided by language and culture, the church is called to be different.

In this article, Pastor James Gilbert writes from the frontlines of a small-town church learning to worship together across languages. It hasn’t been easy, but it has been worth it. Because the unity Christ purchased is not theoretical. It’s real, and it’s meant to be seen.

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Bilingual ministry isn’t easy. I struggle to preach when I am being translated. The constant pauses interrupt the rhythm with which I like to preach. It’s not easy for the listener either. You have to concentrate to hold your thoughts while the last sentence is being translated.

In a culture where our minds are prone to wander it can become taxing to sit through an hour long Bible study. It makes sense that churches would divide over issues such as language. Add to this the reality that there are certain families in our churches that will never be able to carry on a conversation with other families and it begs the question, “why bother?”

For us at First Baptist Church Meridian the answer is at least two fold. 

We believe our worship on earth should mirror worship in heaven. In Revelation 7 we see a multitude gathered around the throne of God. This multitude is diverse. There are people from every tribe, nation, and tongue. In fact, I would posit that these people have very little in common.

Conversations around the dinner table would be filled with awkward pauses as the realization set in that they’ve lived very different experiences. Yet the diversity present is no obstacle for pure worship because the thing they have in common is infinitely greater than their diverse experiences. 

The glory of God in the salvation that comes only through the name of Jesus is the very theme of their praise. Therefore, despite their many differences, there is unity in the Gospel. This unity is possible on earth because He [Jesus] Himself is our peace, who has made us one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:14).

The Gospel takes all of our differences and sets them aside with this one truth: all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and all who believe are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24). Because of this truth we desire FBC to be as diverse as the culture in which we find ourselves.  

Bosque County, Texas is 19.6% hispanic and there are no Gospel centered, Spanish speaking churches around us. When we started ministering to Spanish speakers we quickly realized that though they speak Spanish, their kids and grandkids may or may not even understand Spanish, much less speak it as their heart language.

If we wanted to minister to families we needed to be able to minister to parents and grandparents in Spanish while simultaneously ministering to kids and grandkids in English. 

After much trial and error, this is what a typical week in the life of FBC looks like today, by God's grace:

On Sundays and Wednesdays we offer a bilingual Bible study, meaning that the teacher speaks a sentence or two in English followed by a translator translating into Spanish. Once a quarter, we will do a bilingual worship service during our corporate worship time. 

Every other week we use technology to translate the spoken parts of our service into Spanish. We broadcast the English to our translator for the week, they translate on the fly (we have very gifted translators), and we broadcast that into the radio receivers that are worn by our Spanish speakers in the service. 

This method is far from perfect.

We sing many songs that do not have Spanish versions and, culturally, we are not blending our music to include Latin American styling. However, it allows us to worship together, as one body, under one roof. Families are able to attend services together and attend the same Bible studies. 

This commitment has not been without its challenges. 

We initially had some push back from some of our English speaking members and some have even left the church. I’m happy to say we don’t hear this kind of murmuring anymore. In fact, there are times we feel like we would see more efficient discipleship if we offered studies in Spanish only formats, but this is quickly struck down by our English speaking members because they enjoy being together with our brothers and sisters who speak another language.

That’s a change in culture that can only be brought about by the Gospel working itself out in our lives. 

Bilingual ministry is difficult sometimes, but I believe it is worth doing because it gives glory to the God who created diverse cultures and brings them together under the banner of His salvation. 

May God be praised.

About the Author:

James Gilbert serves as the lead pastor and one of the elders at First Baptist Church in Meridian, Texas. In a congregation that spans across cultures and languages, he has helped lead the church toward a bilingual model of ministry - not because it’s easy, but because Christ is worthy.

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