Intercultural Training
The face of Canada is changing. According to Statistics Canada, by 2031 nearly one half of Canadians aged 15 and over will be a first generation immigrant or will have at least one parent who is a first generation immigrant. What does that mean for the Canadian church? It means that Christians will need to know how to embrace Christians of other cultures, and how to interact with people of different faiths.
UReach Calgary strives to connect people to information and resources to help with the development of Intercultural Competency and Cultural Intelligence.
Intercultural Assessment & Coaching
The Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI) is an assessment tool to help individuals and teams assess and reflect on where they are on their intercultural development journey. The IDI®, through its qualified administrators, helps participants to evaluate where they are on a six-stage intercultural development continuum.
A coaching plan generated by the IDI® assessment assists participants to intentionally develop intercultural self- awareness, knowledge and skills for effective ministry. (http://idiinventory.com)
In Calgary, the Jaffray Centre offers the IDI assessment as part of their unique Cultural Fluency training for Christians engaged in local and global missions.
Training Resources
The Finding Our Way resource is a practical, interdenominational Guide To Action for congregational leaders in Canada developed from the Role of Churches Research project. It features 11 key strategies (described as “Wayfinding Actions”) that Church leaders can use in working with – and learning from – immigrants and refugees. This Guide to Action also encourages individuals and groups to balance the “doing” of
In order to serve effectively individuals and churches must take the time to map their community to understand the changes taking place around them. This “Neighbourhood Mapping Resource” provides helpful information on how to map your community.