Local Community and Intercultural Communication: Helping Immigrants Research Paper

Introduction

Immigration is an inherent part of the modern world and millions of people each year decide to change their geographic location seeking a new life in a foreign country. The Christian church has always been supportive of the immigrants, especially those who were forced to leave their homeland due to religious persecution. For instance, since the 1950s, there is a noticeable trend among Christians living in the Middle East to move to other countries due to policies adopted by the Arab nations¹. Nevertheless, Christians are not the only immigrants whom people pursuing their mission of spreading the faith can help.

Any immigrants living in the local community can benefit from the support of passionate individuals motivated to assist those in need and promote biblical truths among them. As the Bible states, “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased”². Cross-cultural awareness and the ability to act effectively in intercultural situations can significantly assist a person in their engagement with immigrants in their local community.

The Steps for Working with Immigrants

As stated before, intercultural communication principles and understanding of cultural intelligence can increase the effectiveness of sharing biblical truth with immigrants. The first step in my work with immigrants would be to learn more about their culture, language, social relations. Such basic knowledge will allow me to adjust my behavior for working with immigrants and to make their intercultural experience as smooth as possible. As a result, I will be able to develop my cultural empathy, which is, according to Livermore, vital for getting an insight into the self-experiences of the immigrants³.

Essentially, I will prepare myself to becomes a person with whom immigrants will be able to communicate openly and freely. To do it, I will sacrifice my time and efforts and will show my brotherly love to the immigrants since, as Paul said, “whoever sows generously will also reap generously”⁴. My knowledge of the immigrants’ culture and language will let me establish trust in our relationship, which will be essential for communicating biblical truth to them.

The next step in my culturally aware work with the immigrants living in the local community would focus on integration through communal social events. I will organize community events and invite both local members of the church and the immigrants in order to create a safe environment for them to meet. Such events help increase the cultural awareness of the locals and improve their confidence in terms of interacting with immigrants, thus enhancing their cultural intelligence⁵.

Moreover, such events must be organized around the Christian idea of sharing and charity, which are reflected in the Bible, “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality”⁶. At the events, I would distribute lyrics for songs which can be sung together by immigrants and locals. I would also advise everyone to bring gifts such as images of Mary and the saints and give them to others, thus fostering the link between the brothers and sisters of different cultures.

Finally, the last step in my personal engagement with immigrants from the local community would be inviting those facing extreme hardship to live with my family. Such experience would involve me providing the immigrant with the knowledge about their new homeland’s culture and acting as an interpreter. Additionally, I would invite the immigrant to attend church with me and would translate sermons to them, and would encourage them to pray together. Such an initiative will promote self-efficacy and cultural intelligence in both the immigrant and me. Subsequently, the effectiveness of our intercultural communication will increase through a reduction of anxiety related to cross-cultural interactions⁷.

Moreover, such a relationship with the immigrant will let me understand their cultural value pattern and, based on it, develop a plan on how to promote biblical truths in their community⁸. Thus, by helping the immigrant to become familiar with the norms of the host culture and the Christian faith, I will fulfill my Great Commission.

Conclusion

Intercultural communication principles provide an effective framework for working with immigrants and helping them integrate into a new society. Personally, when interacting with immigrants, I would learn about their culture and language and would promote Christianity among them by encouraging them to interact with the local church community. Such activities would increase my cultural intelligence, which would be essential for my mission to fulfill the Great Commission. Essentially, by demonstrating exemplary charity to immigrants living in the local community, I will be able to show them that the church is the place is where they are always welcome.

Bibliography

Abbasi-Shavazi, Mohammad Jalal, and Gavin W. Jones. “Population Dynamics and Human Capital in Muslim Countries.” Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 16, 1 (2018): 57-82.

Akbaba, Yasemin, and Jonathan Fox. “Societal Rather than Governmental Change: Religious Discrimination in Muslim-Majority Countries after the Arab Uprisings.” All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace 8, no. 1 (2019): 5–22.

Chang, C. Tim, and Ashley E. Chang. Christian Intercultural Communication: How to Share God’s Love with People of Other Cultures. Dubuque, IA: KendallHunt, 2021.

Hazran, Yusri. “Emigration of Christians from the Arab Middle East: A New Reading.” The Journal of the Middle East and Africa 10, no. 3 (2019): 189–210.

Holy Bible, New International Version. New York: Biblica, Inc, 2011.

Liao, Yuan, and David C. Thomas. Cultural Intelligence in the World of Work: Past, Present, Future. London: Springer Nature, 2020.

Liu, Shuang, Volcic, Zala, and Cindy Gallois. Introducing Intercultural Communication: Global Cultures and Contexts. New York: SAGE Publications, 2018.

Livermore, David. Leading with Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success. 2nd ed. New York: AMACOM, 2015.

Mashuri, Ali, and Esti Zaduqisti. “Explaining Muslims’ Aggressive Tendencies Towards the West: The Role of Negative Stereotypes, Anger, Perceived Conflict and Islamic Fundamentalism.” Psychology and Developing Societies 31, no. 1 (2019): 56-87.

Presbitero, Alfred and Hooman Attar. “Intercultural communication effectiveness, cultural intelligence and knowledge sharing: Extending anxiety-uncertainty management theory.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 67, no. 1 (2018), 35–43.

Ting-Toomey, Stella and Leeva C. Chung. Understanding Intercultural Communication. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Footnotes

1. Hazran, Yusri. “Emigration of Christians from the Arab Middle East: A New Reading.” The Journal of the Middle East and Africa 10, no. 3 (2019): 189.
2. Hebrews 13:16 (New International Version).
3. Livermore, David, Leading with Cultural Intelligence: The Real Secret to Success. 2nd ed (New York: AMACOM, 2015), 201.
4. Corinthians 9:6 (New International Version).
5. Liao, Yuan, and David C. Thomas, Cultural Intelligence in the World of Work: Past, Present, Future. (London: Springer Nature, 2020), 87.
6. Romans 12:13 (New International Version).
7. Presbitero, Alfred and Hooman Attar. “Intercultural communication effectiveness, cultural intelligence and knowledge sharing: Extending anxiety-uncertainty management theory.” International Journal of Intercultural Relations 67, no. 1 (2018), 36.
8. Ting-Toomey, Stella and Leeva C. Chung, Understanding Intercultural Communication (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), 40.