Cultural Competency in Colorado Front Range District: A Work in Progress

There is a question that has been asked by church leaders for decades, with no easy answer or solution. It’s a question I remember hearing when I started seminary at the Iliff School of Theology almost twenty-five years ago. A question which has taken center stage at leadership conferences, clergy and laity gatherings, visioning events, and annual conferences. That question, “How do our churches connect with the neighborhood when the neighborhoods are changing around them, and the church is not?” We know the reality that neighborhoods continue to change, and yet many of our churches still reflect the neighborhood as it was thirty, or fifty, or seventy years ago.

I was invited into the role of District Superintendent in 2020, in the middle of covid, when everything was changing. I attended the new DS training and was introduced to the IDI, the Intercultural Development Inventory. This tool assesses a person’s intercultural competency – the capacity to shift perspective and adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities. I found myself fascinated and motivated by the IDI, and the conversations it invited amongst church leadership.

As a District Superintendent, I serve the Colorado Front Range District, which includes the city of Denver and the surrounding suburbs and towns along the front range. After engaging in and learning about the IDI, it seemed appropriate to bring this tool to the CFR district with a vision of increasing the cultural awareness, humility and competency of our clergy and district leadership. With a goal of impacting clergy and church leadership. With the vision of making real culture shifts amongst clergy and churches in the district.

We began by applying for and receiving grant money to cover the cost of all district clergy, DCOM members and district leadership’s engagement in the IDI and group trainings. Since then, we’ve also received grant money for local churches to engage the IDI training and assessment. We developed a list of resources for clergy and churches, created small groups, invited outside speakers from the jurisdiction, and are working on next steps for individuals and groups.

We are still in the beginning phases of our cultural competency development as a district. We’ve learned that this type of work takes time. Growth in cultural competency and humility takes time, but I believe it can be a first step in helping our churches understand who they are in new ways. I believe it can help our churches better understand their neighbors and engage in outreach and community ministry in different ways – in ways that are meaningful to the community and the church.

One of our long-term goals of increasing the cultural awareness and competency of our leadership is better engagement and impact in anti-racism work, both in the district and conference.

The IDI is one tool among many, but it has helped create a common language, a shared vision, and work that both laity and clergy can do together. I am excited by shifts we’ve already seen in the DCOM, in our clergy, and in the churches who are engaging the important work of intercultural competency.