Including Someone Whose First Language Is Different
You want to include someone, but conversation takes more time when you do not share a first language. You can begin with a warm greeting and a willingness to keep learning.
declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!
(Acts 2:11, NIV, excerpt)
At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit enables Jesus’ followers to speak so that people from many places hear God’s wonders in their own languages. Peter then proclaims the risen Christ. The event displays God’s work reaching a varied crowd through words they can understand.
Give understanding time and attention
Learn how to say the person’s name. Speak clearly, use ordinary words, and leave space for a response. Ask what would make communication easier rather than deciding for them.
Where helpful, arrange a capable interpreter or reliable translated material through your church. Important conversations deserve accurate understanding and appropriate privacy.
Invite the person’s ideas and contributions. A language difference can hide how much knowledge, humor, and care someone has to share if everyone moves too quickly.
You might learn a greeting in their language or sit together while finding a translation of a Bible passage. These ordinary acts of attention can help a neighbor participate more fully in the life around them and hear about Jesus with greater clarity.
A prayer
Father, give us patient hearts across language differences. Help us listen carefully, communicate clearly, and honor the people we meet. Make our churches attentive places where many voices can hear and share the good news of Jesus. Amen.
Keep reading: Welcoming a Family That Looks Different From Yours · Making Room to Listen Before You Advise.
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Patient welcome makes room for the voice we are still learning to understand.
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