By Sarah Trask
Crown College recently hosted our 1st annual Intercultural Competency Training with the renowned expert, Alex Bryant, as our facilitator. This training took place in October and involved an array of sessions tailored to the various groups within our college community.
Training sessions were conducted with the President’s Cabinet, ensuring that our executive leadership team is equipped with the knowledge and skills to foster a culture of belonging and global engagement throughout the college. In addition, the President’s Council, the Kingdom Diversity Committee, the Diversity Collective, and representatives from each division participated in these discussions. Sessions were held for our on-campus and, online students, faculty, and staff. The training provided valuable insights and strategies for enhancing intercultural understanding and communication across our diverse community.
At Crown College, we value Kingdom Diversity. We passionately believe that the Word of God transcends boundaries and is intended for all people regardless of their background, ethnicity, or culture. We embrace the importance of fostering an understanding and appreciation for our brothers and sisters in Christ who come from races and cultures that may differ from our own. Intercultural Competency Training that we included equipping employees to be informed and engaged in the lives of students.
Our goals for the training were multifaceted, primarily aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of our own cultural identities while appreciating the cultural backgrounds and perspectives of others. We wanted to develop skills for effective communication strategies that promote clear, respectful, and empathetic dialogue across cultural boundaries as we learn to create a campus environment where all individuals feel valued, respected, and included, regardless of their cultural or ethnic background. By doing this, our community will have strengthened mediation skills and conflict resolution techniques to facilitate understanding and reconciliation in situations of cultural misunderstanding or tension. Through these sessions, Mr. Bryant created space for conversations that helped build bridges of understanding and reconciliation.
ABOUT KINGDOM DIVERSITY:
Matthew 25:35, Matthew 25:40, Matthew 28:18, John 3:16-17, John 13:34, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:13-14, Revelation 7:9
Crown College values and understands the need for a culture of belonging and global engagement, striving toward true unity in Christ as affirmed in the scriptures.
As we are all formed in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), we must strive toward the true unity in Christ affirmed in the scriptures. Crown seeks to honor our brothers and sisters in Christ worldwide with different backgrounds, perspectives, races, gifts, experiences, ages, denominational theologies, and ethnicities who hold diverse ideas and academic approaches. With cultural voices defining diversity initiatives and perspectives, Crown College values the ability to think about these things biblically. We value the ability to disagree with one another while still maintaining deep relationships. We encourage forming genuine friendships with those different from us, seeking out and understanding diverse perspectives, engaging with each other in their area of interest, and taking time to understand others’ experiences. We desire biblical reconciliation, celebrating with those in times of celebration, mourning with those in times of mourning, and praying consistently for and with everyone. Our deepest desire is to “go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15).
