Embracing Cultural Identity in Ministry
by Simi John
My heart broke as I watched the pandemic devastate India. When I shared my grief with a friend in ministry, she said, “Wow, I had no idea. You never even talk about being Indian.” Without pausing, I replied, “It’s because for so long I had to hide being Indian!” That conversation stuck with me for months. By the end of 2020, God had placed a deep burden in my heart for Indian women.
I moved from Kerala to Texas at the age of seven. I left all that was familiar and stepped into a place where I was the other. I remember walking into my third grade classroom where no one looked like me. I watched groups of kids play together at recess while I sat alone under the shade of a tree. I knew that I had to fit in to survive in this new place.
I slowly learned how to eat with a fork and knife instead of my hands. I watched episodes of Sesame Street to learn how to speak English with an American accent. Within two years, I had assimilated to the dominant culture and was like everyone else. The superpower of an immigrant is the ability to quickly adapt to the environment in which we are placed. Therefore, I became an expert chameleon, even in ministry.
Most of the spaces I was invited into didn’t offer much diversity. Even places with Asian representation rarely included Indians. As a Christian, I know my identity is rooted in Christ, that I am first and foremost a child of God, and that my allegiance is to Him. But I didn’t even recognize that I hid my culture and ethnicity in the process whenever I stood to share God’s word or wrote for Christian publications. Slowly I forgot that I was uniquely created as an Indian-American woman.
But does culture even matter to God?
Joseph was misunderstood and hated by his own brothers. He found more favor in the eyes of foreigners than his own family, and therefore, tried to fit in. But when the time came for him to help his people, he revealed his true identity. Esther was an orphan whose beauty gave her opportunities that she could never have imagined. She was given a position of influence and power but no one knew she was Jewish. But when faced with a burden to save her people, she declared who she was at the risk of losing everything. Even our God became flesh, walked this earth as a man, and lived in the context of Jewish culture.
But in addition to these biblical examples, I was convicted when I realized that hiding how God made us can suggest that he made a mistake. We conceal and cover up blemishes, and things that bring us shame. But God didn’t accidentally make me Indian. In His sovereign power and wisdom he made me with brown skin, dark brown eyes, and black hair. He chose for me to be born within a specific timeframe and in the beautiful southern coast of India. It was all on purpose. It is a part of my story. It forms my voice as I share His word with others. And in order to come out of hiding, he had to heal me from the lie that I was made to merely fit in.
In 2020, God gave me a burden for Indian women and removed the burden of having to hide my cultural identity. The Holy Spirit pulled me out of what I found comfortable and led me into what I was called to do. This was his way of positioning me to help others. He deeply pressed upon my heart that people need to see Jesus in someone that looks like them.
If I wanted to reach Indian women and help them know Jesus, I had to tell them about my lived experience as an Indian woman and how Jesus changed me. My cultural identity wasn’t an obstacle to my purpose, but was the platform God used to reach others.
I wish someone told that little Indian girl in third grade that we were never made to fit in. Every part of our story is unique and covered with the fingerprints of God. Nothing is accidental. We don’t need to hide. And when we truly believe that and trust God enough to show up as our whole Indian selves, we will bring God glory.
Simi John is a speaker and the author of I Am Not. She and her husband, Jayson, pastor a church in Norman OK. Simi is a full-time physical therapist and mom of two children and has written for (in)courage, Thrive Today!, Everyday Faith by Dayspring, and MOPS magazine. From podcasts to large events, Simi regularly teaches on topics of identity and leadership in Scripture. You can catch her teachings on Rightnow Media, or follow her on Instagram.