Culture & Identity Archives

Signs of Identity (Virtual)

Signs of Identity: Group Exercise (Virtual) Description This is an interactive exercise where individuals learn about their values and preferences, and have an opportunity to evaluate themselves within community. The more honest people are, the more each participant will get out of this exercise. Preparation For an effective exercise invite at least 8 participants. It […]

My Ethnical Dilemma

In this honest testimony, Jason shares about his own pain dealing with racism, the pressure “to be white” instead of embracing his cultural identity, and his hopes for his bicultural daughter as she grows up in the world. Consider using this powerful story as a starting point for a team, small group, or large group […]

Cru – Multiethnic and Contextualized Ministry

Cru desires to reach every person with the gospel of Jesus Christ, in ways that reflect God and honor people. We in Cru and Epic Movement recognize that we will not realize this vision (Revelation 7:9) unless we (1) become a more effective multi-ethnic ministry, and (2) continue to build effective contextualized ministries focused on […]

Discovering Culture, Identity, and Mission

This post is a part of a series by Epic’s Field Ministry team, describing what it means to be Epic (a.k.a. to embody the Epic Movement DNA). Even though Epic Movement is known as an Asian American ministry, often times it’s easy to forget and overlook what it means to be an Asian American ministry. […]

How Epic Has Changed Me, A Caucasian Female

Emily Smith, on staff with Epic in Texas, recently co-led a summer missions project to Southeast Asia. At the project briefing, she gave a talk on “crossing cultures.” Although she humbly considers herself the “least qualified” person to speak about this, we were so blessed by her sharing that we asked her to write about […]

Why Epic Exists (Why We Contextualize)

What is contextualized ministry and why do it? Why does an ethnic ministry like Epic Movement exist? This talk by Adrian Pei on the Epic Leadership Development Team was given at the 2013 Epic staff conference in front of Epic staff, as well as special guests such as Cru president Steve & Judy Douglass. It […]

Discerning God's Will For Your Life

Below is the audio and transcript from a talk that Twin Cities Metro director Adam Go gave at an Epic recruiting conference. It’s an inspiring resource for any student who is wondering about what it means to follow God, as they think about college and the years following that. Also included are some handouts that […]

Signs of Identity Exercise

The following exercise is designed to help you discover more about yourself and your own culture through guided interactions in key categories such as: ethnicity, gender, class, friendships, work, family, and more. This is a great team-building exercise. Use it in large or small groups, on missions projects, or even for outreach events! Download the […]

Rethinking Culture and Mission

This article, “Rethinking Culture and Mission,” is the result of many conversations with many people. In the summer of 2011, Epic Movement’s Leadership Development and Resource team engaged the questions: “What do we really believe about culture? Do our actions and attitudes reveal that we value it, and if so, why? And do we engage […]

Epic Resilient E-Book

This past week was the national staff conference for the Epic Movement. As part of the conference we put together an e-book from many of the different great writings from Epic staff over this past year. We hope you enjoy it if you ever get the chance to check it out. It’s starts with a […]