Intercultural Mission Conference 2025: Treading a new path together

Captain Wan Gi Lee reports from this year’s Intercultural Mission Conference.

‘I’ve never seen this place, even though I’ve been here before.’ ‘I didn’t know this beautiful space was right under the centre.’ ‘So refreshing.’

I kept hearing responses like these as I led groups through the Walking and Talking workshop at the 2025 Intercultural Mission Conference.

Some participants had visited the centre where the Intercultural Mission Conference was held more than 10 times before. Others were new or had only been once or twice. Yet they all said the same thing: they had come, but hadn’t truly seen.

Now, walking the landscape together, they were beginning to see. This experience perfectly reflects the theme of this year’s conference: I Looked and I Saw, based on Revelation 7:9.

The beauty of nature – its calmness and harmony – created the perfect setting. It helped attendees to open up in a relaxed, honest and meaningful way. More importantly, they were able to look and see the new spiritual landscape, subtly yet powerfully intertwined through fellowship with others and the physical realm of God’s creation.

The weekend encouraged delegates to move beyond their familiar spaces, to explore and rediscover through workshops, fellowship and worship. More than 100 delegates from across the territory participated. They came to look at God’s Kingdom through the lens of intercultural mission – a perspective that is increasingly vital in our age of division, separation and conflict.

The territorial intercultural mission officers led participatory workshops to encourage delegates to see and explore new spiritual landscapes in their own settings. The workshops offered themes such as Biblical Theology, Safe Space, Open Table, Walk and Talk, and a Case Study of Myanmar. Each was crafted to make the invisible visible, revealing the Kingdom landscape as a tangible reality to see and respond to.

‘After experiencing challenging times with The Salvation Army, I had lost hope,’ reflected Jastin Chari, community programme manager at Margate Corps. ‘But this Spirit-filled conference rejuvenated me. Through the inspiring workshops, fellowship and worship, I recognise that we are all children of God, regardless of our diverse backgrounds and ethnicities.’

‘This was a joyous occasion and a powerful confirmation that God isn’t done with the Army yet!’ shared Russell Chalmers from Parkhead Corps in Glasgow. ‘It was interesting that the proportion of white attendees was apparently the highest in the 10 years this has been running. What was originally almost a protest movement has grown into something truly positive and constructive.’

These are just some of the encouraging and powerful testimonies from participants – those who came and saw what God is doing to extend his Kingdom beyond the barriers drawn by society. They challenge us to weave our individual stories into a wider Kingdom narrative, through which divided visions are transformed into a unified landscape of Kingdom reality – a powerful counter-narrative to society’s forces of division.

The Intercultural Mission Conference delegates came and saw that their stories are part of that bigger picture – and they witnessed their stories becoming a living, unfolding event. The weekend ushered them into this new landscape, inviting them to walk together and rediscover.

‘What do you see?’ God repeatedly asked the prophets throughout the Old Testament. They were invited to pause with the question in the presence of God and, through that pause, to see a new reality emerging – even in the most hopeless times.

Throughout the conference, I sensed that God’s question came powerfully to those who attended. We witnessed tears and challenges. We also saw joy and hope. In all these, I was reminded that: ‘The things of Earth will grow strangely dim/ In the light of his glory and grace’ (SASB 445). Beyond the broken lines that divide, I glimpsed the coming of a new Kingdom – for all people – in a powerful way.

Pause in your setting with that question: what do you see?