By Grayson Hester

The gospel is about bringing people together in unity, not uniformity. Were its ultimate goal the flattening of human diversity, then the Tower of Babel narrative wouldn’t still stand today as a parable of God’s appreciation for (and insistence upon) the differences that make His creation special. 

But, for all its wonder, it certainly comes with challenges. Just ask Nelson Araújo, who is the pastor of First Evangelical Baptist Church of Sabadell in Catalonia, Spain, near Barcelona. He grew up in the Dominican Republic, the first outpost of Spanish colonial rule, only to move to a new context in Spain where he would add to his mother tongue, Spanish,  with the language of the region, Catalan.  

“It is a city with an industrial tradition going back 200 years, so they are also very much Catalan-speaking people,” Araújo said. “The families speak Catalan and the mother tongue is Catalan. And this church, this community, is a church that speaks Catalan. Our worship is in Catalan, the songs are in Catalan and it is a church that tries to reach out, tries to preach the gospel to Catalan society and to the people of this community who speak Catalan.” 

Indeed, Catalonia endures ongoing tensions with the Kingdom of Spain, intermittently advocating for its independence as a country, so distinct are its language and cultural heritage. 

For any church to engender a meaningful presence, it would need to comfortably exist within that tension and speak the language of its people. First Evangelical Baptist is one such church and Araújo is one such pastor. He left his home to study theology in Barcelona 22 years ago. It was a journey that took him across the Atlantic Ocean, between two languages, to the clergy, and as our fortune would have it, into a connection with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. 

Michelle and Matt Norman, CBF field personnel based in Barcelona, relationship with Araújo dates back to their first weeks on the field in Spain.   

“It all started with Nelson being gracious enough to meet with Matt,” Michelle said. “The two of them could talk theology and church and converse about life.” 

CBF’s presence-based model for missions all but requires that its practitioners immerse themselves in the surrounding culture, staying for the long haul and developing genuine, reciprocal relationships. Forming connections with local congregations is essential.  
 

“We try not to do anything that’s not actually locally initiated,” Matt said. “So that means that we are always listening and coming alongside.” 

Araújo shares a vision of the church like the one espoused by CBF, one that prioritizes presence and equipping churches not just to worship or meet on Sundays, but to do good things in the communities where they’re located. 

Catalonia is notably secular, even for European standards. In a country scarred and burned by its history, church is not a word that communicates hope to its people.  

So, how does a church minister to people who want nothing to do with church? “Together with the Normans, we were working on this idea of rethinking how the church can be relevant to people who would never go,” Araújo said. 

In the story of the Tower of Babel, it’s interesting that God scrambled the languages but did nothing to harm the people who spoke them. More than institutions or languages or nations, God reserves primacy for people.  

To whatever extent our constructs benefit people, then they are worthwhile. If they do not—if even the concept of church itself does not—serve, then they must be renegotiated. 

“Dietrich Bonhoeffer explained that the Church only exists if it really helps people who don’t belong to the Church,” Araújo said. “A complete version of the Gospel is if the Church understands that its mission is to reach out, to be close, to go and, above all, to be relevant to the people who do not belong to this church.” 

One concrete way his church has attempted this is by starting a new ministry of the church called, Mosaic. Another is downplaying the formality of church and liturgy and ritual, prioritizing instead the social connection that all people, regardless of belief, crave.  

“At Mosaic, we give people the opportunity to open up and explain their problems, their doubts and their needs,” he said. “And then you realize in Mosaic that not all of us see things so clearly. When we are able to explain our doubts and our fears, we are closer to the Lord.”  

Love itself is a language. And when it is spoken, it literally speaks to people. 

While Barcelona and Spain don’t often come to people’s minds as places in need of ministry, they are home to people. And people are always going to need love, community and honesty. It’s a reality the Normans have witnessed firsthand. “It’s kind of like a spark of hope that leads to more conversation,” Matt said. “And that’s life changing, because you see how God is actually engaging people in ways that you never imagined before.” 

The Tower of Babel required people not just acceptance, but imagination. Faced with a vastly (and suddenly) diverse linguistic landscape, people had to tap into their God-given creativity to find ways to connect. 

Centuries upon centuries later, the people of Mosaic continue this tradition of imagination. From the raw material of imagination, something like beloved community begins to form.  

“For me the gospel is integral; that is to say, we preach the hope and love of Jesus,” Araújo said. “But we put it into practice by bringing the gospel closer to the daily experience of other people.” 

Speak love in any language, and people can’t help but listen. Whether in Barcelona or Babel, this truth remains. 

Watch Nelson’s story: 

Support field personnel like Michelle and Matt Norman by giving to the Offering for Global Missions at https://cbf.net/give