Weekly Blog - Laura Schubert - Every nation, tribe, people and language

Posted on: 12th November 2026

Leeds is a beautifully diverse place! In this city, Christians from many different cultural backgrounds worship the Lord Jesus Christ in many different languages. This gives a glimpse of what the worship will be like at the throne of God. The Apostle John writes in Revelation 7:9 (NIV):

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

To help us imagine this, let’s get to know just a few of the Christian fellowships in Leeds that are meeting in their mother tongues.

Leeds Chinese Christian Church
The Leeds Chinese Christian Church will soon be celebrating 60 years and has worship services on Sundays in Cantonese, English and Mandarin in their building on Kirkstall Road. Pastor Kim shared that “at the Leeds Chinese Christian Church we thank God for the new people He brought to us in recent months. Some came to accept Jesus as their personal Saviour and find new purpose in life, one person from far away South East Asia, one who was born and brought up here, one from Europe."

Salvation House of God
Salvation House of God is a multicultural and multilingual Christian fellowship meeting at New Testament Church of God in Harehills on Saturday afternoons. Pastor Sunita rejoices in how people from different cultures and nations come together to worship and go out to the community to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English.

Leeds Farsi Fellowship
Over the past 2 years, the Leeds Farsi Fellowship has been meeting on Sunday afternoons at 4pm at Lister Hill Baptist Church in Horsforth, welcoming any Farsi speakers, including many Iranian people who are seeking asylum. In September, following their second 3-day conference, the fellowship celebrated 4 people being baptised! Praise the Lord! Reza, the assistant pastor of the Farsi Fellowship, shares with us what impact worshipping in your mother tongue has:

“Knowing the one true God and His will is a deeply personal journey, which becomes profoundly transformative when experienced in one's mother tongue. For us Iranians and Persian-speakers coming from an Islamic background, stepping into the world of God's grace is an extraordinary realization - one that teaches us never to take His grace for granted and to deeply appreciate the immense sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our salvation.

When individuals join church services, Sunday sermons, Bible studies, and times of worship in their native language, the impact is immeasurably deeper. Prayers become truly edifying when every spoken word and expression of faith is fully understood, revealing the vastness of God’s love and mercy.

Creating this environment for those whose first language is not English is vital. By providing worship, sermons, and Bible studies in people's native languages, we allow the Word of God to touch their hearts and minds word by word, refreshing their spirits and helping them grow in their true understanding of God, His character, and His will.”

Spanish-speaking fellowship
With a similar feeling, Diego from the Spanish-speaking fellowship meeting at Bridge Community Church on Saturday evenings, shared that “God has been gathering people from different Spanish-speaking backgrounds and helping us grow in faith, friendship and mutual support. Through Bible study, prayer, worship and fellowship, we have seen people encouraged in their walk with Christ, deepen their sense of belonging, and build meaningful relationships within the church family. We are grateful for the way God is creating a community where Spanish speakers can connect, grow spiritually, and serve together.”

Across Leeds there are many more groups of Christians, from different church traditions and ethnic groups, gathering to worship the Lord and going out to share the good news of Jesus in their mother tongue, with languages including Polish, Amharic, Tigrinya, French, Malayalam, Filipino, Romanian, Arabic, Hindi, Nepali and many more.

Let us celebrate this and pray for one another, and remember the words of Psalm 133:1

"How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!" (NIV)