Cross Cultural Evangelism is a huge challenge that can only be overcome by patience, constant learning, change of approach and strategies and most of all, wholehearted Trust in God!
While a missionary might have a good experience of a certain country, the same approach might not work in another country and with another people. He could read about a country’s culture, traditions and values however he will still be greeted by many surprises on his way.
Behavior is the first thing that the missionary will be exposed to when he visits people from a different culture. It can be called the upper or outer layer of a society’s way of living. Their body language is different to what one is used to and their gestures can be confused and misjudged if one is not careful to understand them as per the culture of that particular people. Behavior helps us understand the habitat, reactions, interactions, and the way people live their day to day life. Most importantly one can observe “the three Ws”, what, when and where and note how well people organize themselves, their lives and their professions.
Cross cultural evangelism can be slow and requires a lot of patience but the first step for breaking the barriers is learning the language. Unless a missionary can speak the language fluently and blend in with the locals, he will always be regarded as a stranger. However, learning the language will not make miracles. As Missionary Joel Kaufman said, “I do believe that I’ve got to be willing to sow seeds over years, and maybe others will reap, and often, those seeds don’t sprout “until God waters (them) with adversity.”
Next would be making friends and working towards building relationships. Unless there is trust, no one will listen to you or pull down their shields to let you in. A true missionary would live with them and understand their way of life; travelling to different areas so as to learn the culture through interaction with the locals. Cultural values are the binding force for people that give them reason to stick to what they believe and how they behave. He would have to become their friend and not just an evangelist on a mission!
For successful Cross Cultural Evangelism, it would be essential to know their beliefs. In some countries a missionary might go from door to door and be welcomed while in most other countries he would be looked upon with suspicion. Hence there is no right way. The traditions and culture will guide the missionary to be their friend before he can start sharing the gospel with them. The methods may be different in different countries but it is imperative to establish credibility through sincere relationships or else people would be quick to judge the intentions.
The best way to engage people is through prayer. Even when they are not ready for the gospel, they will appreciate the missionaries praying for them. Prayers are always welcome in any culture!
Another good opportunity for capturing people’s attention would be through story telling. Bible stories would captivate the listeners and they would keep coming back for more stories. Story books in the local language would also be a good way for breaking the ice.
An important task to undertake alongside would be to preach to the local Christians as even most Church going Christians do not truly understand the gospel even though they might be believers and even when they have been baptized.
Most importantly a missionary should pray to God for the best guidance and for reaching out to the right people; pray for wisdom in his words and for God to prepare people’s hearts for embracing Jesus. As a beautiful saying goes, “becoming Missionary is not just crossing the sea, but to seeing the cross.”
