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This resource, called “Structures” is in the form of a 7-day mini seminar presented by “Everyday Evangelism”. Please subscribe to my E-zine for more Outreach tips. The links to the other days follow the article. Thank you so much for dropping by.
Remember yesterday I said this was our starting point? Why I say this is because quite often we start with ourselves. Symptoms of this are statements like “How can we make others fit into our group more easily”. At first this seems an admirable desire and will come into play later, but it is not where, I believe, we should start. In regard to evangelism, I believe this thinking (or similar) is flawed. Evangelism by its very nature is reaching out to people not a part of our community. A people who often have no real desire to join ours. A people who understand little (or nothing) about who we are or who God is. It’s only as they see positive glimpses of God through us will a desire be ignited to know more. If others’ culture is ignored usually the same will happen to us along with our efforts to reach them for Jesus. This is why I believe understanding the ‘culture’ of those you desire to reach is so crucial.
So what really is ‘culture’ and how does it relate to evangelism. The Macquarie Dictionary has a helpful part in its definition. It states “the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings, which is transmitted from one generation to another”. According to the culture there are certain key elements (ways of living) that need to be identified and understood for our evangelism to be effective.
As I said earlier, it’s best if we are already part of this culture, but not by any means essential. I’m a Harley-Davidson rider and fit naturally into the Biker sub-culture. I share their positive values and in many ways think the same. I use this understanding to model being a Biker and a Christian, thereby drawing others to Christ. I’m also a Prison Chaplain with a passion for those in Geol (Matthew 25: 36). I really have no desire to do time in prison thinking this would make my evangelism more effective! On the flip side of this I know many Christian Inmates who are really struggling with what brought them to Geol, but are powerhouses for the Lord. Quite often God uses His people in Geol to show His wondrous grace, forgiveness and the impact of one’s actions on another.
Whether we are in the culture or not, key aspects firstly have to be identified then secondly understood. After we do this we can plan our evangelism accordingly. Ineffective evangelism will probably be the result of poor understanding of culture.
Some good questions to ask (both yourself and others within the chosen culture) are:
What things are valued the most?
How do people think?
What are the characteristics of the culture?
How can I embrace these in my evangelism?
Let me give an example. The church I attend is located in a middle-class working suburb of Sydney, Australia. Attached to my church is a pre-school. Over the years the pre-school has become somewhat disconnected from the church. As the pre-school is an important ministry to our congregation we have sought to remedy this situation. Most of the pre-schools current clientele are not Christian and have no connections to our church. I was asked to look at ways of connecting with the families who attend this centre. I’m looking at this from someone outside of this community as my children are well above pre-school age and my three grandchildren attend elsewhere.
So, I asked these questions. I came up with lots of things, prioritizing the answers.
What things are valued the most?
Family, Family Time, Relaxation, Provision of Physical Needs,
What are the characteristics of the culture?
Busyness (run in / run out), Young Children, Young Parents, Some Grandparents, Single Parents, Middle-class income.
How can I embrace these in my evangelism?
In my report to the Church elders I gave the following ideas to trial:
1. A monthly Newsletter by email
Why? Remember the first question? Things about Family are valued the most. I can load the newsletter with good family targeted articles that I download for free from the various article directories on the web. These free articles can be carefully chosen with the specific target group in mind. Dispersed throughout the newsletter are relevant, carefully chosen links (as well as short messages and info) back to our Church’s Web Site. These links could be an introduction by our Rector (Senior Minister) to the church in general (including current sermon downloads), links to a personal message by the relevant age group Sunday school leader and links to specific (Mother’s <Father’s>Day, Ladies Craft Night? etc.) church activities. All in all, this is a convenient way (for our target group) to connect with the various people in our church on a regular basis. A hard copy would be available for those without computer or internet access (rare in this socio-economic group).
2. A short (repeating) Puppet Show
Why? Remember one of the Characteristics of the Culture: Busyness (run in/run out)! Spending time together is also a strong priority.
Will they work? These ideas certainly are based on sound culture and belief principals, but will they actually work? I don’t know, but I definitely will know soon. Why? Wait till after you do ‘Day 6: Evaluation is a must’ and then ask me.
I really want to stress the starting point. Many times I have heard “We have this great evangelism activity, now how can we get people along”. I believe this is wrong thinking in the extreme. We should say “What evangelism practices do we need to create for this specific people group or groups, based on their existing culture and beliefs”.
May God bless you in all your endeavors.
Captain Andrew D. Carter Dip. Ev., CA.
“Everyday Evangelism”
www.everyday-evangelism.com.au
My parting thoughts for now:
Pick the primary people group you wish to (or are) engaging with. Ask the same questions (or different as appropriate) as I did. You may need to ask someone who is part of the culture if you are directly not.
Come up with two possible evangelism practices (activities) based on that specific culture and beliefs.
Links to the other days:
Day 1; Day 2; Day 3; Day 4; Day 5; Day 6; Day 7.
Link to other Resources.
I would like to give you many more thoughts on evangelism. Please subscribe to my free E-zine at the Top.
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