Session #17 — How can I share the gospel with people from a different culture?

In the last session, we discussed how the apostle Paul changed his approach to evangelism based on his audience. This can be especially challenging if we are trying to converse with someone from a different culture.

There are lots of things we have to do differently. For example, if the person you're talking with uses a different language as a first language (and you don't speak that language), and even though you have a common language, you'll want to speak slower, focus on pronouncing your words very clearly, and repeat what you are saying in several different ways. Figure out how much eye contact is appropriate in their culture. Learn what kind of personal space people expect.

I was trying to have some gospel conversations with Persian students from Iran. They were at the university where I was involved with ministry to international students. All of my conversations were short and not very fruitful. 

Then, one day I read about how Persians expect to be up close when they're having real conversations. Someone said that "they want to taste your breath." So the next time I talked with a Persian student I stepped a little closer to him. An American would have stepped back, but he stayed. Slowly the conversation picked up. We talked and talked for an hour inches from each other. It was a great conversation (even though it wore me out being so close to him).

There are lots of things we need to learn about cross-cultural conversations. We have a cross-cultural communication class at PIU and I also teach an Introduction to World Missions class where we cover some of the basics of cross-cultural ministry.

For our purposes today, I am assuming that you are skillful enough to have a simple cross-cultural conversation. But, how then, do you actually go about sharing the gospel story? I don't have a quick formula for that, but I do want to direct you to a concept that might help shape the way you tell the Jesus story in different cultures. That is, we need to be aware of the metaphors native to the culture. There are three categories:

1. Guilt-based
2. Shame-based
3. Fear-based

Sometimes cultures have a mixture of these three but there is usually a dominant metaphor for how people in a given culture process life. As an introduction please read the article below from SEND International that summarizes the thinking of Jayson George. Once you've read the article, send me an email (bboydston@piu.edu) and tell me which of the three viewpoints resonates the loudest with you. That is, did you grow up in a guilt-based, shame-based, or fear-based culture? Briefly tell me how you will need to adapt your conversations with people from each of the other two cultures that are different from your native culture. If you have questions about what I'm asking you to do you can do either of two things:

1. Send me an email asking for more of an explanation.
2. Try to do the task as best you can, based on what you do understand, and trust that I'll be gracious.

(25 points possible)

BTW, you'll want to watch this 5-minute YouTube video on presenting the gospel in a shame-based context.

3 Approaches to Cross-Cultural Evangelism

May 2022

“I distinctly remember a 2006 conversation with a young Central Asian man named Farhad. It completely changed how I understand and share the gospel.”

Jayson Georges served as a missionary in Central Asia for nine years. He now runs HonorShame.com, a website devoted to exploring how to contextualize the gospel for those from honor/shame cultures. He is also the author of 3D Gospel. The following is a summary of his viewpoints on cross-cultural evangelism.

Ground Work

First, we must understand how someone’s cultural background impacts their understanding of sin. Christian anthropologists classify cultures into three different sin-response types:

• Guilt cultures, which emphasize justice (Western)
• Shame cultures, which emphasize relationships (Eastern)
• Fear cultures, which emphasize power (Tribal)

Second, we must understand how “metaphors saturate our theology and evangelism.” They provide a framework to communicate abstract ideas with concrete images. “We use earthly language from our everyday experiences to communicate spiritual realities.”

Guilt Culture 

Westerners, coming from a guilt culture, typically use legal terminology when sharing the gospel. We use words such as judge, works, punishment, and debt. These terms can certainly be found in scripture and may communicate just fine to other westerners. But to people like Farhad, those metaphors are unhelpful. He “hardly sensed personal guilt, so he did not seek forgiveness from God.”

So how do we clearly communicate the gospel to those from shame or fear cultures? Jayson says, “Contextualizing the gospel is often as easy as changing the controlling metaphor and using new vocabulary.”

Shame Culture 

Shame-based cultures “rely upon community pressure (not individual conscious) to guide social behavior.” Members of these cultures preserve their honor, their reputation in the community, by adhering to the group’s expectations. They avoid the shame that could result in exclusion from the group. “Since honor and shame come from other people, they are inherently communal.” Honor and community are top values in these cultures. So relational words such as mediator, disloyalty, adoption, and approval can be used to explain the gospel. Jayson offers this example of a possible gospel presentation for someone from a shame culture:

1. God wants to honor you as his child. He created us with glory and honor to live in his family.
2. But, our disloyalty disrespects God and brings disgrace. We are now spiritual orphans, separated from our Father.
3. Jesus’ disgraceful death covers our shame. The cross restored God’s face and mediates reconciliation. We are adopted as his worthy children with a new inheritance.
4. So, to have harmony with God you must give allegiance to Jesus. Receive God’s gracious welcome into his family and live under his name. Stop boasting in your own honor, and receive God’s honor.

Fear Culture 

People from fear-based cultures believe that “invisible spirits inhabit the physical world,” and these spirits are responsible for most of the good or bad things that happen to them. They work hard to manipulate or appease these spirits so that they can be safe, successful, and happy. These magical practices can include burning incense, wearing an amulet, or casting a spell.

“Since life is viewed as a perpetual spiritual battle, the language and imagery of warfare may resonate better with people of fear-based cultures.”  Words such as deliverance, healing, darkness, protection, and blessing can help explain “how Jesus delivers us from spiritual bondage.” Here is Jayson’s example gospel presentation for someone from a fear-based culture:

1. God is the sovereign King. He created people to rule his entire creation and experience his spiritual blessings.
2. But we rebel against God’s rule, so we live in bondage to Satan. We are weak, and afraid.
3. Jesus is the warrior who conquered evil powers to release the captives from Satan’s dominion. Jesus restores God’s power and blessings to us.
4. You must know Jesus to access the Divine Spirit and overcome the power of sin and Satan. Jesus alone, not rituals or magic, provides us peace and protection.

If you are interested in learning more about cross-cultural evangelism in guilt, shame, and fear based cultures, we highly recommend reading 3D Gospel by Jayson Georges and checking out HonorShame.com!