Volunteer Resources

Ministering to People of Other Worldviews

Focus on:– Authority

As believers, we are partnered with the greatest power available anywhere in creation – God! It is not we who use that power to accomplish God’s work – He uses His own power through us to do His work. Our responsibility is to be filled with the Holy Spirit every time we open ARC so we can be true witnesses for Him (Acts 1:8).

As true witnesses we draw seekers to the Word of God for all their needs - “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). We also do not argue, even if our seekers seem to want this. Arguing does not accomplish God’s objective because argument is based on the assumption that we can convince someone of what is right or wrong (Titus 3:9). Humility, prayer, and the wise use of the Bible are more powerful than argument. We are asked to sow the seeds that God will water into faith in His Son.

It’s natural for us to want to quote influential sources to give our words more weight and importance. Please refrain from becoming involved in a debate that loses focus on God’s Truth. Use God’s Word as your source of authority, allowing His Spirit to convict your contact’s heart. Please avoid referring your contacts to debate centered websites or other, worldly philosophical writings.

With these simple principles we can bridge a lot of the worldview gap and effectively introduce people around the world to the God of salvation!

Focus on: –Language

Author Carl Medearis tells the story of a meeting between Christians and people from the Middle East gathered to talk about God and how to bring hope to the people of this part of the world. He watched as a friend of his, not yet a follower of Jesus, got tangled up in conversation with a Christian. Soon the Muslim man stood alone out on the deck, obviously agitated.

After some conversation with others, Medearis discovered his friend was upset because people were just trying to convert him, and to him this meant they wanted him to leave his country, and stop loving his family. Medearis assured his friend he didn’t think that was really what the Christian man hadintended to say, and then asked what he as a Muslim thought God thinks about all of us here on earth. The two agreed that God thinks we’re all messed up. The two also agreed that God probably would like to convert all the people on earth to Himself rather than to a particular religion.

Then Medearis asked his friend what he would need in order to take an appliance from America back to the Middle East and make it work there. His friend answered he’d need a transformer or converter. Medearis asked what kind of converter God would need if He wanted to convert all of us to His way. His Muslim friend gasped with understanding and declared the converter must be Jesus.

That man and his wife accepted Jesus that evening because Medearis was able to describe the need for Jesus in simple language and concepts the man could understand.

As we minister to people of other worldviews (cultures and religions), we need to be aware of our language. Words we know, such as sinners, propitiation, sacrifice, atonement, justification, redemption, sanctification may be words they don’t understand. It is better to stick to easy English and wordpictures as we point seekers to Christ. At the end of this paper are some suggested alternatives to Christian jargon.

Focus on:– Context

Context in internet ministry is many things: culture, mother tongue, religion, age, and so on.

CULTURE - Most of us from western cultures tend to state our arguments for salvation and Jesus in a series of logical points. We hope if we can just show them how simple it is to understand, they will “get it” and their lives will be wonderful in Jesus!

But even Jesus did not often appeal to human logic for His lessons – He often told stories to get his point across. We need to be just as mindful of context as He was in His ministry. He spoke to the common people differently than He did to the religious leaders. He touched the untouchable, heard those whom culture rejected, and embraced the young when adults said they should be seen but not heard.

RELIGION - GMO offers information and lessons to help you learn about several world religions and how to respond to seekers. These lessons give you suggestions for how to approach the individual, as well as sample templates written by people experienced in ministering to these groups. See “For the Love of Muslims" () and “For the Love of Hindus” (). We encourage you also to make use of the Recommended Reading list as you continue to gain understanding of other worldviews.

AGE - Do you remember what you wanted out of life when you were a teen or just out of your teens? If you are young, have you paid enough attention to your parents and grandparents to know what their concerns are in these days of their lives? People’s needs, interests, hurts, and hopes change with age, and we need to take this into account as we listen to them.

PERCEPTIONS – Many cultures have different meanings for the same words we use. Be very careful with assuming you know what their questions mean. It is better to ask for clarification than relying on your own perceptions. We can usually say, “I think this is what you mean by . . .” and then answer on that basis, but it’s still best to verify whether our perception is correct.

We may inadvertently compose wording in our replies that could mistakenly be understood as anger, being judgmental, or carrying sexual overtones to another culture. We can equally misunderstand the messages we receive due to cultural and language differences. Saying we are excited about them becoming a Christian has no sexual overtones in our culture, but being “excited” has that tone in some cultures. Writing about a“lover” or a “love affair” has strong sexual meaning in our culture while it refers simply to a very close friendship in other cultures. The point is, we must ask about things we have questions or doubts about. We could ask about the “lover” before we condemn a simple friendship relationship.

Compiling a complete cultural dictionary for every people-group we talk to would be an impossible task, so we need to be sensitive enough to use basic language ourselves and verify things they tell us.

Focus on:– Overcoming Obstacles

In GMO we aim to expose seekers to the truths of God's word and to Christ as the only way of salvation. But we need to remember that they may be starting from a worldview that is very different from our own. Muslims are taught that the Bible is corrupted and untrustworthy. Hindus believe that Christianity is a foreign religion inferior to their own. These are challenging obstacles! Here are some ways to overcome obstacles:

· Establish common ground. Ask questions like, “Do you believe in one God? What is that God like?” Affirm what is true with a reference from the Bible, without arguing.

· Go slowly. Resist pressuring for a decision too early. Decision

making is handled very differently in non-western cultures.

· Keep Bible quotations brief. Biblical concepts, names, and terms may be unfamiliar, and the seeker’s English may be limited, so let’s make it easy for them to swallow truth in small bites.

· Simplify concepts and avoid Christian jargon, as we have already explained.

· Use stories and parables to get truth across as much as possible. These are culturally appropriate for the two-thirds world which is oral and less literate.

· Share what God has done in your life. This may be the most powerful attraction to many seekers from other cultures. They may not be as interested in logical persuasion to truth principles as we are.