When you hear the words “Cross-cultural Gospel Ministry,” what comes to your mind?
“Westerners” reaching “foreigners?” The crossing of oceans, borders, and socio-economic lines to convey the message of Christ?
Our President, Steve Schirmer, has rightly observed that in order to end gospel depravity, the means by which to do so is not “The West to the rest, but the reached to the unreached.” This is precisely what SRC Missionary Ezra is laboring to see made reality in the harvest field of South Asia.
Recently, he led an inter-cultural training for more than 20 church leaders in South Asia, some of whom belong to indigenous, tribal groups that were once themselves unreached. These followers of Jesus are eager to take the message of the gospel to those in their own country, and, perhaps, to surrounding South Asian countries that are living in darkness like they once were.
Elders, pastors, “Sunday school” teachers, and women’s ministry leaders gathered together to glean tools from Ezra as to how to see their region strategically reached with the gospel message. They looked at the origin of culture. They dove into both the Old and New Testament examples of cross-cultural interaction and ministry: Abraham, Moses, Jonah, Jesus and the Apostles, closely examining how God’s message was shared effectively with people of different cultures.
Is this not what our Lord and the first disciples did? Is this not what Paul, the instrument of God chosen to take the gospel to the Gentiles(us), modeled for us by relating to the culture and beliefs of the Greeks, all the while pointing to the very Truth they were seeking to no avail?
These South Asian laborers- being nearer in culture, language, and understanding to the unreached than those of us from the West- are sovereignly and naturally equipped by God to take the gospel to the ends of the earth in ways that we, the well-educated, well-trained Western missionaries, simply are not. And in this we should rejoice! Praise God that He is raising up cross-cultural workers from South Asia for South Asia. Praise God that Gospel-depravity will not be eradicated merely through “the West to the rest,” but, “the reached to the unreached!”
Would you pray for these newly trained leaders to be filled with the Holy Spirit’s power, wisdom and boldness as they pursue cross-cultural ministry in their own context? Pray that their efforts will be far reaching to the unreached, for God’s glory.
Let us look expectantly to the Day when every tribe, tongue, and people will be gathered in worship before the Lamb forever
For His Glory, Lydia in South Asia