Crossing Cultural Barriers

“Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but to the Jews only” (Acts11:19).

Before ascending to the Father, the Savior gave clear instructions to “make disciples of all the nations,” and to “be witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.” He had taken his disciples to Samaria, and urged them to “lift up (their) eyes and look at the fields, (that were) white for harvest,” but somehow the message didn’t seem to get through. On the day of Pentecost the gospel was proclaimed to people from many nations, but most of those who believed and were integrated into the group of believers in Jerusalem were people from the same Jewish background as the original disciples. Philip did indeed take the gospel to Samaria, but in Acts 10 God had to use unusual means with Peter to get him to understand that “God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” Now, in chapter 11, some were beginning to share the gospel with the Hellenists – Jews with a different culture. Still their natural inclination was to preach the Word to “the Jews only.”

We can understand; the people they were used to associating with were those most like themselves – they were the ones with whom they felt comfortable. But God’s plan was that they teach ALL people groups and preach the gospel to EVERY creature (Matthew28:19; Mark 6:15). As the church grew, the Lord of the harvest did not let them rest until they were obedient to this area of His command. Today, in North America — indeed in every place — our world is becoming more multicultural. People who immigrate to another place are more likely to maintain their own culture than to blend in to that of their host country. We expect foreign missionaries to work hard at adapting to different cultures in order to reach people effectively. But too often, those who minister in North America assume they can remain in their comfort zone ministering primarily to those most like themselves. The Scripture records, “When it was evening, His disciples came to him saying, This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go in to the villages and buy themselves food. But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat” (Matthew14:15-16).

We too, for a number of reasons, may be willing to send away people whom Christ would have us reach. Perhaps it is because:

- We are overworked and weary - “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late”

- We think someone else can do it better - ”They may go into the villages”  - We don’t feel it is our responsibility - “buy themselves food”  - We fear we’re inadequate for the task - “We have here only five loaves and two fish”  But the Savior says to us, “They do not need to go away. YOU give them some thing to eat.” God is bringing the mission fields of the world to us so that we can all be involved in world evangelism in our own neighborhoods. While there are plenty of people around just like us that need to be reached, there are many more within our reach that are different – someone needs to reach them. We cannot stop going to those abroad, but we certainly must take advantage of what our Master, in His sovereignty, is doing here at home.

We cannot neglect our Savior’s command or miss the open doors He is putting before us. To take advantage of these opportunities, we must be willing to think differently, and learn to minister effectively in multicultural settings. In today’s world, our effectiveness inplanting churches will belimited if we continue to allow cultural differences to keep us from giving the gospel to all those around us.

Most fundamental Christians have a love for lost souls and rejoice when missionaries are sent to all parts of the world. We enthusiastically support and pray for them as they reach out to people of all cultures and ethnic groups. What is new in recent years, is that God is sovereignly bringing many of these same people to our neighborhoods. Often we no longer have to travel around the world and visit one of our missionaries in order to get personally involved in fulfilling our commission to take the gospel to all people groups (Mat. 28:19).

But now we are faced with a new challenge – that of learning how to do first hand what we have up until now done only by proxy.

What would it take for us to be able to reach out to the people of different cultures that God is bringing across our path? Could God really use us to reach someone for Christ? What could we do to prepare ourselves to be a witness to someone from another culture? Well, we could start by:

Developing a spiritual perspective of people. Walking down the sidewalks of Mexico City one will see men and boys who make their living polishing shoes. As the people walk by, they are never looking up at their faces, they are looking down at their shoes. It is only when they see shoes that need to be shined that they look up to ask if you would like their services. As we look around us and see all the people that God is bringing to our communities, our natural tendency may be to look at them from a racial, social, or political point of view. But as believers, we should ask God to help us see everyone from a spiritual perspective. Their race, their economic level, their social status, their political situation, must all take a back seat to the need of their eternal soul.

Devoting ourselves to a genuine love for others. Someone asked Jesus “Who is my neighbor that I should love?” He responded with a story which taught that being a neighbor was not based on who a person is or where he comes from, but rather on the need he has and on our opportunity to help him. There are neighbors all around us every day who are lost and in spiritual darkness – in obedience to Christ and in response to His Love we must reach out to them and share with them the light of the gospel. The Scriptures teach that those around us who cannot see God will be able to know something of His love when it is “perfected” or carried out to completion through our lives (1 Jn 4:12). People who come from a background of manipulation and insincerity will not be influenced by superficial salesmanship. They will come to trust our motives and be willing to listen to our message only as they see the love of God demonstrated through us.

Designing a lifestyle of reaching out to those around us. We will probably never be able to reach out to people who are different from us until we have first developed a lifestyle of reaching out to people who are just like us. Crossing cultural barriers adds a whole new dimension to seeking lost souls. If reaching people in our own culture and language is difficult for most of us, reaching those of another culture will be even harder. As individuals and as churches, we need to first develop the habit of caring about, loving and sharing the gospel with people that are like us. Once this becomes a natural part of our lives, we can build on this experience, taking it to the next level of reaching those who are from a different background.

Dealing with the subtle, sinful attitudes of superiority. Besides the personal pride that is an inherent part of our fallen nature, most of us have grown up with some degree of nationalistic arrogance. The idea that our language and culture are superior to others will always conflict with efforts to evangelize other people groups. Our attitudes, if left untreated, will be a hindrance to people from other backgrounds coming to Christ. But as the Holy Spirit helps us to develop a sincere appreciation for and acceptance of the culture of others, God can use us to win them to the Savior.

Deciding that the souls of men are more important than our comfort. Most all people, but especially Hispanics, respond to people more than to programs and to friendship more than to plans and projects. If we would love people and reach them for Christ, we must invest in building relationships with them. I’m convinced that is the best way to reach people in our own culture, but in crossing cultural barriers, it is essential. To establish friendships we must give of ourselves to build relationships of mutual understanding and trust.

These things will not happen by accident – we will have to work at them. But think of the joy and the eternal results of allowing God to change our thinking, mold our hearts, and then use us to reach across cultural barriers to bring others to the Savior.