Categories: Uncategorized

The Gospel Contextualized

We discussed in class that it is very essential to 1) spread the Gospel, and 2) do so in a contextualized way. In order to do this, we must have a grasp of culture, and more specifically the culture we are proclaiming the Gospel in. A personal experience I have with this is in YoungLife, and WyldLife more specifically. In WyldLife, I encounter and build relationships with middle school guys and aim to point them towards Christ. I try to introduce them if they have no background, and attempt to help them grow in their faith if they already have a relationship. This can be challenging to do if I do not understand their “language.” Middle school boys are so enthralled in social media that much of the topics of their discussions, the way they describe things, and the way they interact with each other depend heavily on what the trend is. And since social media is fast moving, these trends change frequently. So, in order to effectively begin laying the foundation of a relationship with them, I need to understand that I realistically cannot keep up with all their phrases, but rather can pick up what they mean by their tones. They usually say the same things over and over, but just in different ways. Their comedy and desires do not change, just the way they get them across. Understanding this can help me smoothly interact with my kids, whether I am friends with them or not.

Building a friendship is only the beginning. After this is built it is natural to talk about more serious topics, which are usually brought up through WyldLife’s campaigners (Bible studies) or clubs (youth group-esque). Since you are able to have a solid understanding of who they are, they know that you can have actual input in their lives and care about what you have to say.

All of this being said, it is vital to understand the culture we proclaim the Gospel in. If we cannot understand the culture of individuals and groups, how will they expect us to know anything about them since culture is such a large portion of their lives?

harpurta21

Recent Posts

Ministry and the Business World

Something I’ve really been thinking about a lot during class is the idea of entering…

8 hours ago

The Four Stages of Development

Class Talk: Four Stages of Development In class, we talked about the Four Stages of…

11 hours ago

My Elevator Pitch Idea and Redemptive Entrepreneurship

As a first semester freshman in Entrepreneurial Mind, I was tasked with coming up with…

16 hours ago

Example of Empathy in Action- KIND

After learning about the four mindsets that are critical to every Gospel-minded organization I wanted…

16 hours ago

Entrepreneurship and Worship

A question that I have been asking is, "How does entrepreneurship and worship (within a…

17 hours ago

Our Redemptive Idea

In my group with Hezekiah, Tessa, and Ben we have created a company called Silver…

18 hours ago