The following post is written by an East-West short-term trip leader.
We live in a setting with seemingly infinite resources to grow in our knowledge and understanding of theology and ministry. We could attend a different Christian conference every weekend, read a new book on Christian thought every evening, and immerse ourselves in the plethora of online Christian written and audio content every hour for the rest of our lives.
Our accessibility to grow in such wisdom and knowledge of God provides us with unprecedented gifts in Christian history. The opportunities to equip the body of Christ for ministry should give us greater hope and excitement at the exponentially increased feasibility to actually make disciples of all nations.
Be wary, however, not to confuse our American accessibility to these resources with superior expertise in any mission field.
Too often I have seen and heard cases of Christians with good intentions enter a cross-cultural environment—overseas or across the city—with a mindset of subtle arrogance.
We enter these fields under the assumption that we know more and therefore know best as it pertains to ministry practices.
The way we have been trained to do ministry in our American, Christian, suburban sub-culture becomes the way we insist ministry must be done in the rural foothills of the Himalayas or in the busy urban streets of Amsterdam. The slightest difference in ministry approach or philosophy from the local believers immediately bring many of us to gently—yet arrogantly—enlighten them of how and why our way is the right way.
Sure, we talk about empowering the local church and serving alongside those who know and understand the culture, but the ways we expect ministry to be carried out in these contexts are sprinkled with our own cultural and theological preferences.
We need to approach our partners in ministry with humility, taking on the nature of servant. We need to understand that best practices for ministry at home does not equate to the same in our partners’ context or culture.
The Truth of the Gospel does not change, but the way the Gospel is communicated can.
Our primary purpose when doing ministry with partners in another culture is to equip the local church to carry out the ministry there. The local believers understand their culture in a way none of the resources we have access to can bring us to understand.
Realize the knowledge we do have is to offer as another tool of equipping for the local church, not a means to make converts of our specific methods of ministry.
Take on the nature of a servant. Walk humbly.