WHEN YOU CROSS CULTURES - World Evangelical Alliance

BASIC MINISTRY TRAINING
communicating. Thirdly, as we saw in the first chapter, worldviews - how people
perceive the world they live in - are very different. Therefore, to have credibility
and integrity, the cross-cultural labourer must gain an understanding of the
people he desires to reach. The Holy Spirit brings conviction as the Gospel is
communicated in the hearer’s own cultural context and experience. We know
that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation to those who believe.
II ESTABLISHING NEW BELIEVERS
The Great Commission has “making disciples” as its sole imperative.
Disciplemaking is essential for believers to thrive and grow. It is important for
cross-cultural workers to have a long-term view of ministry. Evangelism and
disciple-making are inseparable. The disciplemaking process will take a longer
period of time in cross-cultural situations.
In preparation for cross-cultural ministry, the worker should be equipped
to establish new believers in the context of their own culture. Learning about
culture and contextualisation is essential if a ministry is to be effective and
reproducible.
Spiritual maturity is a lifelong pursuit. The goal is transformation – seeing
lives transformed into the likeness of Christ.
The establishing process involves a period of time. The disciplemaker
ensures that the following essential qualities of a disciple are incorporated into
the life of new believers.
A clear understanding of the Gospel
The Lordship of Christ
The intake of the Scriptures
Meaningful prayer and worship
Fellowship in a contextual faith community
Sharing the Good News spontaneously among relational networks
Sometimes “family discipling” can be effective in cultures where a family
or group respond to the Gospel. In some difficult situations, workers trained in
discipling others can operate as a team to establish new believers individually
or in small groups. In sensitive fields, establishing a young believer person-toperson
may often be the most effective way.
Establishing new believers can be a rewarding experience, especially when
these new believers start to influence others. As believers mature and become
fruitful disciples and disciplemakers, some who are gifted and called can also
be involved in cross-cultural missions.
A Singaporean engineer in our ministry in New Zealand evangelised
and established a New Zealand student. He had sown seeds of interest in Asia
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