The Great Commission mandate
provides a clear directive to believers: “Go,
Make Disciples, Baptize them, and Teach them *Mat. 28:19-20). This seems
like a simple enough task until one recognizes the universal reach of the
command: “of all nations”. This gospel is to be preached to all nations (Mat.
24:14). This mission to the nations
calls for the application of cultural intelligence as communicators of God’s
message will need to have “a core understanding of cultures, language patterns
and non-verbal behaviors,”[1]
unless the preference is to limit their cultural exchanges to a certain
demographics. Many of the nations to which the gospel will be preached comprise
people “whose tastes, behaviors, and assumptions are not only different but
often in conflict with one another.”[2]
That said, the message of the gospel may be foreign to many within these
foreign nations. This means a clear grasp of intercultural communication that
is catered to the audience. We are talking about creating an indigenous
experience that is totally biblical, especially since the gospel is a universal
message with universal appeal. The same approach can be used for local missions
work.
