Cultural Awareness and Ministry
March 9, 2009 – 6:38 pmA Review of the Bob Jones University Southeast Asia Team 2008 as a Case Study for Cultural Awareness Training for Church and College-Sponsored Short-Term Missions Teams
The world is getting “smaller,” more intricately connected than ever. While there are many possible reasons for this, one outcome, nonetheless, is that certain elements of western culture have made their way into many unexpected places of the world, especially elements of popular culture. It is not uncommon to find youth on the other side of the world from the U.S. who know celebrity sports figures. While certain aspects of globalization can be seen as an advantage by many (as finding Coca-cola in some remote area of Cambodia might be a relief to a westerner, who can confidently satisfy his thirst), too much connection at the popular level may simply help veil the great gulf of cultural differences not easily detected. This presents a problem for those involved in overseas missions work.
It is possible for a missionary to be either completely blind to certain cultural cues or even deny their significance. Experience can be a good teacher, though, and missionaries who have served for several years on a field might wish they could begin their ministry again with their time-earned cultural awareness. While this scenario might still be the case to some degree for missionaries who have been trained in cultural awareness, it is definitely the case for those who visit the field for just a short time to help. The chances are far greater that a short-term missionary might leave a foreign culture, not perceiving that his time on the field was only successful from his vantage. He might even report at his home church all the wonderful accomplishments he thought he and his team made, all the while not recognizing the number of faux pas (like mistaking the smiles and the friendliness of the locals for connecting with them).
There has been much talk about the short-term missions boom of the last thirty to forty years. There are many possible reasons for the increase in short-term missions, and there are many opinions regarding the effectiveness of short-term missions. While many missionaries appreciate the zeal of visiting short-term team members, many times that zeal lacks understanding as to the best way to serve in a new cultural context. Many teams come ready with a cookie-cutter program or idea that works brilliantly in their home church but is at best quite awkward on the field. The very handicap of short-term missions is identified by its title, “short-term.” A short amount of time can mean a small amount of opportunity; little opportunity allows little room for mistakes. One could argue, then, that true effectiveness in short-term missions depends all the more on cultural-awareness training for effective service on the field.
If you are a team leader planning a short-term missions team this summer for your church or college, the attached article might give you some fresh ideas for your team. The article is “Toward Greater Cultural Awareness in Short-term Missions.” Perhaps you’ve never traveled on a short-term missions team, or you are not planning on traveling on one any time soon. Have you seriously considered the need for cultural awareness in your home ministry? Perhaps more than ever your church is encountering needs which demand greater cultural attentiveness. How are you preparing to meet the challenge?
Kevin P. Oberlin
Asst. Professor of Theology and Bible Exposition
Bob Jones University, Greenville, SC
koberlin@bju.edu
Dr. Oberlin is assistant professor of theology and Bible exposition at Bob Jones University. He earned his PhD from Bob Jones Graduate School and Seminary. His dissertation is entitled, “The Ministry of Israel to the Nations: A Biblical Theology of Missions in the Era of the Old Testament Canon.” He has also studied Old Testament at Geneva Reformed Seminary and Intercultural Studies at Grace Theological Seminary. Dr. Oberlin has led and co-led short-term mission trips in over a dozen countries on three continents as well as served as a resident Bible teacher in the Philippines and pastored and taught Biblical Greek in Singapore.
Article: “Toward Greater Cultural Awareness in Short-term Missions“
