Mission Communication and Culture

Abstract

Since mission belongs to the Triune God and encourages the proclamation of the Gospel to specific groups of people, the use of different approaches becomes important to communicate the Gospel to such people in different cultures. Scripture points us in that direction: the Incarnation of the Son of God, the use of different languages by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and the Apostle Paul’s approach to communicating the Gospel are among the ways the Church engages different cultures in her mission to the world. Thus, contextualization is the translation of the unchanging (timeless) content of the Gospel into expressions meaningful to people in their distinct cultures and within their particular existential situations. The use of the terms indigenization and contextualization in Christian missions must be carefully explained to help the church in her mission by learning the cultures and languages of the people and translating Scripture into their languages. However, it is argued that, though considering culture is essential in missions, communication, and evangelism, there remains a tension between the Church and culture because she is in the world but not of the world. That is why scholars in missiology and mission communication remind us that we must be careful not to lose the Gospel in the adaptation to differing cultures. Thus, it is inevitable for the Church to confront the world and its diverse cultures with the salvific Gospel. In line with the above argument, this paper will briefly describe the process and structure of communication. Then it will discuss the importance of culture to mission communication, with a Biblical basis for mission communication. Finally, the paper will consider the tension between church and culture, the defects in recipient-oriented communication, indigenization, syncretism, and language, symbol, and meaning.