Zambia Hunt

As local churches in the West send missionaries to serve Christ around the world, it’s crucial that we exercise wisdom in our approach to cross-cultural ministry. Many well-intentioned ministers inadvertently repeat the mistakes of previous generations, learning the hard way about the challenges of serving the gospel in unfamiliar cultures.

I’ve witnessed ministry laborers arrive in Africa with a genuine love for Jesus, specific skills, and financial resources. They’re eager to make a difference for Christ. While their intentions are pure and their desires noble, the reality often falls short of expectations. After years of investment and considerable expenses, many end up facing discouragement and depart the field of service.

The longer someone invests in a Western solution for an African problem, the harder it becomes to let go, even when it clearly isn’t producing the desired outcome. This attachment to our initial plans can blind us to the need for adaptation, change, or scuttling of the whole idea.

At times, I read missionary letters from those whose ministry I have some first-hand knowledge of, and I wonder if they really believe what they write. Are they intentionally justifying their investment by spinning the results for a Western audience?

When well-meaning individuals or organizations arrive with solutions and funding, locals who step forward to participate are often not the kind of leaders we’re truly seeking. In many cases, early volunteers are opportunists who view Westerners as a solution for personal problems or a means for personal gain. In worst-case scenarios, they may even be outright frauds. I’ve had more than a few sad conversations with people who’ve lost significant investments to unscrupulous con artists on the mission field.

This happens because foreigners bring their own cultural reference points. They don’t understand the local culture, expectations, or “rules of the game.” As a result, they make assessments of character and competency based on their own cultural viewpoint, shaded by their own desires to accomplish something noble. This can often lead to misunderstandings, mistakes, and disappointment.

There are no shortcuts to success in cross-cultural ministry. To build healthy partnerships and biblical ministries that stand the test of theology and time, we must be willing to do the hard work of understanding the culture we’re serving in and developing deep relationships within that community.

This process doesn’t happen in a matter of weeks or even months. While it’s possible to build on someone else’s relational foundations, the most effective approach often requires years of on-the-ground investment in relationship-building and discipleship to see the desired fruit.

Another suggestion is to develop partnerships with ministries and individuals who have an established, verifiable track record of success and achievements within a particular context. Many newcomers want to start something entirely new – a clinic, a school, an orphanage, or a church planting initiative. While these are noble goals, they may fail to bear the kind of fruit initially envisioned without proper cultural understanding and strong local partnerships.

Martyn-Lloyd Jones on Cross-Cultural Sensitivity

Perhaps I can best illustrate this principle by showing its importance for anybody engaged in foreign mission work. Here they are, missionaries in an alien culture that is entirely different from anything they have ever known. They are preaching the gospel, and under their ministrations, people are converted and join the Church; the new converts are not immediately free from their cultural background and outlook. Now, the danger is that the missionaries, who have probably been Christians for many years, will seek to impose Western ideas upon this culture. They may try to press upon people who are just entering the Christian life the customs and habits of people who have been brought up in a country where the gospel has been preached for years, and where there is a general Christian tradition.

Now, this is a very great temptation and danger. It is the business of every missionary to learn about the local conditions and the local culture because – I am speaking in a non-Christian manner for a moment – there are many practices that are perfectly harmless and legitimate in this country and in Western nations that are regarded as simply terrible by people brought up in other traditions and cultures. In the same way, some of the things people in other countries regard as of value, we think of as being almost ridiculous.

D.M. Lloyd Jones, Romans Exposition of Chapter 14: 1 – 17, P 174

In conclusion, effective cross-cultural ministry requires patience, humility, and a willingness to learn from those we seek to serve. By approaching our work with wisdom and cultural sensitivity, we can avoid common pitfalls and make a lasting impact for the Kingdom of God.