SIM International Director Malcolm McGregor and his wife Liz.

An Indian evangelist, Mr. Murthi, once said, “Do not bring us the Gospel as a potted plant. Bring us the seed of the Gospel and plant it in our soil.” SIM is committed to bringing the Good News into situations in sensitive ways that affirm both biblical truth and culture.

Throughout its history, SIM has sought to plant churches that are indigenous in nature and express the character and life of the people who form them. We have not always been successful in this, because it is very difficult to come into a culture and not bring something of your own customs and traditions. Still, bringing the Gospel into a culture and seeing churches planted and established in ways that are sensitive to the culture but fully committed to biblical truth is an abiding value in SIM.

As we seek to take the message of truth into predominately Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or secular cultures, we need to do this with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15), realizing that we are challenging people at the very core of their being. We need to make sure that our culture is not at the forefront of what we do but that biblical truth, interpreted and contextualized into that culture, is what prevails.

Contextualization refers to how believers in Jesus Christ think, express themselves, and live out their faith within their own particular setting and culture. A context is the unique and complete socio-cultural environment that surrounds every human being. It includes culture, religious/theological background, economic, social, and educational background, gender, the historical era, and each individual’s personal circumstances.

Contextualization touches every aspect of a person’s living faith: formal theology and confessions of faith, ethics, rituals such as worship and music, methods of instruction, language and translation, and outward religious symbols (e.g., church architecture, wearing a cross, etc.).

Contextualization should go deeper than believers’ outward behaviors and symbols, penetrating all the way to their underlying beliefs. Where there is conflict between culture and Scripture, then biblical truth must take precedent. Where Scripture loses out to the context, then we have syncretism, and the truth is lost.

The process of contextualization regularly wrestles with issues of form and meaning. What should believers in a new context do with the old cultural and religious forms and symbols? Should these be retained, filled with new meaning, adapted into some new-but-familiar form, or completely discarded? Likewise, to what extent should the forms of the Bible or the church in other contexts be adopted, or to what extent should believers look for new, more culturally appropriate forms? These are some of the challenging issues that missionaries wrestle with every day as the Gospel takes root in the contexts in which they serve.

Through your prayers and financial support, you are watering the work of SIM missionaries around the world, enabling them to contextualize the Gospel, especially among Muslim peoples. Thank you.

*Note:This article was originally published in Serving In Mission Together, issue 125.