CONTEXTUALIZATION AND GREAT COMMISSION FAITHFULNESS

Abstract

Among evangelicals, one can usually win friends by speaking or writing about missions. After all, the label evangelicals means, at the very least, identifying with those convinced that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only hope for the salvation of the nations and therefore the eternal destiny of the masses is dependent on hearing and receiving this gospel message. However, these same friends may quickly become critics when the conversation shifts to the importance of contextualization. Recently a colleague confided, “I know that it is important to help national believers develop their own faith, but the risk is just too great. I have seen it go horribly wrong, so I choose to stick with what I know. It is safer.” Another missionary remarked, “My orthodoxy just isn’t that generous…”