Gospel and Culture

Introduction

The Gospel and Culture strategy is a revelation of the relationship that exists between the gospel and the culture of every peopleʼs group, showing how we can be living for Christ while still living as members of our culture. This strategy is centered around changing the worldview which is the center from which every belief is drawn. If people still hang to their beliefs and practices, it is because their worldview is still activating those beliefs. A belief would seek to find a way of expressing it. If the worldview is transformed the belief that goes with it is redundant and the practice that expresses that belief dies out.

Through the Gospel and Culture strategy, important cultural issues that are not often addressed by the Church are brought to the fore for discussion. Once people start a discussion on those issues, they have a better insight of things they have not been aware of. As they engage the Bible, they become aware of how the Bible addresses those issues and are convinced that the Bible is the transformer of every culture. This opens opens their worldview for transfomation.

How training/workshops/are organised

·         Workshops are carried out in communities according to the RBM plans

·         Seminars are organised in churches as part of the Bible Translation Sunday package.

·         Equipping sessions are organized in communities according to RBM plans and in strategic locations for SE point persons and pastors as part of Urban Church Mobilization (UCM).

·         Courses are organized at the Regional centers bringing in differents projects together.

How funds are raised and managed

·         The GC strategy does not have separate source of funding. Its funds come from the DCSE and from the community projects.

·         For GC workshops planned during the RBM for projects, they are funded at the level of the projects, whether the training is carried out there or projects needs to come together in one location.

·         For workshops organized as part of the BTS package, the CSE department takes charge. This also applies to GC equipping workshops held at strategic locations.

There is therefore need for more funding as this strategy has proven to work in most communties as a great tool for evangelism

How the strategy is improved upon

·         Best practices have been developed for the strategy, bringing forth the core lessons to be taught and the foundational level and lessons to be taught during follow up as part of the equipping package.

·         Apart from the core topics that are generally relevant accross the communities, contextual lessons are also being developed so that issues that are a daily reality in different communities can be addressed accordingly.

·         Plans are on the way to work on different lessons towards the publication of the Gospel and Culture manuals. These manuals can be sold during workshops and BTS and provide some income.