Teaching my Year 5 scripture class the concept of substitutionary atonement presented a challenge. The scripture textbook emphasised the cross as the point of contact, but when one of the students expressed that it looked like a plus sign, I knew the symbol meant little to them outside of that context. Living in western NSW (like any other part of Australia), the biggest preoccupation is undoubtedly sport; most of the class played soccer on weekends or knew someone who did. I therefore drew on the concept of a substitute player and made the link: the Lord Jesus subbed in for us, and even took the penalty we deserved from the referee. They loved it, and it was very rewarding to see their eyes lighting up with understanding. Without explicitly realising it, I had just contextualised the gospel.

Contextualisation is what we all do when we seek to communicate the gospel in a way our specific hearers understand and can relate to, without watering it down or changing the core message in any way. Jesus did this often and in various ways, using stories and metaphors, and drawing on topics his hearers could relate to in their context, such as wineskins, mustard seeds and fishing. Paul used a similar strategy in his own ministry, referring to local architecture, Greek poets, pagan philosophers, and even the culture’s idols in Acts 17.¹ According to Tim Keller, contextualisation means to “resonate with yet defy the culture around you; …to antagonise a society’s idols while showing respect for its people, hopes and aspirations.”²

Across cultures, these idols might not be immediately obvious, so the hard work of contextualisation requires time and research. ECM cross cultural worker in Germany, Ali M says the number one idol in Berlin is expressive individualism, seen primarily in an emphasis on the freedom to choose what you do with your own body. “I’ve heard it said that the last thing to be converted is your wallet. I wouldn’t mind betting that in Berlin, it’s your sexuality.” Within this culture, Ali’s 20 year marriage to Rich is a profound witness and powerful testimony to the gospel, accompanying their preaching and proclaiming of the truth.

The contextualisation process inevitably involves understanding how the gospel is perceived in the culture before you preach it. For a Spainard, according to Carolynn W, ECM cross culture worker in Spain, being a Christian equals being a Catholic and all that it entails; including communion, confirmation, mass etc. “People think of the nuns that taught them at school,” she says, “irrelevant and rigid. It’s familiar but they’ve moved past that, rejected it for themselves and their own family. As a result they are left with the idea/value of just being a good person - that is enough.” Aware of this cultural baggage, Carolynn says part of their contextualisation work is modelling what it looks like to have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, based on an understanding of grace.

“I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” 

1 Corinthians 9:22

After appreciating the cultural situation, contextual evangelism involves looking for ‘points of contact’ to that society. Ali explains, “to believe the Bible is true in Berlin is to be narrow minded and uneducated. A neighbour of mine believes that Christianity is a tool used to control societies and another friend says the church is where you go when you need help, for lonely people with addictions.” Ali believes the best way to counter these misconceptions is to develop deep relationships with non-believers. This often involves seeking out those common meeting spaces; concerts, exhibitions, parties etc. She says art in all its forms has often afforded them common ground for non-believers and believers to meet together, to share life and to answer any questions people may have about Christianity. 

However, workers can often be guilty of carrying cultural baggage with them as well. Unchecked, a rigid paradigm has the potential to unnecessarily offend or confuse and may end up being an obstacle in the path to salvation. Simon Ball, former cross culture worker in Ireland, describes cultural baggage as those “subconscious expectations about how life should be lived, how things should work, how society works, and also what Christianity, discipleship and church should look like - a whole host of things that you subconsciously just accept as being true, or right, or best practice.” Even in America, my family visited a church where everybody sat to sing, but stood for the Bible reading. Contextualisation seeks to discern what is essential and what is just conventional in a culture. 

Doing the work of contextualisation in another culture also involves looking for ‘points of contact’.

Understandably, a lot of this paradigm shift occurs when you first hit the ground. Emily L, ECM cross culture worker in Portugal, was surprised by the time it took to accomplish basic administration tasks when they first arrived. She says it never occurred to her that Australia may have had an efficient administrative system when contrasted to Europe! Simon Ball learnt the same lesson when he first moved to Ireland:

I remember the bureaucratic hurdles were immense. Just trying to get a driver’s licence took over three weeks; a bank account, six months. It was a real culture-shock trigger for me, and I mentioned my frustrations to my teammate Karen. She said, ‘Simon, you need to realise that all of this stuff is not a distraction. This is all part of your witness; the way you handle yourself, the way you handle the frustrations — it’s all part of it. And it’s all part of you learning to understand Irish culture. So this is not a distraction — this is your ministry right now.’ It was so wise — it really helped me reframe what was happening at the start.

A willingness to learn and embrace new ways of doing things, constructive dialogue with people on the field and trusted locals, and recognising where you may be wrong are all essential elements required to unpack your own cultural baggage and help others unpack theirs. Letting go of this baggage may require a degree of self sacrifice; you may have to change eating habits and foods, style of dress, personal music tastes, even sleep routines! Former ECM Executive Director and cross culture worker in Portugal, Matt George said that deep, spiritual conversations often happened late at night in Portugal and any worker who went to bed early missed out on these gospel opportunities! Similarly, in a number of European countries there is little point scheduling early morning prayer meetings, because no one would show up. 

Having a heart and mind open to accept that different ways of doing things may not necessarily be ‘wrong’ is a critical part of contextualisation. However, Australian theologian and author, Chris Watkins observes that, historically, the church has often been part of the problem: “cultural imperialism assumes that one culture (almost always the speaker’s own) is superior to others and its adherents have a ‘civilising mission’, once called ‘the white man’s burden’, to propagate it around the world. Images of Victorian preachers addressing African congregations in western garb contrast with Hudson Taylor whose culturally respectful gospel preaching earned him the ridicule of the British in the nineteenth century.”³ It is therefore essential for all of us to discern what is critical, and what is customary when it comes to the gospel.

Having a heart and mind open to accept that different ways of doing things may not necessarily be ‘wrong’ is a critical part of the contextualisation process.

Ultimately, the Bible speaks to any culture, because every culture is full of sinful people who need to hear the good news of salvation. Every culture is unique and valuable in the eyes of the Lord Jesus, because on the last day people from every tongue, tribe and nation will worship together, forever. Contextualisation involves communicating the gospel to the ‘heart’ of a culture, whatever it may be, so that as few obstacles as possible impede these truths being heard. And yet, as Ali M points out, “the gospel will always be offensive to an unbeliever, and no amount of ‘cultural appropriateness’ will alter that!”

Sam Boog is communications and media trained and has a particular passion for the gospel needs of Europe. She lives in western NSW with her husband and four daughters.

Please Pray

• For all the ECM cross culture workers as they continually do the work of gospel contextualisation and all that entails.
• For God’s particular grace on those starting out in the field; that the Lord would help them learn language and customs quickly as they adapt to their new culture.

This article appears in ECM News Autumn 2025

1.  https://www.jesusfilm.org/blog/contextualizing-the-gospel-for-all-people/

2. https://churchleaders.com/voices/417490-insights-from-keller-on-contextualizing.html

3. Watkins, C, Biblical Critical Theory, 2022