3 Approaches to Cross-Cultural Evangelism
“I distinctly remember a 2006 conversation with a young Central Asian man named Farhad. It completely changed how I understand and share the gospel.”
Jayson Georges served as a missionary in Central Asia for nine years. He now runs HonorShame.com, a website devoted to exploring how to contextualize the gospel for those from honor/shame cultures. He is also the author of 3D Gospel.
The following is a summary of his viewpoints on cross-cultural evangelism.
Ground Work
First, we must understand how someone’s cultural background impacts their understanding of sin. Christian anthropologists classify cultures into three different sin-response types:
Second, we must understand how “metaphors saturate our theology and evangelism.” They provide a framework to communicate abstract ideas with concrete images. “We use earthly language from our everyday experiences to communicate spiritual realities.”
Guilt Culture
Westerners, coming from a guilt culture, typically use legal terminology when sharing the gospel. We use words such as judge, works, punishment, and debt. These terms can certainly be found in scripture and may communicate just fine to other westerners. But to people like Farhad, those metaphors are unhelpful. He “hardly sensed personal guilt, so he did not seek forgiveness from God.”
So how do we clearly communicate the gospel to those from shame or fear cultures? Jayson says, “Contextualizing the gospel is often as easy as changing the controlling metaphor and using new vocabulary.”
Shame Culture
Shame-based cultures “rely upon community pressure (not individual conscious) to guide social behavior.” Members of these cultures preserve their honor, their reputation in the community, by adhering to the group’s expectations. They avoid the shame that could result in exclusion from the group. “Since honor and shame come from other people, they are inherently communal.” Honor and community are top values in these cultures. So relational words such as mediator, disloyalty, adoption, and approval can be used to explain the gospel. Jayson offers this example of a possible gospel presentation for someone from a shame culture:
Fear Culture
People from fear-based cultures believe that “invisible spirits inhabit the physical world,” and these spirits are responsible for most of the good or bad things that happen to them. They work hard to manipulate or appease these spirits so that they can be safe, successful, and happy. These magical practices can include burning incense, wearing an amulet, or casting a spell.
“Since life is viewed as a perpetual spiritual battle, the language and imagery of warfare may resonate better with people of fear-based cultures.” Words such as deliverance, healing, darkness, protection, and blessing can help explain “how Jesus delivers us from spiritual bondage.” Here is Jayson’s example gospel presentation for someone from a fear-based culture:
If you are interested in learning more about cross-cultural evangelism in guilt, shame, and fear based cultures, we highly recommend reading 3D Gospel
by Jayson Georges and checking out HonorShame.com!
Additional Posts
Choosing a Missions Organization: Why SEND International Stands Out “Why should I be a missionary through SEND International?” Jenna, a new missionary in Eastern Europe, shared with us what she appreciates about working with SEND. The highlights for her are: - Devotion to prayer - Diligence in communication - Commitment to development - Intentionality in accountability Prayer “Back in September of 2022, the Lord reconnected me with SEND after I had met them a year prior at the Moody Bible Institute. However, before he would sign me up for anything, my Missions Coach encouraged me to pray. He said something to the effect of, "I know that you've been praying on your own for a long time. But as the Church, we are not called to walk alone. So, you and I won't talk for about a month unless you have questions. I want you to go pray with 5 or 6 others from your church about where God is calling you." That October, more than 10 friends prayed with me and we saw God answer as He directed me to Romania. From February 2024 to November 2025, I had the pleasure of being a part of team meetings in Romania with my SEND colleagues. Our meetings were four hours long, two for prayer and two for business. This has been the minimum for our team. There are also prayer meetings with the local churches we partner with, among smaller groups within our team, of course prayer with many of you across the pond, including those at our US office. The organization was built, has been sustained, and continues to run on prayer. This is my favorite thing about SEND. Communication As I mentioned above, we have a two hour block for business / ministry details in each of our meetings. This provides consistency across our team which works alongside three different churches and in a variety of ministries. It also helps us to communicate about the need for change or growth, alongside what is working well. In addition, my team director also meets with each of us, allowing us to communicate needs, considerations, and prayer requests. I've also enjoyed getting to work with SEND workers outside of my immediate region . We receive emails with the minutes from the Europe leadership team, Friday communications from our international director, and information regarding projects that affect our work among the unreached. In December of 2024, our international director at the time wrote a note to my parents for the first Christmas that I was gone. If nothing else had convinced my mom yet, this did. He took the time to care for me, but also to care well for the parents that were sending me (What it meant to my dad and mom for him to do this well has been one of the greatest ways I've been supported.). I also have some pretty wonderful regional directors. These people have prayed alongside us (while also serving in their own countries of service), they have taken time to come visit and encourage our team, and they have also taken the time to encourage the people in our churches. Development SEND has provided much in the area of development and care (spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally). At our regional conference (every three years), there have been medical check ups available, counseling options, and time for connecting with others on the field with similar experience. At our conference last October, I connected with a missionary who served overseas for many years, and is now serving on the administrative side of SEND. She has met with me since then for mentorship and has also invested much of her time recently in preparing a retreat for the singles across Europe. Accountability Over the years I have read and heard amazing stories of how God has worked through missionaries. God has done great things and great things He is still doing! However, people who have committed their lives to the Lord in this way are not “super Christians”. We are still humans with the same struggle against flesh that others have . A major challenge is in being isolated -- living in areas with little to no presence of other believers to sharpen them can cause many difficulties. SEND has been a great resource in this area too. Through my team, I have an accountability partner that I meet with monthly. When my regional director came to visit, he and his wife spent a day with me and asked intentional questions about how I lead, handle conflict, and how I am growing in general as a Christian. In addition, my teammates share their wisdom with me on a regular basis. These things and more have assured me that SEND International is a highly valuable organization and I'm excited to partner with them in service to, for, and with our great God! Interested in being sent by SEND?
Learn about the spiritual harmony in Vietnam & how missionaries engage with college students. Join us in sharing the gospel!
Explore Georgia's spiritual heritage and the impact of SEND International's mission. Join us in fostering authentic relationships today!
