Sharing Jesus Devotional By CCF & yesHEisHalimbawa

To change our culture, we need to know our culture

Have you ever wondered why Christianity flourishes in some countries, and then struggles to grow in others? Perhaps this is because every culture is different. Right from when the message was first preached in the book of Acts, the challenge for Christians has been to communicate the Gospel in a way people can understand. Today, nothing has changed, and we undertake the amazing task of explaining eternal truths in ways that connect to the culture of our time.

In today’s reading we see the apostle Paul adapting the message of Jesus to the group of people he was speaking to. He used ideas and references they knew, and then even used their own beliefs to point towards God! 

Our impact in making disciples in our family, communities, campuses, workplace or church is directly linked to our knowledge of those around us and our ability to engage with them. 

To better understand western culture, yesHEis recently commissioned a research agency to survey and report on Millennial (Gen Y) behaviors and attitudes towards faith and Christianity. Though the survey was held in Australia, it is indicative of many other cultures too. The results showed that mainstream younger people are relatively critical of religion in society, 55% say that religion has a negative impact in society. In contrast, many are more likely to be positive about spirituality than religion, with two in three (64%) indicating that spirituality has a positive impact in society.

In our country, more and more young people are getting disconnected to the church. They feel we are too exclusive, judgmental, and not loving at all. These negative ideas of the church give us a harder time to connect with them. However, we can help change their perspective by intentionally knowing and discipling them.

As we make an effort to understand our culture and the people God has placed around us, we will find better ways to engage with them and make Christ-committed followers who will make Christ-committed followers.

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Pastor Marty Ocaya is the director of ELEVATE, the youth ministry of CCF present in 48 colleges and universities. He is married to Astrid and are blessed with a three-year old son, Noah and 11-month-old Anaya.