>[!note] Description >The following questions are frequently asked by students concerning the evangelism encounter reports that are required for some of my courses, such as MIS5000. > >If you're one of my students, please read the following before emailing with your question. There's a good chance, you'll find your answer below and save yourself some time. ## Q: What defines a cross-cultural evangelistic conversation? A: The term **cross-cultural** in the context of evangelism and missions refers to situations where there is a **significant cultural distance** between the person communicating the gospel and the person receiving it. This is distinct from differences that exist _within_ a broadly shared cultural framework. For the sake of this assignment, students should attempt to see how *far* they can get from their own culture, not see how *close* they can get, and it still "count" for the assignment. Here's a breakdown to help clarify this for students: - **Cross-cultural** communication and ministry involve stepping out of one's own cultural norms and learning to understand and operate within the cultural framework of others. It means learning the language, values, beliefs, and worldview (though worldview is distinct from culture) of another people group. The task is to communicate the gospel message in a way that is understandable and meaningful within that different cultural context. - **Cultural Distance** is a key concept here. Scholars sometimes categorize evangelism based on the level of cultural distance between the evangelist and the audience: - **E-0 evangelism** refers to ministering to nominal Christians within one's own culture. - **E-1 evangelism** occurs among people who speak the same general language and have a similar cultural heritage. While there is still a cultural gap between Christians and non-Christians within the same society due to differing worldview presuppositions, missionaries engaging in E-1 evangelism do not typically have to learn a new language or navigate vastly different fundamental thought patterns. - **E-2 evangelism** involves Christian outreach to cultures with some similarity to the evangelist's culture, requiring learning a new language and a somewhat different worldview. - **E-3 evangelism** involves reaching people of a **significantly different language and culture**. The cultural gap is initially wide in E-3 evangelism. - Therefore, simply interacting with someone who is not a Christian, or someone from a different race within the same society, while requiring cultural sensitivity and awareness of differing beliefs (which is E-1 or E-0 evangelism), is generally not what is meant by **cross-cultural** evangelism as defined by the majority of evangelical missiologists. Cross-cultural implies crossing significant boundaries of language, worldview, and deeply ingrained cultural patterns that are fundamentally different from one's own. - Here are 3 examples of what would constitute a good cross-cultural evangelistic encounter here in the United States, requiring crossing those significant cultural barriers: - **Evangelizing First-Generation Spanish-Speaking Immigrants:** Engaging with someone whose primary language is Spanish and who grew up in a Latin American culture (Mexico, Central America, South America) represents a cross-cultural encounter, often categorized as E-2 evangelism. This is because, while there might be some cultural similarities, there are significant differences in language, communication styles, family and community values (often more group-oriented than individualistic compared to mainstream US culture), and worldview elements. - **Reaching Immigrants/Refugees from Honor-Shame Cultures (e.g., Middle Eastern, South Asian, many African groups):** Many people from countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa are now living in the US due to globalization and migration. These cultures are often characterized by honor and shame as primary values, which contrasts significantly with the guilt-innocence framework more common in Western cultures. Engaging these individuals is typically E-3 evangelism due to the significant distance in language (Arabic, Nepali, various African languages, etc.), worldview, and social dynamics. - **Ministering among Indigenous Peoples (e.g., Native American communities)**: Engaging with Native American communities within the United States often involves crossing significant cultural barriers, including language differences (many indigenous languages are still spoken), distinct historical experiences (including past negative encounters with Western Christianity), unique worldviews that may incorporate animistic or traditional religious elements, and different social structures and values. This is identified as E-3 evangelism. ## Q: Do I have to get all the way through a full gospel presentation to get credit for an encounter? A. No, but with some important clarification below. You need to "make the turn" from a general conversation, or even a spiritual conversation, to one explicitly about the gospel. First, notice on the report that it asks if you were able to get through an entire explanation of the gospel. It wouldn't ask that if it expected you to only turn in moments where you had a full and complete explanation of the gospel. Let me explain what I mean by making the turn. You likely know this moment, if you've ever shared the gospel with someone. It's that moment that you intentionally introduce to the conversation that you want to talk about the gospel message. It's not just touching on a theme of the gospel, or on God or spiritual matters generally, it's the moment you press deeper than that. It might take the form of a question: "Can I share with you what the Bible tells us is the good news of Jesus?" Or, "What do you believe it takes to restore our relationship with God?" It could also happen another way. There is a moment, though, where you make your intentions plain and take action to invite the other person in the conversation into a gospel conversation. When evaluating your reports, we are looking for evidence that you were obedient to make that turn. The other person can shut you down, politely decline, or drag the conversation back off-topic. However, if you can articulate to us the moment you began to share the specific details of the gospel message with this person, then you'll very likely receive credit for the report. ## Q: Can my sermon (small group lesson/ class discussion) count as an Evangelism Report? A: No. While you may proclaim the gospel in your sermon (in fact you should), that does not qualify for this specific assignment. There is more than one way to engage in evangelism, but the goal of this assignment to develop the habit of sharing the gospel interpersonally with those who have not heard or accepted. Forms of "broadcast" evangelism, while important and good, do not meet that goal. The exception to this rule would be if your sermon leads to a follow-up conversation about the Gospel with an unbeliever. That then becomes a two-way conversation with someone. Technically, it is the follow-up conversation that qualifies for this type of evangelism encounter. ## Q: Can my group accountability/ personal discipleship meeting count as an Evangelism Report? A: No. See the above question concerning sermons and small group lessons. Also, any regular meeting with someone from your church for discipleship or accountability reasons falls outside the scope of this assignment. If they are a professing Christian, even if you believe they are not a mature one, then these reports are recording something different. As with sermons and small group lessons, it's a great thing that you'd have accountability and discipleship conversations. It's also important to be teaching the gospel in these. So, I congratulate you on those and encourage you to press on. Just know that this assignment is measuring your attempts to speak the gospel message to those you truly believe have not heard or accepted the gospel. That means, I'm looking for you to share the gospel with a nonbeliever or someone whose salvation you seriously question. ## Q: Do I have to do this evangelism alone? A. No. In fact, I would encourage you to consider evangelism a team sport. After explaining to you that a small group discussion with people who are most likely also Christians does not satisfy this assignment, I want to be clear that it does not mean you must have these conversations by yourself. It is fine and good to share the gospel with other people. For the purpose of this assignment, though, make sure you're doing a good bit of the talking as well. One important caveat here, there is a point where a group is so large that it stops being interpersonal evangelism. Take the example of giving a gospel presentation at the halftime of your church league sports event. I would treat this like a treat a sermon or a small group gathering. This is broadcast evangelism, not personal evangelism. If that were to lead to a conversation with someone after the game, then we're talking about personal evangelism again. ## Q: Can I submit multiple reports of conversations with the same person? A: Yes, but in a limited way. For the purposes of this assignment, students are allowed to report up to two (2) follow-up conversations with the same person. This means that up to three (3) reports are allowed with the same person. Anything beyond three reports with the same individual will not receive credit, since the purpose of the assignment is to build a habit of sharing the Gospel with the numerous lost people around us. Furthermore, I only want students to do this once for the sake of these reports. The majority need to be you reaching out to new people, because that best meets the goal of the assignment. Follow-up conversations are great. We should thank God for those, and I encourage you to have them with everyone that you share with this semester. That doesn't mean we need to pad our reports with them. ## Q: Are we expected to share the Gospel every week? A: Yes. I expect students to report on a conversation from the same week the report is due. Exceptions may be made under extenuating circumstances, but students should know that the expectation is weekly Gospel sharing. As you go about doing this assignment, I think you will find that the Lord can use this opportunity to help you develop a consistent practice of sharing the Gospel. Students who use this assignment well often express that this has been one of the most formative assignments they have had in their seminary education. We pray the same will be true for you. ## Q: Can I submit reports late? A. No. See the above question and answer for more explanation. ## Q: Can I do multiple reports in one week and turn them in later? A. No, unless I grant a specific exception. First, see "Are we expected to share the Gospel every Week?" That question and answer informs this one. I'm very supportive of you having more than one evangelistic encounter each week. However, if the goal is habit formation, then banking a bunch of reports undermines that goal. So, have multiple encounters, but plan to only report on one of them for the week. There are instances where I may grant an exception to this one, but they are rare, and you'd need to email me and my grader or admin to request the exception. Please do not be upset if it's not granted, because I want you to strive for regularity in your personal evangelism. ## Q: Can I submit a report about a conversation that happened outside of the semester? A: No. Conversations had outside the bounds of the semester will not receive credit as evangelism reports for this class. The point of this assignment is to help students develop a personal discipline of sharing the Gospel consistently with the people around them, and the expectation is that students are reporting on conversations they are having during the semester. (See previous question for more details.) --- ## Read More: [](https://amzn.to/3ThHLqJ)