A Personal Gospel

"You will never really reach them until you do it in their own language."

As I read the January 1964 edition of The Other Sheep, I was struck by this quote. Spoken by an anthropologist to a missionary couple, this quote completely altered the missionary practices of these particular missionaries. Instead of ministering solely through English they began to learn the language of the people and called on indigenous Christians to become the primary speakers. They invested in audio recording in the people's own language. They began to allow the gospel to speak to the people in the way they spoke to each other. In doing all of this, these missionaries made the gospel more personal.
This may seem straight-forward, obviously you need to use the people's native language to reach them. However, it is easy to simply seek to minister in English, especially today where almost everyone speaks at least some English. However, the gospel was never meant to be contained within a particular culture. Preaching in English in a community where deep, personal conversations take place in a different language separates Christianity from the personal. That is not the nature of Christianity. Jesus did not come to form an elite religious group that people can admire from afar. Jesus came to mend the relationship between God and His people. Jesus died that we might draw near to God. Christianity is meant to be personal. How can we communicate that with others if we do not bring the gospel into the personal spheres of their lives? The missionaries in this article realized this, they saw that though the people may have understood English, when they were in their homes speaking to each other, they spoke another language. Instead of pushing the matter and continuing to preach in English, as that is all they knew, they humbled themselves. They asked people in the community for help, realizing that God speaks more than English.
I realize that this blog is for a history class, but the theology presented in this article is something I cannot ignore. One of the most beautiful aspects of Christianity is that it is a relationship. That the God of the universe desires to be intimately involved in the lives of the people He created is incredible. We cannot take that aspect of Christianity away from people. If we are to invite people to embrace this relationship, than we need to step into their personal lives. We need to embrace their languages, we need to step into their hurt, we need to enter those places that are so culturally foreign to us, understanding that God transcends culture and that His gospel is meant for all.