Contextualizing Universal Values: A Method for Christian Mission

Presbyterians in Pennsylvania praise God with trumpet sounds from Latin America, seminary students in Brazil worship with African dance styles, Protestant worshipers in Indonesia sing praise songs from the United States. If Christian values are not articulated and practiced in fitting ways in a particular culture, Christianity will remain a foreign religion, set apart from the life and commitments of society.And although Christian values will at some points diverge from societal mores, there needs to be enough overlap for Christianity to be experienced as part of what it means to be identified with a particular cultural group. Christians draw values from Scripture, studying the Bible in communities that believe that God's Spirit will aid understanding and application of the wisdom of God's Word.