There Is A Need
One thing I learned as a missions director was in order to reach a certain people group, ethnos or nation or culture, that the gospel had to be presented to them in a language that they could understand. You cannot go to a tribe in Africa and speak to them in English and expect them to understand. The church must be shaped to every language and culture. In the Book of Revelations it speaks of a church of every tribe, tongue, and nation. (Rev. 5:9) What we call church in America will not prosper in Costa Rica without a shaping and understanding of the culture they are trying to reach. It is God’s will that every culture have it’s own church.
In America, the average life span of growth of a church is usually around 10-12 years simply because the church becomes like the people that are attending and the generation that is growing up does not understand what they are witnessing simply because it is not in their “language” or “culture”. That is why there is always a need of new churches in America that speaks in the language of the new generation. Often, people cannot go to “their mama’s church” and leave never to return.
Mat 9:17 “Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
The up and coming generation in America is facing problems and needs that no other generation has ever faced. America can no longer be considered separate, because in reality, like never before, it is part of a global community. Where we used to only have to deal with our own problems, we now have to deal with the worlds problems. Communication is such a part of our life we can now have relationships with people around the world and not just the people next door.
Existing churches often ask, “Why can’t everyone worship like I do? Why do we need new churches?” and they often resist a new church coming into their community and it is considered an enemy or competition. It is important to note that in Matthew it does not say that the new wine is better than the old. It does say that if the old wine is to be preserved, then the new wine must be put into new wine skins. Without the freedom for every culture to worship God in their own language what we deem important and the truth that we know will also die. As any part of life, what is not growing is dying. It is vital that the gospel presented without compromise to a new generation in their own language.
Acts 2:6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.
Acts 2:7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?
Acts 2:8 “And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?
God Bless,
Dave