In Duane Elmer’s book Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility, he asks the question: “What could missionaries do more effectively to minister the gospel of Christ in your culture?” The main answer that he received from leaders in different cultures was, “Missionaries could more effectively minister the gospel of Christ if they did not think they were so superior to us.” This makes me think and reflect on past mission trips that I have taken. Have I come across as superior to those I have ministered to and even worked alongside? I hope and pray the answer to this question is, “NO!”
He goes on to open my eyes to the more complexity of ministry. Even though I will be ministering and serving in Germany, the German culture is not the only culture with which I need to familiarize myself. There is a mixture of cultures in Heidelberg; Middle Eastern, Asian, African, and the list could go on. Some of these are part of the refugees, others are college students. I cannot sit here and be blinded to these different cultures mixed together in one geographic location.
So join me in praying that as I prepare to serve overseas, I will not have a superior attitude but will be humble in my ministry service to the different individuals I will be working alongside. I pray that the ministry the Lord is giving me will be one of openness, humility, and love. I don’t want to have the mindset, “the American way is the only way”. I pray this future ministry is open to doing ministry in the way the Germans would do ministry or even the way the Middle Easterners would do ministry. Pray I can be contextualized in ministry and that when it comes to ministry, I never stop learning!
Thank you to all who have continued to be supportive of where the Lord is guiding me. If you would like to give, you can do so at www.pioneers.org/giving. My account number is 112086.
For His glory,
Tyler A. Bowman
