Sharing the Gospel Through Common Culture: Building Bridges with Unbelievers

What is culture?

According to a brief Google search, culture is the shared characteristics of a group of people, including their beliefs, values, traditions, and behaviors. Culture can also be defined as the complex whole of traditional behavior that humans develop and pass down to each generation. 

I want to take the next few moments and remind you that you actually have a lot more in common with your unbelieving friends, co-workers and neighbors that you first imagine. While your worldviews are vastly different or even diametrically opposed that you actually share similar cultures.

By the very nature of our exclusive message there is a sub-culture to Christianity and in one way, rightly so. We call it the church. 

If we are honest, we admit we’re comfortable with our unbelieving friends entering our Christian sub-culture (e.g. worship service, church events, etc.) But in our country’s post-Christian culture, as Christians, we are going to have cross cultures to share the gospel. 

Bring the gospel with you.

This makes many feel uncomfortable but remember this is what we expect our missionaries to do. Are you willing to enter the culture of your neighbor for the sake of the gospel? Culture is the world of shared experiences in which we build relational bridges. You actually do this already but now you need to bring the gospel with you. Let me give some examples…

• If your neighbor talks about the struggle her job and raising kids, you can enter that “culture” by either sharing your similar frustrations or asking more questions.  

• If you love your NFL team, there is a culture to that team. You could talk about what happened in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters and they should have won the game. 

• If you workout at the local gym you may see and interact with the same person. You have a shared culture. You both care about staying healthy. 

When you meet a frustrated wife/mom, golf enthusiast or NFL fan, you now share a common culture and to one degree or another a shared culture. As you continue to build the relationship, you will be able to build some relational bridges for the gospel within your shared cultures. Here are a few ways to that:

• With the struggling mom who works and is seeking to raise a family, you might say, “Can I pray for you that God will give you wisdom to know how to maximize your time with your kids?” Or, “How about once a month I’ll prepare a freezer meal for you and then you can take that time to spend with your kids?”  

• With a fellow NFL fan: “I missed the first quarter because of our church’s worship service, but I caught up on the game later in the afternoon.” Watch his body language respond to your church attendance remark. If he makes a face or gives you a smirk ask, “Why? Have you had a negative experience at church?” Immediately, you’ve built a bridge from your shared culture to God. 

• The conversation with local workout afficionado can turn a hundred different ways, but I promise you the Theme of themes is right around the corner. 

Yes, there are aspects of culture that are unhelpful, unhealthy or downright sinful, but there are plenty of shared cultural experiences that build a bridge to Jesus! 

Joel Mosier is the Lead Pastor at GraceLife Baptist Church in Cypress, TX and serves as anExchangeTrainer. Contact Joel about leading an Exchange Training Event or to discuss this [email protected]