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Effective Intercultural Evangelism: Good News in a Diverse World
We live in a multicultural society. But Christians often do not know how to engage those of other faiths. As a result, many Christians hesitate to talk about Christianity with others in any kind of evangelistic way. Jay Moon and Bud Simon unpack the intercultural dynamics that Christians need to understand when encountering people from different communities and cultural backgrounds. Regarding evangelism from the perspective of four major worldviews (guilt/justice, shame/honor, fear/power, and indifference/belonging with purpose), this book demonstrates contextual evangelism approaches that are relevant, biblical, and practical. The authors draw on new research conducted with hundreds of participants that reveal concrete ways to communicate the gospel effectively across cultures. Sharing one's faith does not require attacking other religions; rather, we can engage at the worldview level in order to address people's deepest concerns. Greater understanding provides us with better skills for relational connection, empathy, and effective witness.
224 pages, Paperback
Published August 24, 2021
21 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
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August 27, 2021
The mission Jesus gave the Church extends to “all nations” (Matthew 28:19), meaning ethno-linguistic people groups, not countries.
In the modern period, missions involved going from the West (Christendom) to the Rest (the Majority World). Today, however, the nations are coming to us.* Moreover, within Christendom, many are leaving the faith.
(I write about “us” and “them,” but the situation is complicated. A sizable percentage of immigrants to the West are Christian. They are “us” in a religious sense but “them” in a geopolitical sense. By contrast, secular Westerners are “us” in a geopolitical sense but “them” in a religious sense.)
The missional dynamics of going, coming, and leaving require Great Commission Christians to navigate the cultural differences between their own culture and the culture of the people with whom they’re sharing the gospel.
This is not a new requirement, though. Already in the first century, Paul understood that evangelizing Jews and Gentiles required different culturally relevant approaches: “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Effective Intercultural Evangelism by Jay Moon and Bud Simon offers readers a primer on how to practice those approaches. It defines intercultural evangelism as “the process of putting Christ at the center of someone’s worldview in order to initiate them into Christian discipleship through culturally relevant starting points.”
The use of worldview might mislead readers into thinking this book examines differences between Christianity and other religions or ideologies.
The authors define worldview broadly, however. Quoting missiologist Paul Hiebert, they define it as “the foundational cognitive affective, and evaluative assumptions and frameworks a group of people makes about the nature of reality that they use to order their lives.”
Drawing on social science, Moon and Simon identify four worldviews common among people groups: guilt/justice, shame/honor, fear/power, and indifference/belonging with purpose. The first term in each pair names the problem a worldview addresses, while the second names its solution.
The guilt/justice worldview predominates in the West. “Objective right and wrong guide all conduct without regard to individuals or consequences,” write the authors. “Central values include individual responsibility, an internalized code of conduct, and individualism.”
The shame/honor worldview is common in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. “Relationship and standing in society determine conduct,” the authors write. “Collectivism, group expectations, indirect communication, and an audience to observe conduct … normally play significant roles in these cultures.”
The fear/power worldview is found throughout Africa, the Caribbean, and tribal/folk communities. “The spiritual and physical world intermingle through nature, matter, rituals, ancestors, and other forms. In this worldview, people fear that these powers will act capriciously, causing harm through a person’s relationships or possessions.”
Westerners typically interpret the Bible through a guilt/justice worldview, but careful readers will notice the presence of all three worldviews’ concerns throughout Scripture.
Consider Genesis 3. Is the story of the Fall about guilt because Adam and Eve broke a command? Is it a story about shame because Adam and Eve were naked and needed cover? Or is it a story about fear because Adam and Eve lived under a curse?
It is a story about all three because guilt, shame, and fear characterize the human experience. The Bible thus can be read across cultures in terms that make sense within different worldviews.
This is true regarding the indifference/belonging with purpose worldview, as well. Secularism is a modern phenomenon, not a biblical one. Secular Westerners, prosperous as they are, generally are not driven by guilt, shame, or fear. Instead, they suffer from what Kyle Behsears calls “apatheism.”
In their worldview, “God and religion do not affect reality,” write the authors. The problem with secularism is that it destroys traditional sources of identity, belonging, and purpose, leaving a cultural vacuum in its wake. This emptiness leaves an opening for the gospel. “Belonging (in community) with purpose (beyond themselves) provides an experiential pathway to engage the audience,” according to the authors.
The four worldviews present ideal types with permeable boundaries. All people experience guilt, shame, fear, and indifference. Worldviews prioritize one of the four themes above the others.
What Effective Intercultural Evangelism says about worldviews is the central insight of the book. Understanding worldviews is the first and hardest step in moving from what William Howell calls “unconscious incompetence” to “conscious incompetence” in intercultural communication.
In other words, we must move from not knowing that there are cultural differences, let alone how to navigate them, to both knowing the former and learning the latter. Only then can we progress to “conscious” and finally “unconscious competence,” where intercultural communication comes naturally to us.
In the book’s final chapters, Moon and Simon offer additional advice about the importance of holistic evangelism, the necessity of knowing other peoples’ learning styles; and the value of identifying influences within each worldview.
I recommend the book to would-be missionaries, pastors in ethnically diverse communities, and church members interested in sharing the gospel with neighbors from other cultures. Each chapter concludes with practical exercises that can be completed in small groups or individually.
Book Reviewed
W. Jay Moon and W. Bud Simon, Effective Intercultural Evangelism: Good News in a Diverse World (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2021).
P.S. If you liked my review, please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page.
P.P.S. This review is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.
In the modern period, missions involved going from the West (Christendom) to the Rest (the Majority World). Today, however, the nations are coming to us.* Moreover, within Christendom, many are leaving the faith.
(I write about “us” and “them,” but the situation is complicated. A sizable percentage of immigrants to the West are Christian. They are “us” in a religious sense but “them” in a geopolitical sense. By contrast, secular Westerners are “us” in a geopolitical sense but “them” in a religious sense.)
The missional dynamics of going, coming, and leaving require Great Commission Christians to navigate the cultural differences between their own culture and the culture of the people with whom they’re sharing the gospel.
This is not a new requirement, though. Already in the first century, Paul understood that evangelizing Jews and Gentiles required different culturally relevant approaches: “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).
Effective Intercultural Evangelism by Jay Moon and Bud Simon offers readers a primer on how to practice those approaches. It defines intercultural evangelism as “the process of putting Christ at the center of someone’s worldview in order to initiate them into Christian discipleship through culturally relevant starting points.”
The use of worldview might mislead readers into thinking this book examines differences between Christianity and other religions or ideologies.
The authors define worldview broadly, however. Quoting missiologist Paul Hiebert, they define it as “the foundational cognitive affective, and evaluative assumptions and frameworks a group of people makes about the nature of reality that they use to order their lives.”
Drawing on social science, Moon and Simon identify four worldviews common among people groups: guilt/justice, shame/honor, fear/power, and indifference/belonging with purpose. The first term in each pair names the problem a worldview addresses, while the second names its solution.
The guilt/justice worldview predominates in the West. “Objective right and wrong guide all conduct without regard to individuals or consequences,” write the authors. “Central values include individual responsibility, an internalized code of conduct, and individualism.”
The shame/honor worldview is common in Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. “Relationship and standing in society determine conduct,” the authors write. “Collectivism, group expectations, indirect communication, and an audience to observe conduct … normally play significant roles in these cultures.”
The fear/power worldview is found throughout Africa, the Caribbean, and tribal/folk communities. “The spiritual and physical world intermingle through nature, matter, rituals, ancestors, and other forms. In this worldview, people fear that these powers will act capriciously, causing harm through a person’s relationships or possessions.”
Westerners typically interpret the Bible through a guilt/justice worldview, but careful readers will notice the presence of all three worldviews’ concerns throughout Scripture.
Consider Genesis 3. Is the story of the Fall about guilt because Adam and Eve broke a command? Is it a story about shame because Adam and Eve were naked and needed cover? Or is it a story about fear because Adam and Eve lived under a curse?
It is a story about all three because guilt, shame, and fear characterize the human experience. The Bible thus can be read across cultures in terms that make sense within different worldviews.
This is true regarding the indifference/belonging with purpose worldview, as well. Secularism is a modern phenomenon, not a biblical one. Secular Westerners, prosperous as they are, generally are not driven by guilt, shame, or fear. Instead, they suffer from what Kyle Behsears calls “apatheism.”
In their worldview, “God and religion do not affect reality,” write the authors. The problem with secularism is that it destroys traditional sources of identity, belonging, and purpose, leaving a cultural vacuum in its wake. This emptiness leaves an opening for the gospel. “Belonging (in community) with purpose (beyond themselves) provides an experiential pathway to engage the audience,” according to the authors.
The four worldviews present ideal types with permeable boundaries. All people experience guilt, shame, fear, and indifference. Worldviews prioritize one of the four themes above the others.
What Effective Intercultural Evangelism says about worldviews is the central insight of the book. Understanding worldviews is the first and hardest step in moving from what William Howell calls “unconscious incompetence” to “conscious incompetence” in intercultural communication.
In other words, we must move from not knowing that there are cultural differences, let alone how to navigate them, to both knowing the former and learning the latter. Only then can we progress to “conscious” and finally “unconscious competence,” where intercultural communication comes naturally to us.
In the book’s final chapters, Moon and Simon offer additional advice about the importance of holistic evangelism, the necessity of knowing other peoples’ learning styles; and the value of identifying influences within each worldview.
I recommend the book to would-be missionaries, pastors in ethnically diverse communities, and church members interested in sharing the gospel with neighbors from other cultures. Each chapter concludes with practical exercises that can be completed in small groups or individually.
Book Reviewed
W. Jay Moon and W. Bud Simon, Effective Intercultural Evangelism: Good News in a Diverse World (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2021).
P.S. If you liked my review, please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page.
P.P.S. This review is cross-posted from InfluenceMagazine.com by permission.
September 21, 2021
This book is five stars because it challenged my thinking. Here are some of my biggest takeaways:
- Evangelism is picking up and furthering along the conversation God is already having with someone.
-Being saved is being Christ-oriented as opposed to being part of a bounded-set.
- The necessity of sharing the Gospel using the paradigm of a person’s worldview:
— Guilt/ Justice
— Shame/ Honor
— Fear/ Power
— Indifference/ Belonging
I found the definition of evangelism to be extremely helpful. The discussion of paradigms is something that I will have to continue wrestling with.
- Evangelism is picking up and furthering along the conversation God is already having with someone.
-Being saved is being Christ-oriented as opposed to being part of a bounded-set.
- The necessity of sharing the Gospel using the paradigm of a person’s worldview:
— Guilt/ Justice
— Shame/ Honor
— Fear/ Power
— Indifference/ Belonging
I found the definition of evangelism to be extremely helpful. The discussion of paradigms is something that I will have to continue wrestling with.
November 13, 2023
It was a timely read as I have been thinking afresh about intercultural communication at present. This was a really helpful book in thinking about the sharing of faith within different cultural settings.
Lots of examples, lots of source material for follow up, lots of great reflection questions.
It will be a book I am returning to for more study and reflection
Lots of examples, lots of source material for follow up, lots of great reflection questions.
It will be a book I am returning to for more study and reflection
September 21, 2024
I recommend using Effective Cultural Evangelism in church small group discussions and as a resource for conversations with neighbors (questions included at the end of each chapter). As the West is increasingly multicultural and pluralistic, Moon and Simon provide useful insight that equips Christians to share the gospel at work, across fences, and on university campuses.
Four things I found helpful:
The authors describe each evangelistic encounter as “a chapter in [someone’s] narrative journey toward Christ.” (Loc 65) Every encounter we have is part of a story already in progress. We’re not initiating anything, and we may not be the person to take someone across the "finish line" in regard to their faith in Jesus, but each conversation is an important step along the way. This perspective makes sharing the gospel with someone of a different culture less intimidating. God is doing something, and He's inviting us to be a part of it.
Second, the authors' conviction that evangelism “is a process that initiates people into discipleship” (loc 246) points us to the kind of evangelism we should learn to practice, an evangelism that produces disciples and not just converts.
Third, in their discussion of four primary worldviews (see below), they help us see that not all people experience the consequences of sin in the same way. They wisely acknowledge that we all share each worldview to one degree or another. The question isn’t to which worldview a people group belongs, but which worldview is dominant. This helps us see that people may need to hear the gospel from more than one perspective.
Fourth, the book’s strongest element is its challenge to grow in our cultural awareness along with suggestions for presenting the gospel in culturally appropriate ways.
Much of the book addresses three dominant worldviews, commonly discussed by missiologists, and how these worldviews describe various cultural groups' experience of the consequences of sin and need of salvation. These worldviews are guilt/justice, shame/honor, and fear/power. Sharing the gospel as the solution for guilt to a person culturally oriented toward shame/honor will likely not result in the person accurately hearing the Good News. The book does a good job providing an introduction to these 3 worldviews for those who may not be familiar with them.
The authors believe a fourth worldview is necessary to adequately describe where many in the West find themselves today. They describe this worldview as indifference/belonging with purpose.
In spite of these strengths and my recommendation to study this book with others, there are a few significant deficiencies.
First, in their focus on the subjective worldviews of different peoples, the authors surprisingly never articulate the objective content of the gospel, namely, that Jesus is the promised King (2Ti 2:8) who died, rose again, is enthroned (Rom 1:1-4), forgives our disobedience (Mt 26:28), in whom all things are gathered and repaired (Eph 1:10), and who reigns forever (Rev 11:15). The Western Church suffers from a lack of gospel fluency, and its vital to start with the objective truths of the gospel before applying them to subjective experiences of sin.
While the different worldviews can be helpful tools for cultural interpretation, they don't apply in every case. When Saul converted and became Paul, he wasn't responding to a felt need of guilt, shame, fear, or indifference for which Jesus was the answer. He became a follower of Jesus simply because the revelation he had on the road to Damascus showed him that he had been wrong about Jesus. The majority of Muslims and secular people that I know who came to Jesus, their decision came about because they began to think differently about Jesus - not because they thought they had a need he could meet. I believe that all evangelism needs to center on the identity of Jesus and the narrative of the gospel, and not just propositional statements derived from it. Especially with those dealing with shame, fear, or alienation, an alternative story communicates better.
Second, while I agree that there’s a need to identify a 4th worldview, I’m not convinced that indifference/belonging with purpose is it. Among those who have left the church, many have expressed to me that they could find an equal or better sense of belonging with purpose outside the church than they could within it. There’s nothing inherently supernatural or Christological in gaining acceptance into a community with purpose. Indifference/belonging shifts the focus from Christ to the church. Rather than indifference/belonging with purpose, I would suggest that a better reference point would be alienation/reconciliation. Reconciliation involves relationships, but at a more fundamental level it points to coherence in what appears to be a fragmented and random reality.
Lastly, in a number of cases - especially related to the indifference/belonging with purpose worldview - the authors cited church growth as evidence of successful evangelism. This seemed to contradict their earlier assertion that evangelism is initiating someone into a life of discipleship. In fact, I don’t remember them discussing what discipleship looks like within any of the worldviews, which seems like a significant omission if evangelism is inseparable from discipleship.
Before we can frame the gospel within the 4 worldviews, we need to have clarity on what the gospel is. Additionally, since evangelism, discipleship, and gathering as church are inseparable, all need to be reflected on from the perspective of the different worldviews. Moon and Simon's book is a good start.
Four things I found helpful:
The authors describe each evangelistic encounter as “a chapter in [someone’s] narrative journey toward Christ.” (Loc 65) Every encounter we have is part of a story already in progress. We’re not initiating anything, and we may not be the person to take someone across the "finish line" in regard to their faith in Jesus, but each conversation is an important step along the way. This perspective makes sharing the gospel with someone of a different culture less intimidating. God is doing something, and He's inviting us to be a part of it.
Second, the authors' conviction that evangelism “is a process that initiates people into discipleship” (loc 246) points us to the kind of evangelism we should learn to practice, an evangelism that produces disciples and not just converts.
Third, in their discussion of four primary worldviews (see below), they help us see that not all people experience the consequences of sin in the same way. They wisely acknowledge that we all share each worldview to one degree or another. The question isn’t to which worldview a people group belongs, but which worldview is dominant. This helps us see that people may need to hear the gospel from more than one perspective.
Fourth, the book’s strongest element is its challenge to grow in our cultural awareness along with suggestions for presenting the gospel in culturally appropriate ways.
Much of the book addresses three dominant worldviews, commonly discussed by missiologists, and how these worldviews describe various cultural groups' experience of the consequences of sin and need of salvation. These worldviews are guilt/justice, shame/honor, and fear/power. Sharing the gospel as the solution for guilt to a person culturally oriented toward shame/honor will likely not result in the person accurately hearing the Good News. The book does a good job providing an introduction to these 3 worldviews for those who may not be familiar with them.
The authors believe a fourth worldview is necessary to adequately describe where many in the West find themselves today. They describe this worldview as indifference/belonging with purpose.
In spite of these strengths and my recommendation to study this book with others, there are a few significant deficiencies.
First, in their focus on the subjective worldviews of different peoples, the authors surprisingly never articulate the objective content of the gospel, namely, that Jesus is the promised King (2Ti 2:8) who died, rose again, is enthroned (Rom 1:1-4), forgives our disobedience (Mt 26:28), in whom all things are gathered and repaired (Eph 1:10), and who reigns forever (Rev 11:15). The Western Church suffers from a lack of gospel fluency, and its vital to start with the objective truths of the gospel before applying them to subjective experiences of sin.
While the different worldviews can be helpful tools for cultural interpretation, they don't apply in every case. When Saul converted and became Paul, he wasn't responding to a felt need of guilt, shame, fear, or indifference for which Jesus was the answer. He became a follower of Jesus simply because the revelation he had on the road to Damascus showed him that he had been wrong about Jesus. The majority of Muslims and secular people that I know who came to Jesus, their decision came about because they began to think differently about Jesus - not because they thought they had a need he could meet. I believe that all evangelism needs to center on the identity of Jesus and the narrative of the gospel, and not just propositional statements derived from it. Especially with those dealing with shame, fear, or alienation, an alternative story communicates better.
Second, while I agree that there’s a need to identify a 4th worldview, I’m not convinced that indifference/belonging with purpose is it. Among those who have left the church, many have expressed to me that they could find an equal or better sense of belonging with purpose outside the church than they could within it. There’s nothing inherently supernatural or Christological in gaining acceptance into a community with purpose. Indifference/belonging shifts the focus from Christ to the church. Rather than indifference/belonging with purpose, I would suggest that a better reference point would be alienation/reconciliation. Reconciliation involves relationships, but at a more fundamental level it points to coherence in what appears to be a fragmented and random reality.
Lastly, in a number of cases - especially related to the indifference/belonging with purpose worldview - the authors cited church growth as evidence of successful evangelism. This seemed to contradict their earlier assertion that evangelism is initiating someone into a life of discipleship. In fact, I don’t remember them discussing what discipleship looks like within any of the worldviews, which seems like a significant omission if evangelism is inseparable from discipleship.
Before we can frame the gospel within the 4 worldviews, we need to have clarity on what the gospel is. Additionally, since evangelism, discipleship, and gathering as church are inseparable, all need to be reflected on from the perspective of the different worldviews. Moon and Simon's book is a good start.
January 9, 2024
The best book I have read on worldview and how to engage four prevalent ones (guilt/innocence; fear/power; honor/shame; indifference/belonging), throughout the world today, with the gospel message. The authors not only unpack each worldview very thoroughly, yet succinctly, they provide real life examples from their time on the mission field, Scriptural support for where to begin a spiritual conversation, and practical helps for how to intersect the gospel where God is already at work in a person’s world. This is a must read—whether training short term mission teams, future missionaries, or engaging internationals in your neighborhood or on campus.
October 28, 2021
Cultural Studies and Personal Experiences
If you would like to know how to share your faith more effectively, this book will teach you how to watch for clues as to what might be helpful for your friends or colleagues. I have known Bud for over twenty years, and appreciated how he mixed thoughtful reflections of his experiences and academic literature. The experience of helping people on their journey to know God is immensely rewarding, and this book will give you some good ideas about how to talk with your friends. RGB.
If you would like to know how to share your faith more effectively, this book will teach you how to watch for clues as to what might be helpful for your friends or colleagues. I have known Bud for over twenty years, and appreciated how he mixed thoughtful reflections of his experiences and academic literature. The experience of helping people on their journey to know God is immensely rewarding, and this book will give you some good ideas about how to talk with your friends. RGB.
April 25, 2022
This book offered some helpful diagnosis as to the way that different people view the world and their perceptions of the claims of Scripture. The four world views paradigm is really helpful in diagnosing how a person may perceive the message of the gospel.
I also believe that this book was very unhelpful in a lot of the solutions that it suggested. Overall, I think there is a pretty serious misunderstanding of what evangelism is and what the fundamental need for each person is.
I also believe that this book was very unhelpful in a lot of the solutions that it suggested. Overall, I think there is a pretty serious misunderstanding of what evangelism is and what the fundamental need for each person is.
November 10, 2021
If you are interested in CHIMES, digitoral processing, and cultural worldviews that impact evangelism, this is your book. If you want a simple guide like the Four Spiritual Laws, this is not your book.
This is about the marathon of transformative evangelism rather than the sprint of conversions.
This is about the marathon of transformative evangelism rather than the sprint of conversions.
February 18, 2023
dubious
I have read a lot of textbooks on how to reach people with the gospel message, often with a great deal of disappointment. I did not expect this book to be significantly different, but was pleasantly surprised. Fantastic book, all discipleship should read it.
I have read a lot of textbooks on how to reach people with the gospel message, often with a great deal of disappointment. I did not expect this book to be significantly different, but was pleasantly surprised. Fantastic book, all discipleship should read it.
February 18, 2025
Not a bad book. Just wouldn’t recommend it to everybody. Very word heavy and often had to go back and reread. But it gave me some perspective on different worldviews and was helpful to seek examples. Could be race centered but also could be upbringing from different people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2024
Gives four world views and how the Gospel can respond to each one
November 11, 2024
The argument that indifference - belonging is a 4th worldview category is an interesting contribution.
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