Pre-Evangelism

The process of developing a relationship in which the messenger can be taken seriously and the message can be understood. Pre-evangelism attempts to find areas of common ground from which to communicate. The principle is that "people can take in a new idea only in terms of ideas they already have." To borrow a sociology term, the Gospel must come to fit within a person's "plausibility structure" if it is to be a live option. Communication across cultures and across world views requires a contextualized strategy. Specifically, use of relevant texts from the Koran and Islamic terminology may be necessary to effectively communicate shared notions. For example, Sirat al Masih (The Life of the Messiah, Global Publications, 1992), offers a loose paraphrase of the Gospels using Islamic terms and Arabic language to introduce Muslims to Jesus. Use of redemptive analogy and story are also potentially valuable. This application of contextualization does not affirm the truth of Islam or the Koran, but recognizes the biblical example of entering into redemptive dialogue in terms, concepts and sources of authority recognized by the audience. Presuppositional apologetics commonly uses this tool, as Paul did when approaching the Athenians in Acts 17. The goal is to create interest in more information based on tension from within the Muslim world view. At this stage of the communication process, very little needs to be communicated about the meaning of biblical faith. The focus is on what the Muslim believes and the dilemma it presents.

In many cases the message of Jesus is not the initial or primary obstacle to people coming to faith, but instead the foreign cultural connections of the messenger and the expectation that a Jesus follower must join a foreign cultural community. These kinds of obstacles can be reduced when the gospel is presented by someone within the culture, thereby making rapid growth possible.
C3 contextualization accommodates non-religious aspects of the indigenous culture. At the same time, there is a conscious attempt to break from all visible elements of Islam-such as observing Ramadan, dietary laws, association with the mosque and so forth. This moderately contextualized model assumes that Islamic cultural forms can not be purged of their religious meaning, and should be abandoned to avoid fostering syncretism. C3 is a form of contextualization that most Westerners are comfortable supporting because it sharply contrasts Islam and Christianity. Conversion means parting from Islamic identity and coming into a new one. However, the problem is that to the eyes of the Muslim world, there is little real difference between C3 and C2, with the consequence that C3 amounts to an "extraction" strategy. In some contexts C3 strategy may directly subvert the goal of birthing an indigenous people movement because, "Each convert extracted from his own cultural situation reinforces in the minds of Hindus and Muslims the misunderstanding that Christians are opposed to their cultural traditions. In this sense, one could defend the thesis that each convert won from these faiths at present actually represents a setback to winning large numbers from these communities."

The ministry of Jesus is described in the context of his journeys within his homeland. Before Easter, the scope of his mission was focused on Israel. Nevertheless, Jesus offers a new element of extreme importance. The eschatological reality is not relegated to a remote "end of the world," but is already close and at work in our midst. The kingdom of God is at hand (cf. Mk 1:15); its coming is to be prayed for (cf. Mt 6:10); faith can glimpse it already at work in signs such as miracles (cf. Mt 11:4-5) and exorcisms (cf. Mt 12:25-28), in the choosing of the Twelve (cf. Mk 3:13-19), and in the proclamation of the Good News to the poor (cf. Lk 4:18). Jesus' encounters with Gentiles make it clear that entry into the kingdom comes through faith and conversion (cf. Mk 1:15), and not merely by reason of ethnic background.

Among those who are truly curious, open, and willing to listen to those whose culture and religion are different than theirs, we introduce the concept of The Blenders. Blenders are eclectic syncretists, who consciously try to wrap their arms around both, for example, Islam and Christianity, thus creating a hybrid religion of sorts. Such individuals may call themselves Muslim-Christians (or Christian-Muslims), believing that, in spite of contradictions and tensions that exist between the religions, their spiritual experience is best explained or best advanced by embracing them both side by side, or some hybridization of the two.

Contrary to what some people might advocate or imagine, we do not teach the brethren that they should go to the mosque or that they should refrain from going, and there is no expectation that either will be a permanent state. Some go because this has been their custom and they like to spend time praying in a house of prayer. Others go because it gives them an opportunity to speak to their friends there about the Lord Jesus.