Sharing the gospel to someone who knows little to no English?

[hilhill]

I am very involved in Internet evangelism through Second Life.

I have encountered (actually, sought out :)) people who live in many parts of the world including the jewel of my heart, China. Of course, most of these people know very little English, much less the church slang like "sin", "repentance", "faith", "gospel", etc. Does anyone have any advice with sharing the Gospel to people such as these? Or any websites that deal with such an issue? Or present the Gospel in multiple languages??

thanks!!!

Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

[JoelH]

I can try to answer this question as I'm Chinese myself.

There have been attempts at "contextualization" by well-meaning or devious people because there were assumptions that Chinese people won't understand "Christianese" terms. But they have actually backfired because Chinese do understand gospel terms and also contextualization has led to a "Christianized" version of Chinese intellectualism.

I would recommend the website www.chinahorizon.org and in particular, these articles from Samuel Ling:

http://www.chinahorizon.org/Articles/091100EnamoredAwakeningGiantChinaSource.doc

http://www.chinahorizon.org/theauthorvoice/051100AStrongerMessenger.doc

http://www.chinahorizon.org/Articles/040502MeaningAndSignificanceOfInerrancy%20(E).doc


Let me know if you need more help on these.

YBIC,

Joel



I am very involved in Internet evangelism through Second Life.

I have encountered (actually, sought out :)) people who live in many parts of the world including the jewel of my heart, China. Of course, most of these people know very little English, much less the church slang like "sin", "repentance", "faith", "gospel", etc. Does anyone have any advice with sharing the Gospel to people such as these? Or any websites that deal with such an issue? Or present the Gospel in multiple languages??

thanks!!!

Matthew 24:14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

[hilhill]

Joel,
I didn't mean that Chinese don't know the "Christian" terms, but I think that no matter where in the world you come from the exact words "sin" and "repentance", among other words, might be hard to understand completely. I know I didnt even know what they meant until about 5 years ago although I had heard them all my life, I didn't understand what they meant. I witnessed to a Taiwanese friend of mine last year (who became a Christian! :)) and I know that when I used those terms she was like... whaaa??? So I had to explain it in simpler terms. So I dunno. :)

Thanks so much for your links..

And also, do you have any advice on learning Mandarin????? :)

[ANewCreature]

One thing to remember is to keep it simple - somehow manage to present the simple Gospel without talking down to them.

The Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our sins, as noted in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. These can all be presented in a variety of ways. Same with repentance - it's really bringing your heart laongside God's, not wanting to be a sinner anymore, but to be a son instead. One of our members who is going tot he mission field told of a trip he took with another missionary, and the tribe he was with, they talked about how there are many paths int he woods, and that it was impossible to walk both God's and man's path at the same time.

An example of how being too complex gets you in trouble: I forget what culture this was, but there's a culture I heard about where people didn't knock on the door to gain entry. They just walked right in. Who knocked on the door? A thief, knocking to make sure nobody was home. When he sees nobody is home, he can break in and steal stuff.

So, you can see that the verse "Behold, I stand at the door and knock..." is not going to send the message you want to send. (Unless you are trying to say that Jesus is stealing you from the devil, but I do NOT like to compare my Savior to a thief - except for "I come as a thief int he night..." :)) But, neither is it necessary to the Gospel - it doesn't matter whether the person's culture sees Jesus as standing at the door and knocking (like we do) or if they see Jesus as waltzing right in becuase He is an old friend who wants to be with them - but who they must choose to receive once He is there; just as if a person did walk right into their huts, the person gladly received them because they were a friend. What's important is that death, burial, and resurrection for our sins.

I think the danger of contextualization is, people have presumed tht because something on the fringe is misunderstood, that nothing can be understood, and that's just not true. Going to nature you see that pattern all the time. Substituionary atonement may be a big term, but just because we don't know the words for thta in another language doesn't mean that people can't understand what sin is if you explain it in simple language, and people can be made to understand a substitue taking on something, too. (Remember, it's the Spirit that's really moving intheir hearts.)

So, ask questions about the culture - see what terms they use, and ask them to define the terms. Obviously, you can't immerse yourself near as much as those at New Tribes Missions do - I'm on their e-mail prayer list. But, neither are you presenting 6 weeks of messages from Genesis through the Resurrection. Just learn the basics - and I wouldn't be surprised if you pluck some good examples to present the Gospel just in what they say.

[Lynn]

HilHill, go to www.multilanguage.com This is a website that I have looked at many times. I think you can print out their catalog and order using the 1-800 number that they provide on their site.
The book that I've ordered many times in different languages is "Ultimate Questions" by John Blanchard. It can also be ordered in English if you want to be able to read it, too (which I recommend). It's a well-written small paperback that is clear and easily understood; I know that you said you are doing witnessing online, but the Chinese friends that you are 'talking' to online could order their own copy from this company, as I believe that they ship orders internationally.
Blessings to you as you continue this ministry. :) I'm getting ready to start another English as a Second Language class in a nearby community, and I love meeting and making friends with the different cultures of the students who enroll.

[blitzkreig]

Joel,
I didn't mean that Chinese don't know the "Christian" terms, but I think that no matter where in the world you come from the exact words "sin" and "repentance", among other words, might be hard to understand completely. I know I didnt even know what they meant until about 5 years ago although I had heard them all my life, I didn't understand what they meant. I witnessed to a Taiwanese friend of mine last year (who became a Christian! :)) and I know that when I used those terms she was like... whaaa??? So I had to explain it in simpler terms. So I dunno. :)

Thanks so much for your links..

And also, do you have any advice on learning Mandarin????? :)FWIW if you can make it to "Believe" ... you have communicated it all the way it needs ...

The Holy Spirit will do the rest ... as He does all of the heavy lifting anyway ...