Missionary Training at ABWE
Breaking the Missional Code: Contextualizing Your Church for Glocal Impact
Ed Stetzer
May 13–14
For the most part, local churches have failed to realize that there is a cultural code that must be broken in order for them to profoundly impact their community with the gospel. In missions, breaking this code has long been called “contextualization.” As a Bible-believer firmly committed to the inspiration and authority of Scripture, Ed Stetzer will equip Edge Seminar participants to break the code that is unique to the community where their churches minister. And, in the process, he will teach them how to develop churches that are “glocal.”
What does “glocal” mean? If you pull a dictionary off the shelf and try to find a definition for glocal, you will probably be disappointed. But “Google” this word and you will get nearly a million hits. Glocal is a combination of two words: GLObal and loCAL.
In relationship to church ministry, as well as business enterprises, glocalization is the ability and willingness to think globally but act locally. Thus, a glocal church is one that is fully conscious of the realities (1) of the international nature of the community in which it exists and its mission to that community, as well as (2) its mandate to reach beyond the immediate community in order to impact the larger world-community for Christ.
Some “Stetzerisms” from Breaking the Missional Code
The shaded circle in the Missional Matrix illustrates the necessity of the scriptural and theological foundation and its Spirit-enabled application. Missional churches must begin and end with a solid foundation of rightly understood biblical theology. Only within this circle should Christology, ecclesiology, and missiology interact.
Across North America many churches are experiencing explosive growth because they are learning to connect with their communities. Pastors and churches are breaking the cultural codes of their communities. People are responding to biblically faithful and culturally relevant outreach.
Breaking the code means discovering the principles that work in every context, selecting the tools most relevant for your context, and then learning to apply them in a missionally effective manner.
There is not just one white, young, cultural code to be broken. Every culture needs to be exegeted [de-coded] for the gospel.
Breaking the code is a missionary’s work, and it should be seen [even in North America] as a missional process. A commitment to the integrity and authority of the Scripture, combined with a passion for reaching people to whom you are called, requires a commitment to prayerfully create a plan and strategy to reach your community.
Code-breaking churches must be indigenous in their context, and indigenous churches look different from culture to culture.
About Ed Stetzer
To quote one prominent Christian leader: “Ed’s experience as an evangelist, church planter, theologian, and researcher make him one of the most highly sought-after thinkers and speakers in evangelical Christianity today. Ed has a proven track record for knowing the heartbeat of the church and for understanding what churches must do today to remain biblically sound and culturally relevant.”
The Edge Seminars are conducted at the training facilities of ABWE,
located at 522 Lewisberry Road, New Cumberland, PA.