Relating to Culture in Evangelism

While at Huntington Beach Pier during our first outreach for the Living Waters Ambassador’s Academy, I took a walk away from my group in hopes of getting into a spiritual conversation and being distracted by the noise around me. So along with another team member, we took a walk down the pier and after one failed attempt of starting a conversation after another we made it to the end. That’s when I noticed an Asian gentleman just standing at the edge looking out and enjoying the scenery. I walked up somewhat beside him and took in the view that went out for hundreds of miles.

Where Will You Go When You A-Die?

“Don’t jump,” I said with a chuckle, “that’s a long way down.”

He laughed back. “No, I love my life; I wouldn’t want to end it.” I noticed his accent and realized it’s a good probability he is not from this country, and has a way different religious belief than Christianity. In most Asian cultures, especially influenced by Buddhism, Confucianism, or Taoism, the concept of a personal, sovereign God is not talked about. These worldviews often focus on harmony, moral behavior, ancestral respect or impersonal spiritual forces. But they do have somewhat of a concept of a Creator.

I continued the conversation: “That’s good. How deep you think it is? The ocean is full of scary things. So much life that we still don’t know about or even explore. It’s incredible to think about. You ever think about who created it?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “It had to be something. Maybe God, or…I don’t know. I really never thought about it before. People say it just happened. That’s strange to me.”

I smiled. “Yeah, there’s so much detail in the human body, so many species of fish in the sea, and we are intelligent beings that just says there’s an intelligent God who created everything. What’s your name by the way? I’m Frank.”

“My name is Adai (pronounced A-Die).” We shook hands and I could tell he was more interested in the conversation than looking out across the water.

“So, Adai, have you ever thought about what happens when you-a die? Do you have any religious beliefs about what happens after this life?” I have to admit I took every opportunity to use his name and jumped at the chance.

He smiled but shook his head, and I could tell he was thinking about what I said. “I think about it every day. But I don’t know. I’m a Vietnamese Buddhist but I don’t go much anymore.”

Where to Begin?

I realized at this point that I had to get to the gospel, but had to use the same tactics as taught by Paul at Mars Hill when he addressed the philosophers of Greece in Acts 17:16-34. Paul used things that he could see and hear to use as a springboard to share the gospel. Here, he used the altar with the inscription: “To the Unknown God,” and revealed who this God is. I already declared God as creator of everything, and that He is Lord over all His creation which includes us. But then I proceeded to tell Adai that God created everything good, not like it is today. That when He made the first man and woman He told them not to eat from a certain tree or they would die, but they disobeyed Him and brought about sin, death, disease, and evil into the world, and because of our sin we are separated from Him when we die in a terrible place called hell.

The good thing is that God, the Creator, didn’t leave them without hope. He promised that He would send His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world so that if man would be sorry and turn from their sin, put their trust in His Son, that they would escape God’s wrath. So, He did. God sent His Son, Jesus, at the perfect time to be the blood sacrifice needed to save us from our sin, and give us the goodness we need so that we can be right with Him. Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and on the third day He rose again fufilling the Scriptures of the Bible. He was seen by over 500 people alive and well, then forty days later His Father took Jesus back to Heaven to be with Him alive forever as His stamp of approval and accepting the payment for sin by His Son.

I then told him about the Ten Commandments and that it was God’s standard of goodness so that we know we have sinned. I related these to the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism, something Adai could understand. But the fact that we cannot keep the Ten Commandments perfectly, is why we need Jesus. We broke His commands, but Jesus paid the fine with his own blood. He, the Creator, died so that I could be free and live with Him forever when I die.

Ending the Conversation

Now, my words were smoother coming out my mouth than written on paper here. I realize too that it wasn’t perfect, but I had to share Christ to someone for the first time. There will be things he will remember, and those he won’t. But I had to make it as easy as possible to recall.

Also, I couldn’t recall all the tenets of the Eightfold Path right away, but that was okay! He eagerly filled in the gaps in my memory and took an engaging role in the conversation, making it a delightful and enriching experience for both of us.

It was at this point I had to go and leave him with some things. I left him the tract: “Are you Good Enough to Go to Heaven” tract, which explains the Ten Commandments in detail, along with booklet: “Why Christianity.”

I prayed for Adai and thanked him for his time. He was very happy, and said before I left that he has a lot to think about, and feels he already has some questions answered. Pray he understands what he reads and that the Holy Spirit would come alongside him to guide Adai to the truth.