Title

Is English a blessing or a curse in missions?

School/Department

Cook School of Intercultural Studies

Publication Date

10-2015

Abstract

Christians are charged with taking the gospel to all nations, and therefore inevitably work in cross-cultural situations. But the current prominence of English as an international language creates potential problems in our approaches to missions and to communicating the gospel. Most importantly, neglecting to speak people’s local heart language may prevent us from connecting deeply with them. We believe English can be a blessing in sharing the gospel, but that there is also great potential for it to cause harm. So should native English-speaking Christians use English as our primary means of communication in missions? In this article, we consider relevant issues and suggest several principles to help formulate a useful perspective in moving forward.

Keywords

Missions; Language and languages. Identity (Psychology) Sociolinguistics.

Publication Title

Evangelical Missions Quarterly

Volume

51

Issue

4

First Page

394

Last Page

401

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