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"If the Shoe Fits, Does That Mean We Should Wear It?"

from Ethnic Ministry Symposium

When can we adopt different cultural practices in ministry?  When should they be adapted?    When is it not appropriate, or biblical, to do so?  Missionaries call this “contextualization."  It's vital to ethnic ministry, and all ministry for that matter.  Come discover some principles that can help you determine what parts of a culture can serve the purpose of the Gospel, and what parts might need to be changed? 

Rev. Dr. Paul Gossman has served in a wide variety of intercultural ministries, as a missionary in the Philippines and Peru, pastoring a multiethnic congregation in Chicago, and teaching missions at Trinity Lutheran College in Issaquah, Washington.  Currently he serves as pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Covington, Washington.  He has a passion for seeing the church more effectively share the Gospel of Christ and the fellowship of believers in the midst of our cultural diversity, believing that our differences offer opportunity for knowing God and His truth even better.

Return to Ethnic Ministries Page


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