This contextualization course explores an important premise made by John Stott, in Between Two Worlds, when he defines the missionary task as faithfully translating “the Word of God into the modern language and thought categories, and to make it present in our day.”  And yet, if we are to build bridges into the real world, and seek to relate the Word of God to the major themes of life and the major issues of our day, then we “have to take seriously both the Biblical text AND the contemporary scene” for only then shall we be able to discern the connections between them and speak the divine Word to the human situation with any degree of sensitivity and accuracy.

     At the heart of this bridge-building activity is a threefold commitment by those who are serious about making disciples:  (1) studying and knowing God’s Word, (2) studying and knowing one’s target culture(s), and (3) discerning and constructing missiological bridges that communicate the apostolic message into the HEARTS and MINDS of the hearer because faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ (Romans 10:17).