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When Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire, he preached in the common language of the people. In his day, most people spoke the koine (common) Greek, the language of the New Testament. Today, the peoples comprising the known world speak thousands of distinct languages; while many tribes speak a trade language—such as Swahili, English, Spanish, or Chinese—their tribal life revolves around their heart language, the language they use when they cuddle their children, tell of their love, and recite their histories. It is in this language that they need to hear the gospel. Church planters should make as a primary goal the learning of the heart language of their target people group for several reasons: 1) Learning the heart language of the people helps the church planter learn the culture so that his communication of the gospel “fits” the culture; 2) Learning the heart language of the people connects the church planter to the culture so that the people respect him; 3) Learning the heart language of the people demonstrates love for the people; and, 4) Learning the heart language of the people preserves the integrity of the gospel. - Learning the heart language of the people helps the church planter learn the culture so that his communication of the gospel “fits” the culture. While the gospel does not change and is relevant for every culture, church planters unconsciously bring the baggage of their home culture to the field with them. When they go into the new culture, they present a gospel message and a resulting church that “fits” their home culture but does not “fit” the new culture. The patience and time that language learning requires also equip the church planter with cultural understanding, since language and culture are tightly woven together. The church planter who learns the host language learns the culture as well and is able to strip the gospel of his home additions so that he presents the Bible message wrapped in the culture and language of the people. Language breaks down cultural barriers and builds cultural bridges by which the gospel can travel to the hearts of the people.
- Learning the heart language of the people connects the church planter to the culture so that the people respect him. When the people of the new culture see a person who does not take the time to learn their culture, they do not respect him. Most cultures are relational, while American culture is vocational. In other words, Americans care about “what you do,” while many cultures care about “who you are.” Relational cultures stress the importance of getting to know people as people and relating to them; this cannot
- Learning the heart language of the people demonstrates love for the people. Not only does language acquisition earn respect; it also shows love for the people. When I returned from furlough to Zimbabwe, the nationals asked me to teach preaching to the young men in the association. I asked why, and they responded, “We know you love us, because you learned our language, and you came back.” Nationals know if the church planter loves them; they see it in his actions, and they hear it in his speech. If the work with the nationals is just a job, they’ll know.
- Learning the heart language of the people preserves the integrity of the gospel. The Africans have a proverb, “Every translator is a traitor.” While this may or may not be true, the church planter who depends on a translator will never know if he is communicating the gospel he wants to proclaim. Only as the church planter learns the heart language will he be able to encase the most important message in the world—God’s gospel—in words that his hearers will understand.
Language learning is hard work, no question about it; but learning the language of a people group incarnates the gospel for them in ways the church planter will never fully grasp. His people, however, will grasp the gospel in ways they never could have, had the church planter not labored so that they might have the gospel—and hear it—in their own language.
Submitted by: Stan May
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