“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Cor. 9:19-23 NIV)
The Apostle Paul knew the secret to ministry communication was to take getting an understanding of the people he wanted to reach as a form of service (or slavery) in order to bring the gospel to them in a way that was relevant to their understanding. People who do not understand this point miss the opportunity to make more impact with the gospel in their community.
I might paraphrase the scripture above from Paul as, “I am slavish in my adaptation of the presentation and approach to various people because I want to make the gospel more understandable to the people I am trying to reach.”
How dedicated are you to understanding the people you want to reach and adapting your presentation and approach to them?
If you turned this around, you could say that if you are trying to reach all people with the same single presentation and approach, you are (according to Paul) an ineffective evangelist. By not understanding your audience you are not taking serving others in your communication ministry very seriously. If you are just making it easy and convenient for you and not the the people you want to reach–you are not doing your job as a ministry communicator. And, if I read Paul right, you have little reason to expect results!
Translation: It doesn’t really matter if you like the copy or the graphics. It’s not very important that the presentation appeals to your taste and piques your interest. It’s not about you! If you are trying to reach other people, you need to take their perspectives as your starting point. Just because you think it sounds right, doesn’t mean it will connect with the people you want to reach. Sometimes communication leaders can unknowingly become arrogant toward the unchurched by assuming they understand more about them than they really do!
Paul was a bridge builder. He built relationship bridges between himself and the people he wanted to reach. But notice he did not build a bridge from himself out to his audience…instead he built bridges from the people he targeted back to himself. There is a world of difference!
Become a servant-hearted ministry outreach communicator!
Getting to know more about the people you want to reach isn’t just good missionary practice, it’s also a way to demonstrate your love for people and is an act of ministry. That is exactly how Paul saw it!
- Don’t communicate to all people the exact same way with a “One-size-fits-all” mentality
- Take time to understand the people you want to reach through demographics
- Get to know more about their lifestyle and psychographics
- Learn to listen to people and conduct research
- Look for bridges and barriers of understanding among the people you want to reach
- Be open to new options like Paul said, “All possible means”
- Watch out and don’t make your own biases and preferences the central deciding factor for your outreach approaches
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