How do we effectively evangelize and make disciples of the people of 21st century North America? First of all, let's be clear that there is no perfect "add water and stir kit" that will guarantee our success in evangelism one more time. If we accept the widespread assertion that North America is a mission field, we will also come to think and act like we are on a mission field. In turn, this implies that we as church members will need to see ourselves as God's missionary people, sent to a specific cultural environment.

No single region of our continent is the same as every other region – there's a noticeable difference between the upper Midwest and southern California or between New Jersey and western Canada. Neither are any two metropolitan populations or even any two sections of a city necessarily the same. On top of that, in any given location we can also observe that the cultural distance between our local churches and our neighbors is widening. If we lack awareness of the differences between our Christian communities and the world around us, our intended audience likely will not understand our message. To effectively proclaim the saving gospel to our neighbors, we need to take notice of the cultural environment in which our congregation is located. To become savvier on how our neighbors understand and relate to their world requires that we spend more time listening to them and getting to know them better. Missionaries call this process contextualization – taking timeless unchanging biblical truth and passing it on in forms that the people of our host culture can understand and possess for themselves. As with traditional missionary work, this entails more than translation (such as trying to be "relevant"); it requires mentoring by including them in the practical living out of our faith. Along with verbal explanation, people "catch" the gospel by participating in how we live it out individually and in Christian community.

But why not simply invite them to our church programs, or to a special evangelistic service? While those things will continue to play a role, we are finding them to be increasingly less helpful in reaching people who are indifferent to or even hostile to any form of organized religion. The attractional model of getting them to come to us, on our terms, will most often reach those with the least resistance to the church – frequently those already "like us." The large majority will still never darken the door of a church facility. Rather than calling out words of welcome through our windows to passersby, we can create a variety of ways to bring the church out to the places where people live and work. Perhaps you've heard it said that the unchurched don't care about what Christians know until they know that Christians care. Peter put it this way, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us" (1 Peter 2:12). Jesus simply said, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39).

Lastly, let us not forget that to reach out with the saving gospel also requires that God's people are grounded and growing in our relationship with the Triune God through Word and Sacrament, through individual and corporate worship, and mutual service and caring in the community of Christ. We need to be able to explain to others in meaningful ways why humanity needs Christ, and to speak about and demonstrate how the gospel is good news. Part of our proclamation will include giving people multiple opportunities to experience the truths of Christianity up-close with groups of Christians that are able to think and act "outside the brick," who can serve as guides to others who are not familiar with the church. Exposure to a community of caring Christians that counters the negative stereotype they might hold will offer greater credibility to the saving message of Jesus Christ. It is in such an environment that vocabulary like "justification" or "sacrament" will best take on meaning for them.

In the process, let us also remember that the gospel needs to speak to us who are in the Kingdom as well as to those who are presently outside. We need it just as much as others do. Ongoing conversion is necessary for our congregations, as the law convicts us of our accommodations to North American culture, and as the gospel speaks forgiveness and renewal to our hearts. We will speak best to others out of our own encounters with the Triune God through worship and fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our aim is not to win the culture wars, to transform society or to change the world, though some of those things may certainly happen, but to introduce our neighbors to new life in Christ, whose Kingdom is here now in part and will one day be fully established as he promised.

Dr. Gaylan Mathiesen, Ph.D is Professor of Missions at Lutheran Brethren Seminary, Fergus Falls, MN.