i read this term for the first time a few years ago and paused to think of its implication. for years there has been a common knowledge of demographic, the statistical picture of a certain region or people group. it consisted of median ages, incomes, ethnicity, and other factors that painted the picture of a community or people.
added to that information now, we must add a psychograph. formerly in our society you could understand a community by its ‘factors.’ now, with the advent of a true melting pot of cultures in close proximity we must go beyond race (because we are not homogenous in neighborhoods anymore,) income, age and home values to discover the heart and soul of a community you are called to mission in.
in my neighborhood, i am knowledgable of many nationalities. close by there is a new subdivision that is filled with immigrants. there are no native north americans in that entire development. there are $150K homes within a few hundred yards of $500K homes and no apartment developments. in order to construct a mission of reality in this community we must go beyond homogenous, americanized church culture.
hindus, muslims, buddhists, cultural christians and unaffected individuals comprise our mission territory. can we even begin to believe that our structure of modern evangelical communication can impact and intersect this cultural phenomenon?
it can’t, it won’t and as long as we continue to assert that it will we lose ground against our future in feet, not inches.
my call to leadership and missionaries is to stop, look and listen outside your walls. you might be surprised what you hear in your ear and your heart.
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