Whether you are serving in your home country or abroad you are most likely stepping into a community that is culturally different than the neighborhood you call home. God made a diverse world with thousands of different people groups all crafted in his image and loved by Him. Take time to learn as much as you can about the culture, traditions and predominate religion where you will be serving. It’s important to honor the culture you will be serving in and identify things that you have in common with one another.
Exhibits/Tours
- Poverty Encounter– an immersive exhibit that offers virtual tours of Guatemala, Haiti, Nepal, and Romania to educate guests of all ages on global poverty. Poverty Encounter is an initiative of Children’s Hunger Fund (Los Angeles, Dallas, San Antonio).
- Real Life Exhibit– Medical Teams International hosts a permanent museum in Portland, OR. Virtual exhibits offer five distinct stories to explore refugee camps in Uganda, Bangladesh and Lebanon.
- The Compassion Journey– traveling exhibit and digital immersive experiences available for attending or hosting.
- Pathways out of Poverty– Hope International asks you to consider the question: “Who is my neighbor?” As you journey through this multi-sensory exhibit, compelling audio and visuals work together to transport you from Lancaster, PA, into the stories of eight neighbors from around the world.
Articles
- The Best Sites for Learning about the Worlds Different Cultures – This is a huge list with all kinds of resources and different unique ways to look at and learn about culture from pictures to videos to visual pdf’s, this is the treasure trove.
- Beyond Welcome Home: 10 Things That you Need to Know About Re-entry – An often overlooked yet very important part of crossing cultures is knowing what to expect and how to transition well when returning from a mission trip to your home culture.
- Eleven Tips for Cultural Sensitivity Help your group be culturally sensitive before your go.
- Context Shock vs. Culture Shock Do you know the difference?
- 10 Steps to Prepare for Cross-Cultural Kids Ministry
Books
- Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- and Cold-Climate Cultures By: Sarah A. Lanier. In this quick read, Lanier provides a practical introduction to understanding cultures through the categories of “hot-climate” (relationship-oriented) and “cold-climate” (task-oriented) cultures.
Documents
- Culture Matters: The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbook This includes some really great definitions and exercises that could be pulled out and done in a group to wrestle with the ideas of culture before, during and after visiting another country.
- World Prayer Guides: Focus on major world religions, countries/people groups, and issues pertaining to the Least Reached people in the world.
- 20 questions to help you culturally prepare for your mission trip. Take this survey before you travel internationally and learn how to explore new cultures like a seasoned missionary.
Podcasts
- Understanding Our Buddhist Friends and Neighbors 29 min.
- Reaching Out to Indigenous Communities 41 min.
- 3 Principals for Engaging Secular Youth Culture 31 min.
- Ministering to Those from Honor Shame Cultures 29 min.
- Breaking Down Cultural Walls to Reach Muslims 46 min.
Supplies
Videos
- What Not to do on a Mission Trip – This video provides a good laugh and a great conversation starter about culture.
Websites/Blogs
- Joshua Project – Joshua Project is a research initiative seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups of the world with the fewest followers of Christ. Accurate, updated ethnic people group information is critical for understanding and completing the Great Commission.
- Country Culture Guides: Available for 50+ different countries. Look up the country or countries you will be visiting and learn about the language, culture, customs and etiquette.
Know of other helpful CULTURE resources that mission trip goers would benefit from? Send your ideas to: [email protected]
