Mar 19, 2025 Meeting People Where They Are

As I prepare to go on my ninth mission trip with Quiet Hour Ministries as their photojournalist, I’ve been reflecting back on some of the mission trips I’ve been on and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. 

My mom and I have a running joke that instead of “We live and we learn” she and I “Live and live again,” meaning we didn’t learn the first time, or the second, or sometimes the third. This is usually in reference to projects we do around the house, anywhere from not remembering how to re-thread a bobbin to forgetting the direction to screw in the cabinet knobs in the kitchen. 

Every time I come home from a mission trip; God shows me something I need to work on. The new habit sticks for about a few weeks and then I forget, until God shows me it again, therefore, “I live and live again.”  

In an effort to “live and learn” more, I am trying to spend time remembering the lessons I have learned.  

And this time I am reminded of the lesson that I learned back on our mission trip to Cambodia in 2023. 

In our fast-paced world, it’s all too easy to judge someone’s choices or behavior based on our own experiences and values. The more time I spent in Cambodia, the more I realized how often my Western paradigm needed to be adjusted. 

“It’s not that hard to keep the Sabbath” – unless your country has a six-day workweek for school and corporate jobs.  

“It’s not that hard to keep the Sabbath” – unless your family is literally starving and church happens to be during peak business hours.  

“It’s so wrong that churches bribe their members to come to church” – when food and money are what keep them away, how could we not provide it for them?  

The more time you spend amongst the people, the more your Western paradigm begins to fade ever so slightly, and you begin to realize that your logic may not work here. Our opinions have no space in another culture because we don’t have a full understanding of the differences from our own culture.  

Jesus met people where they were, no matter how different their lifestyles were from His. He spent time with them, gained their trust, learned from them, and then provided what they needed while teaching them about the hope and peace they could find through His Father.  

Rather than trying to force a square peg into a circle hole, we must find ways to adapt what we know into ways others may understand. Basically, find ways to share parables. Take Biblical concepts and share them in ways they can relate to.  

This experience in Cambodia reinforced a powerful truth: we must find ways to adapt what we know into forms others can relate to, especially when it comes to sharing our faith.  

It’s not enough to simply present the gospel as we know it; we need to communicate it in a way that resonates with the people we’re reaching.  

This principle is not confined to mission trips or international experiences—it applies to all of us. Every person we meet has lived a life completely different from our own, shaped by their own unique circumstances.  

To share the hope we have in a way that’s meaningful to others, we must understand their context, their struggles, and their perspectives. Only then can we truly share a message of hope that speaks to their hearts.