Module Overview

For 14 years I served as a missionary. 13 years were spent in Southern Africa which includes the countries of Zimbabwe, South Africa, eSwatini and Mozambique. One year was spent in Cambodia where I was involved in teaching and planting churches.

Before I was sent out to serve my wife and I had to go through training to prepare us for serving overseas in ‘new’ cultures. One thing that was drummed into us was the need to enter a new culture as learners first. Over and over I heard this statement, “Before one will be able to have effective ministry one has to take time learning the culture”.

This includes studying, whether formally or informally, the history of the people, who are the key actors, the economic situation, what are key issues and needs of the people, attitudes, why people do what they do and so no.

We were then told that the way one learns about a culture is by being observers first before entering into the “doing” of missionary work.

You are going to be like missionaries as we study the New Testament. To better understand it you need to know some of its cultural background. As a missionary seeks to observe and learn you will be learning about the historical background of the New Testament, who the key actors are, the needs and attitudes of these actors, the economic conditions of the people and so forth. Having an understanding of these things will help you better understand the lessons that are presented in the New Testament.

Module Outcomes

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

• Describe how the Hebrew, Roman, and Greek history contributed to the advancements of the Bible (God's Word).
• Identify Key Actors in NT.
• Explain how the philosophical world contributed to the acceptance of the Bible.
• Describe and appreciate the context of what Jesus Christ was ministering within.