In partnership with the church, to effectively communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ by means of culturally appropriate audio and audiovisual materials in every language.
The universal, worldwide Church is Christ’s Body on earth, and is God’s primary agent of mission. As a para-church organization, we are not separate from the Church and certainly not above it! We are part of the Church, called by God to help serve and equip the Church in its task of carrying out the mission of God. Wherever possible, we seek to partner with and support local churches and other ministries to carry out their work. This partnership is a demonstration of the Body of Christ in action.
Proclaiming the Gospel is easy; doing it effectively is far harder. True effectiveness depends on the Holy Spirit, which is why prayer is the foundation of all we do. Yet God also calls us to use the gifts He has given us wisely. Effective communication must be receptor-oriented, recognizing that worldview, culture, education, and life experience shape how people understand the message. For this reason, we carefully shape the content, style, and amount of material for each language group to ensure the Gospel is communicated clearly.
Basic communication theory says that effective communication is receiver oriented (not communicator oriented). This means that the logic, arguments, construction and thought processes that seem effective to the communicator may have absolutely no positive impact on the hearer! A person’s worldview and cultural perspective, their education and life experience will all have a profound influence on the way they process and interpret communication. Thus the content, style and quantity of material produced for a language group must all be geared for effective communication of the message.
Audio and audiovisual formats will not always be the most effective modes of communication. For instance, a live communicator may be able to better embody or live out the message being proclaimed.
But these two key formats do offer many benefits:
The permanence of audio and audiovisual recordings guards against modification of the story.
The media is not dependent on the presence or endurance of a live speaker.
The message can be repeated as frequently as desired.
The media is accessible to anyone who can hear. They do not need to be able to read.
Pictures (in various formats) can aid understanding and increase the appeal of the presentation.
The message spreads without the messenger, avoiding cultural barriers of polite agreement.
The material can be used discreetly in sensitive locations.
The material can be used at loud volume to enable a community to hear together.
Once the user has become familiar with the presentation, they can use it in different ways.
In some places a recorded message carries an authority not granted to a live speaker.
While there is a people group with no effective, culturally appropriate form of Gospel communication, GRN will seek to provide an appropriate audio or audiovisual resource, no matter how small the group.
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