• Directories
    • Business Directory
    • Church Directory
    • Organization Directory
  • Advertise
  • Donate
  • Help
  • Log In
MENUMENU
  • Learning
        • Leader’s Edge
          • Author Interviews
          • Book Summaries
        • Book Reviews
          • Book Look
          • EMQ Book Reviews
        • Publications
          • Anthology
          • Evangelical Missions Quarterly (EMQ)
          • Missiographics
        • Podcasts
          • The Mission MattersNew
          • Missio Nexus
          • People First HR
          • Members Only Feed
        • Blogs
          • Global Issues Updates
          • Member Highlights
          • Mission Advisors
        • Topics
          • COVID-19 ResourcesNew
          • Diaspora Missions
          • Mobilization
          • Muslim Missions
          • Support Raising
        • Media Library
          • Conferences
          • Global Issue Updates
          • On Mission
          • Thought Leader Briefings
          • Webinars
          • Workshop
          • View All
  • Programs
    • Accreditation
    • Alliance for Benefits
    • Bible CertificateNew
    • Church Missions CoachingNew
    • Cohorts
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Leaders
    • Mission Jobs
    • OnBoard
    • RightNow Media
    • The Mission AppNew
    • Women’s Development
  • Events
          • Calendar
          • In-Person Events
          • Virtual Events
          • Event Recordings
          • Awards
        • Upcoming Events

          • Webinar: Through the Wall
            Thu Jan 28 2021, 02:00pm EST
          • Three Easy Ways to Drive Innovation
            Thu Feb 11 2021, 02:00pm EST
          • Three Steps to Kickstart Your Fund Development Program
            Tue Feb 16 2021, 03:00pm EST
        • View All Events
  • Research
          • Missiographics
          • Mission Handbook
          • Research Reports
        • Popular Research
          • Compensation Reports
          • COVID-19 ResourcesNew
          • Field Attrition Report
          • View All Reports
        • Contribute
          • Current Research Projects
          • Submit Data for Mission Handbook
          • Volunteer
  • About Us
        • Who We Are
          • Our Contribution
          • Meet the Team
          • Board Members
          • History (1917–present)
        • Our Beliefs
          • Statement of Faith
          • Community Standards
        • Awards
        • Partner with Us
          • Advertise
          • Donate
          • Sponsorships
          • Volunteer
        • Help
          • Contact Us
          • Advertising Specs
          • Branding Guidelines
  • Join
        • Learn
        • Learn what you cannot learn anywhere else.

        • Meet
        • Meet people you otherwise won’t meet.

        • Engage
        • Engage in a community like none other.

          • Benefits
          • Benefits for Churches
          • Pricing

Sponsored Content

Upcoming Events

  • Webinar: Through the Wall
    Thu Jan 28 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Three Easy Ways to Drive Innovation
    Thu Feb 11 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Three Steps to Kickstart Your Fund Development Program
    Tue Feb 16 2021, 03:00pm EST
  • Webinar: Innovating Theological Education: How BibleMesh can Prepare your Staff for Ministry
    Thu Feb 25 2021, 02:00pm EST
  • Association Leaders Gathering
    Tue Mar 2 2021, 08:30am EST

View all events »

Topics

author interview Canada CEO Church Church Missions Church Mission Team Church Planting Coaching Conference Proceedings COVID-19 Cross Cultural Skills Diaspora Evangelism Focus Future Globally Engaged Churches Islam Justin Long Leadership Management Missiology Missionaries Mission Finance and Administration MLC2019 MLC2020 Mobilization muslim Muslim Diaspora Networks Partnership Personal Productivity Podcast Presenter Research Security Short-Term Missions Spirituality support raising Training Trends Unengaged Unreached unreached people groups Weekly Roundup Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Ambassadors: Crossing Cultural Distance

Posted on June 27, 2017 by June 28, 2017
There are so many assumptions about how easy or hard it is to work cross-culturally. Many times we focus on language, physical distance or cultural barriers when making our assessments. But the last one is the toughest because it can seem very intangible. Take a moment to explore a new vocabulary for understanding cultural distance that will transform how you think, plan and strategize for mission.
Download as PDF
Download as Image
Related ContentTranslationsShare / Embed
NOTE: This Missiographic is the third in a series of 3 infographics on issues related to global mobilization developed for the Center for Mission Mobilization. The first and second in the series can be found here at New Harvesters and Who Is My New Neighbor?.
This missiographic does not currently have any translations.
To embed on your site copy and paste the code in the box below.

<p><img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/missio-graphics/Volume+4/missiographic_ambassadors.jpg" alt="" width="800" /></p>
<p><a href="https://missionexus.org/ambassadors-crossing-cultural-distance/"><strong>Ambassadors: Crossing Cultural Distance</strong></a><br />There are so many assumptions about how easy or hard it is to work cross-culturally. Many times we focus on language, physical distance or cultural barriers when making our assessments. But the last one is the toughest because it can seem very intangible. Take a moment to explore a new vocabulary for understanding cultural distance that will transform how you think, plan and strategize for mission.</p>

Engage Through Prayer
Dear God, thank you for challenging us to cross cultures as your ambassadors. We know it is a hard job with many challenges and we know that you promise to give us strength. Prepare us this day to represent you well across the many cultures of this world that all may hear and know your love.  Amen

Personal Reflection

There are many ways you might be involved in cross-cultural mission. Whatever your role, how might the concept of “Cultural Mileage” help you to better fulfill that God-given role? Do you understand the significance of the cultural difference between the cultures you are engaged with? How are you responding to those differences? How might a sense of “Cultural Mileage” help you think in new ways about reaching out in the culture God has put on your heart? Go to geert-hofstede.com/countries to compare your home country with the country you are engaging.

Engaging the Church
Many times in the Church we treat all cross-cultural experiences as the same. Whether it is a short-term trip or investment in a long-term worker, we assume that crossing one culture is much like crossing another. But in fact the concept of “Cultural Mileage” shows that those differences can really be, well, different. This will impact the amount of training needed, the time to become integrated in a new culture, the response of those in the culture to the team or worker. How can you take the “Cultural Mileage” into account as you assess where to go and what preparations or support are needed as people go?

Organizational Application
Your organization probably works in very specific geographic places. Are you aware of the “Cultural Mileage” between the country where your headquarters, financial supporters and/or workers are from and the countries where your work is done? This has huge implications for relationship building, partnerships, organizational development, etc. And for all of you out there who serve on multi-cultural teams, knowing the “Cultural Mileage” between the various members of your team will help you to better engage with those who you work with on a regular basis.

Good information is key for any individual or ministry. For more insights look at missiographics.com.

Sources

The Hofstede Centre http://geert-hofstede.com/countries.html

For more examples of Cultural Mileage and to apply the calculations to specific countries, download this Excel document.

Permissions

The representation of this data is copyrighted by the Center for Mission Mobilization (CMM) and the information within is used by permission. GMI is sharing this visualization as a Missiographic with permission. Anyone seeking rights to utilize this infographic must receive permission from CMM. Please visit the CMM website for more information at www.mobilization.org.

GoToOlder PostNewer PostAll PostsMissiographicsVolume 4

Write a Comment Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Subscribe to Our Mailing List

Keep up to date with our community.

Menu

  • Join
  • Directories
  • Events
  • Donate

About

  • Who We Are
  • Statement of Faith
  • Awards
  • Resources

Help

  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Cookies Policy

Connect

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Google+

PO Box 398
Wheaton, IL 60187-0398

Phone: 770.457.6677
678.392.4577

© Missio Nexus.
All Rights Reserved.

Membership website powered by MembershipWorks