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The Philippine Church: The Lay of the Land. Echoes of Faithfulness, Seeds for the Future

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The following is the text of a talk I gave at the 2026 Biennial Conference for the Baptist Conference of the Philippines, 30 July 2026. There is a video version. A PDF version can be found at the end of this article.

1. Introduction

Good morning. My name is Dr. Michael Fast, and I’ve been asked to give the opening presentation for our sessions over the next two days: The State of the Philippine Church: The Lay of the Land – Echoes of Faithfulness, Seeds for the Future.

This morning I’d like us to zoom in together. We’ll begin with the Philippines as a whole. Then we’ll focus on evangelicals. Finally, we’ll look at our own family – the Baptist Conference of the Philippines.

2. Religion in the Philippines

I’d like to begin by looking at religion in the Philippines. The following statistics are drawn primarily from the Pew Research Center and Social Weather Stations.

Christianity continues to dominate religious life in the Philippines. Approximately 92% of Filipino adults identify as Christian, including Roman Catholics, Protestants, and members of other Christian traditions.

The Philippines is also home to the third-largest Roman Catholic population in the world, so it is no surprise that religion remains central to Filipino society.

According to Pew Research, 99% of Filipinos believe in God, and 79% pray every day. These are among the highest levels of religious belief and daily prayer measured anywhere in the world.

Faith also shapes public life. Eighty-two percent of Filipinos say that the Bible should have either a great deal or a fair amount of influence on the laws of the Philippines.

When biblical teaching and public opinion come into conflict, 63% of Protestants say that the Bible should have greater influence than the will of the people, while 49% of Roman Catholics say that the will of the people should prevail.

In practice, however, weekly worship attendance has declined over the past several decades. During the early 1990s, approximately 60% of Filipino adults attended weekly worship services. By 2017, that figure had declined to 46%. Among Roman Catholics, weekly attendance fell from 56% to approximately 40% over the same period.

Even so, personal devotion remains remarkably strong. Approximately 69% of Catholics pray every day, 93% reported attending an in-person worship service during the previous three months, and only 3% said they never attend religious services at all.

These statistics provide a broad picture of Christianity in the Philippines. At this point, I am not addressing other religious communities, such as Islam or Indigenous religions. Instead, I’d like us to narrow our focus.

3. Evangelicals in the Philippines

So, what about evangelicals?

Some of you may already be thinking,” Yes – but we’re not Roman Catholics. We’re evangelicals!”

That’s true. So, what does the state of the evangelical church in the Philippines look like?

According to Philippine Challenge (2018), the Philippines had a population of approximately 101 million people. Today, that figure is closer to 120 million.

The country has roughly 42,000 barangays. Just under half of them remain unreached, meaning there is no evangelical church present in those communities.

At that time there were approximately 65,000 evangelical churches, serving about 7.8 million evangelicals – roughly 7.8% of the population.

The average evangelical church had approximately 121 members.

We’ll return to that figure in a few moments.

So, we’ve moved from looking at the Philippine population as a whole to evangelicals. Now let’s narrow the focus even further.

4. How Large is the Baptist Conference of the Philippines?

What about the Baptist Conference of the Philippines (BCP)?

Here we find some interesting statistics.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), approximately 274,000 people identify themselves as members of the Baptist Conference of the Philippines.

These are self-identification statistics. In other words, when census workers ask,” What is your religion?” these individuals respond,” Baptist Conference of the Philippines.”

These figures differ somewhat from the membership statistics available through denominational sources.

The membership figures reported by the Baptist World Alliance and cited on Converge materials reflect data collected during the tenure of General Secretary Boy Alfafara. Those reports indicate approximately 35,000 members worshipping in 430 to 450 churches.

I’m not certain where those numbers stand today. Perhaps, as a result of this Biennial, we’ll have an even clearer statistical picture.

These two sources are measuring different things.

One measures identity – how people identify themselves.

The other measures church membership.

Taken together, however, they portray a denomination with broad national recognition, thousands of committed members, and a church-planting movement that has faithfully served communities across the Philippines for generations.

5. The State of the Local PHP Church

So, what about the local church?

We’ve moved from looking at the Philippines as a whole, to evangelicals, to the Baptist Conference of the Philippines. Now let’s consider our local churches.

When we think about churches, we often focus on numbers. We ask questions like: How many? How much? How large?

Sometimes we even assume that a healthy church is a large church, and a large church is a healthy church.

But the evidence suggests otherwise.

According to Philippine Challenge, the average evangelical church in the Philippines has approximately 121 members. Internationally, the average evangelical church often falls somewhere between 60 and 120 weekly attenders, depending on the country and denomination.

If our estimate of about 80 members per BCP church is reasonably accurate, then we are well within the range of what is typical for evangelical churches around the world.

In other words, our churches are not unusually small.

More importantly, church health cannot be measured by attendance alone.

Healthy churches are measured by something much deeper than size.

That brings us to an important transition.

Rather than continuing to focus on statistics, I’d like us to turn our attention to stories. Our Biennial theme, after all, is Harvest Echoes: Voices from the Field. So, what do these stories tell us about the health of the Philippine church?

I would suggest that they tell us something very encouraging: Filipino churches are healthy churches.

Why do I say that? Because, in my experience serving and visiting churches around the world, Filipino believers consistently strengthen and revitalize churches by faithfully practicing what I call the Four Marks of the Church.

First, Worship. We gather together to exalt God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

Second, the Word. We are shaped by God’s Word and by the gospel (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

Third, the Ordinances. Through baptism and the Lord’s Supper, we remember and proclaim the saving work of Christ (Matthew 28:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).

Finally, Governance. The church is led through godly oversight, accountability, and spiritual discernment (Hebrews 13:17; Acts 20:28).

These four marks help form healthy churches. They prepare and equip the church so that we can then be scattered into the world as God’s people.

We’ll return to that idea later.

As we listen to the stories shared throughout this Biennial, I believe we’ll hear repeated evidence of churches faithfully living out these four marks.

Now, I know some of you may already be thinking, “But what about our weaknesses? What about the challenges we face?” Those are important questions. We’ll acknowledge them in due course. But before we talk about what we still lack, I think it’s important that we first recognize who God has already made us to be.

6. Transmission & Appropriation Framework

As we reflect on the stories we’ll hear throughout this Biennial, it’s helpful to step back and consider the larger story of the Baptist Conference of the Philippines.

When we look at the history of Christian mission—not only in the Philippines, but around the world—we often see a similar pattern unfolding.

I describe that pattern in three movements: Transmission. Appropriation. Participation.

Together, these describe the journey of the gospel within the Baptist Conference of the Philippines.

First, the gospel is received.

Then, the gospel becomes our own.

Finally, the gospel is shared with the world.

The first movement is Transmission.

This is the season in which the gospel is proclaimed by missionaries. Churches are planted. Scripture is taught. Leaders are trained. Bible translation, theological education, leadership development, and church planting all become part of establishing the church.

We’re honoured that Ma’am Joyce is with us today. She represents many missionaries who faithfully served the church in the Philippines over many decades. Their work laid important foundations upon which we continue to build today.

The second movement is Appropriation.

In many ways, this begins almost immediately. As Filipinos hear the gospel, they naturally begin asking, “How does this become our story?”

The question is no longer simply, “What have we received?” but “How do we faithfully embody the gospel within our own culture and communities?”

Years ago, while teaching in Vietnam, I asked a group of students how people in their country perceived Jesus. One student replied, “Jesus is a foreigner.”

I’ve often reflected on that conversation. I don’t believe most Filipinos think of Jesus as a foreigner. Rather, Filipino believers recognize that Christ identifies with them, speaks into their lives, and calls them within their own culture.

Appropriation is never a one-sided process. It involves dialogue between missionaries and Filipino believers. It involves learning from one another. It requires mutual respect.

At times, it also involves misunderstanding and tension. That is a normal part of every missionary movement. Yet through God’s grace, those tensions can give way to reconciliation, healing, and deeper partnership. The gospel becomes embodied through Filipino pastors, Indigenous expressions of worship, church planting, community transformation, and ongoing theological education.

The third movement is Participation.

Now the gospel is not merely received. It is shared. Filipinos become not only recipients of mission but participants in God’s global mission. Those who once received the gospel now become those who send others.

According to the Baptist World Alliance, the Baptist Conference of the Philippines has commissioned more than forty missionaries serving in various parts of the world. While I may not know every country where they serve, we know of ministry taking place in places such as Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Canada, and the United States, along with many other contexts. Filipinos are planting churches internationally, serving immigrant communities, and participating in God’s mission far beyond the Philippines.

This Biennial also marks an important milestone. It is our first Biennial in this new era of participation. At our previous Biennial, Dr. Jenkins, representing Converge, formally recognized the Baptist Conference of the Philippines as a sister organization – an equal ministry partner, serving together in God’s global mission.

That recognition symbolizes something much larger. It reminds us that the Baptist Conference of the Philippines has matured from being primarily a mission field into becoming a missionary movement.

That is something worth celebrating.

7. Stories of Transmission by Early Missionaries

So, what does this look like in practice?

One way to answer that question is to look back at the stories of those who came before us.

As I worked through the missionary prayer letters preserved in the BTC Archives, I was struck by how familiar many of those stories felt. Some of the missionaries represented there are connected with families who are with us today—the Esplands, the Chalmers, the Osbrons, the Nelsons, and many others. Their names remind us that the story of the Baptist Conference of the Philippines has always been a shared story.

Those prayer letters tell stories of churches being planted, lives being transformed, and communities encountering the hope of the gospel.

Those are wonderful stories. They’re also our stories. Over the next two days, we’ll hear many similar testimonies from churches across the Philippines.

But those missionary letters tell another story as well. They speak honestly about struggle. They describe cultural misunderstandings, natural disasters, disappointments in ministry, conflict within churches, and seasons when hearts were not yet ready for what God was doing.

Those are our stories too.

Every generation of God’s people experiences both joy and difficulty. Yet despite those challenges, the missionaries left an extraordinary legacy. They helped establish churches. They invested in leadership development. They modelled partnership. And perhaps most importantly, they helped nurture a movement that became increasingly Filipino-led, Filipino-governed, and Filipino-supported, while continuing to enjoy healthy international partnerships.

That is a remarkable testimony to God’s faithfulness.

8. Appropriation In the Baptist Conference of the Philippines

Our work of appropriation did not end with the first generation. It continues today. The gospel continues to take deeper root as Filipino churches faithfully live out their calling within their own communities.

I see at least five enduring expressions of that legacy.

Church planting continues to be one of the defining strengths of the Baptist Conference of the Philippines. SEATS, where I serve as Academic Dean, has partnered with districts and local churches for many years. Through these partnerships, participating churches have developed intentional church-planting strategies. In that one sub-district alone, the number of churches doubled as a result of that initiative. That is only one example among many. Throughout the Baptist Conference of the Philippines, God continues to raise up new churches.

Leadership development also remains central. Baptist Theological College continues preparing pastors, teachers, and Christian leaders for ministry across the Philippines. BTC extends theological education through modular and distance-learning programs, making training accessible to pastors serving throughout the country. Local churches continue identifying and developing leaders from among their own members.

Together, these ministries demonstrate that leadership development remains one of the great strengths of our movement.

The gospel is also demonstrated through compassionate ministry during crises. BCP churches faithfully respond to typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other crises. Relief ministries have increasingly developed into long-term community ministries, showing that compassion is not merely an emergency response but an ongoing expression of the love of Christ.

Leadership multiplication continues at every level. Many pastors are trained within their local churches, while seminars, mentoring relationships, and ministry training continue to equip believers for service. Older and younger generations serve together, ensuring that leadership is reproduced from one generation to the next.

Finally, our movement continues to value partnership. Di naman tayo madamot sa ating faith. Training opportunities are often shared with churches beyond the Baptist Conference of the Philippines. Relationships across denominations strengthen the witness of the gospel throughout the nation. The gospel is never diminished by partnership. It is multiplied.

9. Filipinos by Nature: Redefining what it means to be Religious, Relation, Restorative, and Present.

As we think about the future, I believe God has uniquely prepared Filipino believers for ministry. The gospel has not simply been translated into Filipino culture. It has been deeply appropriated. I see this reflected in four cultural strengths that continue to shape the health of the Philippine church.

First, maka-Diyos. Filipinos have a deep desire to live in right relationship with God. Maka-Diyos is much richer than simply being religious. It is more than attending church. More than believing certain doctrines. More than following moral principles. It reflects a holistic orientation toward God that is expressed through loving one’s family, caring for one’s neighbour, and faithfully serving the Lord.

Second, kapwa. Mission grows naturally from a shared identity. Kapwa reminds us that we are not isolated individuals. We belong to one another. Relationships matter more than transactions. We are called to care, to share, and to stand together. Because of this, compassion and mission often flow naturally within Filipino communities.

Third, pagbabalik-loob. A return to our authentic self. The gospel restores what sin has broken. Filipino culture places great value on restoring relationships, and this resonates deeply with the biblical story. Genesis reminds us that humanity was created in God’s image, living in harmony with God, one another, and creation. Through Christ, God begins restoring that wholeness. The church becomes a community where reconciliation is not merely preached – it is practiced.

Finally, kairos. We often joke about “Filipino time.” Yet beneath those jokes lies a deeper cultural insight. Filipinos often live with an awareness that not every important moment can be scheduled. Alongside Chronos – clock time – we also recognize Kairos – God’s appointed time or ang takdang panahon. Chronos teaches planning, organization, and stewardship. Kairos teaches discernment, presence, and responsiveness to the Holy Spirit. Healthy ministry requires both. Planning without discernment becomes mechanical. Discernment without planning becomes ineffective. The healthiest churches learn to hold both together.

How does each of these redefine church?

Maka-Diyos defines how to have a Holistic relationship with God. This is a deeper, more holistic understanding of God and our lives. It flows from love of family, neighbour, and faithful obedience to God.

Kapwa defines how mission grows from shared identity. This is one reason why mission is so important to Philippine churches. We naturally reach out because we see others as fellow persons, not strangers.

Pagbabalik-loob defines reconciliation restores relationships. This emphasizes the relational aspect of culture and connects it with God—He is not a stranger, but we are reconciled to Him.

Chronos and Kairos times define how planning meets discernment. We balance careful planning (Chronos) with sensitivity to God’s leading (Kairos). This allows Philippine ministry to be both intentional and responsive.

So where do we go from here?

10. The Way Forward

Why does the Philippine church matter—not only to the Philippines, but to the world? I believe there are several reasons.

First, the Philippines is a growing nation. By the middle of this century, the Philippines is expected to be one of the countries contributing most significantly to global population growth.

Second, Filipinos are a global people. More than 10 million Filipinos live and work outside the Philippines, forming one of the largest diaspora communities in the world. That means the Philippine church is already present in nearly every region of the globe.

Third, Filipinos are becoming a global missionary force. Whether serving as pastors, professionals, overseas workers, or students, Filipino believers are faithfully bearing witness to Christ wherever God has placed them. We’ve seen this throughout the Middle East, across Asia, in Europe, in North America, and in many other parts of the world.

In Canada, for example, Filipino believers have played a significant role in revitalizing existing churches and planting new ones. As Pastor June Torres has observed, among BGC Canada churches, Filipino congregations are among those most consistently planting and sustaining new churches. Those are remarkable gifts that God has entrusted to us.

The question is: Ano ba pang pangangailangan natin para sa kinabukasan? [What do we need for the future?]

11. Functional Church Scorecard

We need to begin by looking Beyond the Four Walls of the church. Perhaps one of the greatest opportunities before us is to remember that the church exists for more than what happens on Sunday morning. Sunday worship is essential. But worship also prepares us to be sent into the world.

Rather than asking only, “How large is our church?” or “How many people attended?” perhaps we should also ask, “Is our church faithfully fulfilling God’s purposes in our community?” That question changes everything.

A healthy church is not simply one that gathers well. It is a church that is faithfully scattered.

We are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We are called to reveal the joys of God’s Kingdom. We are called to demonstrate God’s love through mercy, relief, rehabilitation, community development, and compassionate service. And we are called to speak prophetically into society with biblical truth, humility, and courage. Those are the functions of a church living faithfully in God’s mission.

12. Reflections for this Week

That brings us to a very personal question: “Where does my story begin?”

Throughout these next two days, you’ll hear many stories – stories of faithfulness, sacrifice, perseverance, and hope. Listen carefully. Listen for what God has done. Listen for what God is doing. And perhaps most importantly, listen for what God may be saying to you.

As you listen, reflect on the story God is writing in your own church. Where have you seen His faithfulness? Where is He calling you to grow? What new chapter might He be inviting you to write?

Because today’s reflections become tomorrow’s harvest. The stories we celebrate during this Biennial are not the conclusion of God’s work. They are an invitation to participate in what He is doing next. May God give us ears to hear, hearts to respond, and the courage to write the next chapter of the Baptist Conference of the Philippines together.

Thank you.

Good morning. Magandang umaga, and may God bless us all.

13. References

Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogical imagination (M. Holquist, Ed.; C. Emerson & M. Holquist, Trans.). University of Texas Press.

Bakhtin, M. M. (1984). Problems of Dostoevsky’s poetics (C. Emerson, Ed. & Trans.). University of Minnesota Press.

Bakhtin, M. M. (1986). Speech genres and other late essays (V. W. McGee, Trans.). University of Texas Press.

Baptist World Alliance. (n.d.). Baptist Conference of the Philippines, Inc. Retrieved June 24, 2026, from https://baptistworld.org/member/baptist-conference-of-the-philippines-inc/

Chalmers, G. W. (1969, November 22). Tell it like it is… [Missionary prayer letter from Cataingan, Masbate, Philippines]. Board of Foreign Missions, Baptist General Conference.

Chalmers, G. W. (1985, July). Turning from Fear [Missionary prayer letter from Calbayog City, Western Samar, Philippines]. World Missions, Baptist General Conference.

de Mesa, J. M. (1988). Re-thinking the faith with indigenous categories. Inter-Religio, 13(Summer), 18-29.

de Mesa, J. M. (2003). Why theology is never far from home. De La Salle University Press.

de Mesa, J. M. (2004). Mga aral sa daan: Dulog at paraang kultural sa kristolohiya. De La Salle University Press.

Espland, H. W. (n.d., May 22). Day of Rejoicing [Missionary prayer letter from Tagbilaran, Bohol, Philippines]. World Missions, Baptist General Conference.

Espland, H. W. (1982, July 10). Dear Prayer Partners [Missionary prayer letter from Tagbilaran, Bohol, Philippines]. World Missions, Baptist General Conference.

Evans, J., & Lesage, K. (2026, June 30). 5 facts about religion in the Philippines. Spring 2024 Global Attitudes Survey, PEW Research Center. Retrieved July 24, 2026, from https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/06/30/5-facts-about-religion-in-the-philippines/

Pew Research Center (2011). Global Christianity: A report on the size and distribution of the World’s Christian Population. https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2011/12/Christianity-fullreport-web.pdf

Maggay, M. P. (2013). A religion of guilt encounters a religion of power: Missiological implications and consequences. In M. P. Maggay (Ed.), The gospel in culture: Contextualization through Asian eyes. OMF Literature Inc.

Marshall, A. (2014). Bayanihan and belonging: Filipinos in Manitoba. Manitoba History, 76, 2-12.

Marshall, A. (2015). Stories of bayanihan and belonging: Filipinos in Manitoba, Part 2. Manitoba History, 77, 2-12.

Nelson, R. K. (1968, December 9). Typhoon Sinyang correspondence [Missionary prayer letter from San Remigio, Cebu, Philippines]. Board of Foreign Missions, Baptist General Conference.

Osbron, J. (1981, December 28). Dear friends: The taming of Mike Escalante [Missionary prayer letter from Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Philippines]. World Missions, Baptist General Conference.

Philippine Statistics Authority. (2020). Household Population by Religious Affiliation, Region, Province, and Highly Urbanized City: Philippines, 2020. 2020 Census of Population and Housing.

van Engen, C. (1991). God’s missionary people: Rethinking the purpose of the local church. Baker Academic.

Varberg, R. (2009). Why didn’t you come sooner? Stories from My Life as a Missionary in the Philippines. William Carey Library.

Vencer, A. B. (2004). Towards a functional church in society. DNA Discipling a Whole Nation, n.p.

Vencer, A., Punzalan, C. V. P. III, & Fast, M. J. (Eds.). (2020). The functional church (Faculty Working Paper, Discipling a Whole Nation). South East Asian Theological Schools, Inc.

Walls, A. F. (2002). The cross-cultural process in Christian history: Studies in the transmission and appropriation of faith. Orbis Books.

Zurlo, G. A. (2026). How many evangelicals in the world? A new assessment from the World Christian Database. Review of Religious Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673X261447046

Fast – 2026 – The Philippine Church- The Lay of the Land Echoes of Faithfulness, Seeds for the FutureDownload

Following up on BGCC Celebration 2024: How Jose de Mesa’s Hermeneutics of Appreciation provides a practical way for Canadian churches to engage society

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In May 2024, I had the privilege of speaking at the BGC Canada Celebration in Calgary. Because the theme of the conference centred on Mordecai’s words to Esther “for such a time as this,” one of the sessions I gave was basically laying out the framework that SEATS has been developing for the past 20 years on how the church can engage society “in such a time as this.” The session covered two aspects. The first aspect was the theology of evils, which I’ve written about many times on this blog. The other aspect looked at the functional church, which we see as essential to our identity in the church and society. 

The session was more of a download, laying everything out in a long, complex, complicated system. I apologise if it was a little bit inaccessible because of that. I also wasn’t as clear in stating it during my talk, but I think that Canada is now a mission field and as Jesus’ followers we need to approach it as such.

This reality was made clear by many other presentations at the conference that talked about ways Canadians perceive the world. The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada’s Rick Hiemstra was very clear in providing statistics and surveys to help us understand the way Canadians think. And all of these reinforce the idea that Canada is a Mission field.

What does it mean to say that Canada is a Mission field?

Before we go further, I want to highlight that current missions theory sees all parts of the world as the “mission field.” Yet, we often still think of missions as someone leaving their own home to go to another place.

I understand that there are two ways we could define “Canada is a mission field.” One way is “the world is coming to Canada so they’re at our doorstep so we can present the gospel to them.” And this certainly may be true.

BGC Canada addressed this about 30 years ago when we formed GLOBAL Ministries. The tagline at the time was “across the street, around the world.” This was a recognition that people are coming to Canada, which presents an opportunity for us to reach out to them wherever they might be. Eva and I were privileged to be selected for that team at the very beginning and are grateful to continue serving in Southeast Asia. We also know that many of you also are finding ways to reach “across the street” as well as “around the world.” We’re happy to be together on the same team in doing this!

The problem is this is only half the story. It is true that Canadian missionaries have had a tremendous impact on the world as they followed God‘s call to bring the message of his good news around the world. But there’s more to the story.

The other way of defining “Canada is a mission field” is by recognising that new immigrants to Canada are bringing their Christian faith to a place that is no longer Christian. I particularly enjoy the fact this includes Filipinos. For many years now the Philippines has been the number one source of new Canadians. One way this impacts Canada is by Filipino Christians coming to work in Canada, moving to small towns with dying churches, and injecting new life into those churches. Alison Marshall from Brandon University has written a lot on this specific subject.

So what are the implications of “Canada is a mission field”?

Given the fact that Canada is now a Mission field I thought it important to discuss some ways we can think about this. What can I do as I live in my Canadian community, pastor my Canadian Church, and dream about reaching Canada for Christ? How can I tweak the perceptions I have about the world and about Canada and about the gospel so that they can become more understandable to one another? What are some practical ways that the Canadian church can engage society?

It may also mean that the way we’ve traditionally done things may not work anymore. We may need to think about what the church will look like in the next generations.

If Canada is a mission field, we need to approach Canada as if it’s a place we do not understand or we’re not familiar with. We’re unaware of the culture. We’re unaware of the language. We’re unaware of the practices. This means we must come in with a fresh mind asking, “How can we help the people of this place connect with God on an understandable level?“ And “How will my journey with these people help me draw closer to God, myself?”

(I should mention as an aside that while the immediate context of my talk was Canada, since I was invited to a Canadian conference, these principles apply to any culture around the world. So those who are thinking about doing missions in it any other country can figure out ways to make these relevant to their new context as well.)

Jose de Mesa’s Hermeneutics of Appreciation is a usable framework for Canadian churches wanting to go “across the street.”

What comes to mind immediately is Jose de Mesa’s hermeneutics of appreciation as a framework for how the church can engage society. (I have already written a bit on de Mesa’s ideas, here.) de Mesa developed this framework in the 1970s. He was a contemporary of other Filipino academics who collectively realised that the Western-based systems of history, psychology, and anthropology were inadequate in describing the Philippine situation. They worked at reconstructing these ideas using the Philippine context as a base. Jose de Mesa approached the area of theology in the same way.

De Mesa’s insights into how Christianity entered the Philippines is helpful for us as we think about how the church of Jesus Christ can re-enter Canadian society. He developed a hermeneutic of appreciation for use when Jesus’ followers from one culture approach people from another. I thought it might be useful to see how his four hermeneutical steps may apply to the church in Canada today with the hope that this may serve as a model for us to use in the church today.

It’s important for us to remember at this point that de Mesa was largely reacting to issues he observed as a cultural insider to how the gospel was and is understood in the Philippines — his approach is in direct opposition to a hermeneutic of suspicion. It’s also important to realize that de Mesa writes as a deeply devoted Christian who sees Jesus as his Saviour and the Saviour of his nation. But having said that, it’s important to realize that there is a critique in this hermeneutic – a critique that’s useful in helping us understand our own ways of approaching others with the gospel.

Attitude #1 Presume the cultural element or aspect under consideration to be positive (at least in intent) until proven otherwise.

A lot of the stuff we do in churches is cultural, even though we assume it’s biblical. I guess what I’m trying to say is that there is sometimes a blending of how we interpret the Bible with how we view the world. What sometimes happens as we go somewhere else and see how other people live is that we immediately assume that they are doing things for all the wrong reasons. We understand that sin enslaves the entire world and we assume that those who have not yet heard about Jesus Christ are also slaves themselves. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that everything that everyone does is done for bad reasons.

Sometimes these things are just different cultural preferences. I remember reading Peace Child by Don Richardson. You may have read the book or seen the movie. It’s a powerful example of how a missionary to New Guinea found a redemptive analogy within his mountain tribe. Richardson’s thesis is that every culture contains what he calls redemptive analogies. Richardson even goes through and illustrates other examples of redemptive analogies that he has found in other times and in other parts of the world. More on this below.

Richardson‘s theology incorporates the ideas that “all have sinned fall short of the glory of God” with the idea that “God has placed eternity in the hearts of humans.” He ties the two together by saying that God has hidden clues in each society and culture that help people move from sinners towards eternity.

We won’t find Redemptive analogies if we approach a culture from the idea that we are right and they are wrong — if we approach another culture with the idea that these are all pagan people with no connection with God and that we are the first voice of God that people have heard. This is actually against what scripture teaches. Typically theology refers to two types of revelation: One of them is general revelation where God makes himself known to all people through means not limited by language — including emotion, conscience, and will (Ps 19:1-2; Job 12:7-10; De 8:18; Pr 16:9; Pr 20:27; Ge 3:7-8). The other is special revelation where God makes himself known specifically through his word — both Living and written (Is 53:5-6; Mic 5:2; De 6:6-7; Ps 119:105).

Popular advice states that we should avoid two topics of discussion in life: religion and politics. Why is that? Because we tend to argue and fight over them don’t we? To apply de Mesa’s framework here we would need to seek understanding of the Other rather than to push the rightness of our own belief. This is scary, isn’t it? Because we must relinquish  power in order to do that. But yet it’s only through vulnerability that we can connect with others in the world around us, isn’t it? 

Presuming that the culture element is positive rather than negative also acknowledges the fact that God is already at work in an among that culture, and some of the things that God has revealed to them may come out through the culture.

Attitude #2 Be aware of your own cultural presuppositions and adopt the insider’s point of view. 

Sometimes when it comes to presenting the gospel we take an exclusivistic approach. An exclusivistic approach means that we know what’s right and nobody else does. We need to present the gospel to Them. This leads us to approach people as if They are wrong and We are right. That’s because the exclusivistic approach is the approach of the Outsider.

I had a conversation the other day with a close friend and colleague is also a pastor. We were discussing preaching and the role of the preacher in the message. We reminded ourselves that the first audience of any sermon is the preacher themself. But there’s also an aspect in the Bible where through the prophets God tells people that they are wrong. The key to remember is that the prophets also recognize themselves as being wrong too. For example, Isaiah says “every word that passes through my lips is sinful,” indicating his desire to be disqualified from this ministry. In the same way, we too as preachers need to recognize our own complicity in sin. Other people are not the only sinners in the world. We, too, are included in that. So when we approach the subject of sin and repentance, we need to approach it in an inclusivistic way. Meaning rather than saying, “You are all a bunch of sinners and need to repent,” we say, “We are all sinners and we all need to repent.” There’s an inclusive aspect to the Gospel.

This is what de Mesa is talking about in his “Be aware of your own cultural presuppositions and adopt the insider’s point of view”

So we use inclusivistic language — words like us and we — and find ways how we too need to hear God’s gospel in the situation. We also assume that God has been at work in the world before we arrive with his message. Back to Richardson’s redemptive analogies. He describes examples such as the peace child of his tribe in New Guinea, and the banana tree/book among other tribes. He even mentions Paul’s recognition of the Athenian “altar to the unknown God” as an example. Bruce Olsen, in his autobiographical Bruchko, describes waiting five years before finding the culturally-appropriate way to present Jesus to his tribe in Colombia. These redemptive analogies provide bridges into a culture to help them understand the goodness of who God is and help introduce them to his special revelation for all humans.

What redemptive analogies do we find around us? What ways has God prepared Canadians to understand and accept the good news? What artifacts in Canadian cultures bridge us to God?

For example, Canadians have a deep connection to the land. This includes First Nations, Inuit, Metis, and Settler cultures (I should point out here that I have family connections with each of these four groups). It’s important to realize that there’s a word that’s sometimes translated land in the Bible and other times translated as earth. But connection to the earth is often among disputed among Christians, isn’t it? I remember a younger me pushing against the idea of creation care because it seemed like it was worshiping nature rather than worshiping God. I thought that as humans we were supposed to “subdue” creation. However, connection to land is one of the key aspects of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only is that a main part of ancient Israel‘s connection with him, but it also emerges when others are trying to understand God. It’s especially significant in God‘s conversations with Job where God clarifies and reveals himself to Job through the land. Perhaps understanding this connection with the land or earth is a redemptive analogy for Canadians.

Another example for Canadians may be our internationally-acknowledged kindness. Kindness appears to be under attack today. I’ve seen pushback against the concept of empathy and also against being a “nice man.” In fact, I engaged in a short dialogue on X with someone the other day who was advocating that men should no longer be “nice.” However, kindness is a key part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For example, the reason that we are saved is because God showed his kindness to us. And the evidence of the fact we are saved includes, among other things, kindness towards others. Perhaps kindness is another redemptive analogy for Canadians. 

Can you think of any more redemptive analogies for Canadians or even for your own culture?

Attitude #3 Go beyond cultural stereotypes.

When I was in Grade 5 at Lorne Haselton School in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the Gideons came and presented each of us with a New Testament, including the Psalms and Proverbs. I remember mine was red. Afterwards, at recess, we were discussing these New Testaments, and one of my classmates came up to me to talk about it, and I blurted out to him, “What are you gonna do, rip it up?” And he had this look of confusion on his face. I think about that interaction a lot and wonder, “What was it that caused me to assume that my classmates who didn’t go to church would just be interested in ripping up the Bible?” Well, I think it’s because there was a cultural presupposition when I was growing up that the world was divided into Believers and Unbelievers. Believers did everything God wanted them to do, and Unbelievers did nothing that God wanted them to do. And so, I assumed that a Unbeliever receiving a New Testament would just be interested in getting rid of it because it was something good. Of course, looking back on this and on my Grade 5 self, I realize that I was deeply mistaken and that my cultural presuppositions towards those who were not-yet-Christians were wrong.

One of the key influences in my life was Les Goertz’ book, The Not-Yet-Christian. Goertz approaches the issue with the understanding that people are on a journey towards God. People who come from a point of being originally righteous in Genesis 1, but subsequently slaves to sin, are on a journey back towards that original identity. The idea of looking at someone as a not-yet-Christian reminds us of the hope that at some point someone’s relationship with God will become better — even as my own relationship with God hopefully becomes better over time.

Attitude #4 Use the vernacular as a key to understanding the culture in its own terms. 

I took my first ancient Greek class in university. It was actually Attic Greek. I did this in anticipation of attending Canadian Baptist Seminary after I graduated. (I had heard horror stories of crash Greek and wanted to avoid that experience.) When I got to seminary I was able to skip crash Greek and go straight into Greek exegesis. One of the things I remember learning in studying Greek was that there was a lot of belief that we could find the specific meaning of each of these words. And so we used various grammatical forms, we looked at various words, and determined various definitions for them. But a couple of cracks appeared in the picture as I was studying Greek. One of them was that we weren’t actually defining the words we were translating. Rather, we were giving them glosses. A gloss is a something shiny that looks good and helps us think that we understand something but hides something deeper and non-understandable beneath it. A number of years later in my career, I moved to the Philippines and learned Tagalog — a language I now use to conduct most of my daily affairs. And what I learned was that there is no such thing as a simple transition from one language to another. All translation is betrayal simply because there is no one-to-one relationship between languages! Some languages don’t have the words used in other languages, which often makes it difficult to transmit ideas from one language to another.

Further complicating things is that we often think of text as relating to words and thus the term vernacular as relating to the spoken language specific to a certain context. However, Hanks tells is that text goes beyond merely written word and looks at the systems and structures of a society. “… text can be taken … to designate any configuration of signs that is coherently interpretable by some community of users.”

There’s a current program for Missionary Kids or Third-culture kids when they end up coming to Canada at the end of their schooling and whatever country they grew up in. One of the aspects of this Reboot program is introducing these young people to Canadian culture. This includes introduction to the vernacular, where they learn such things as the true meaning of the phrase, “Netflix and chill” — a term that when interpreted at face value is NOT correct.

In some ways it appears that the church in Canada has lost its grasp of the vernacular. Why do I say this? A year or two ago there was an Angus Reid poll that came out where one of the surprising findings was that — at least among a certain segment of Canadian society — the church is viewed as “damaging to society.” Which is odd, isn’t it? After all, the message the church isn’t one of danger, but love and salvation and a God who wants a relationship and wants the oppressed to be freed and wants the blind to see and wants to lame to walk and wants the prisoners to be set free. So then how come, all of a sudden, there is this idea that the church is something that’s damaging to society? It may be because we’ve lost a grasp of the vernacular.

Now some people are going to complain and say, “My church isn’t like that.” I realize that and I agree with you. However, in the mind of people outside the church, they label us ALL as Christians — in the same way that we label people outside the church as Pagans. There is a little understanding of the nuanced denominationalism that we understand as Insiders. We are all guilty of generalising when it comes to identifying others. Lila Abu-Lughod says some good stuff about generalization and advocates for focussing on particularities instead. But that’s a conversation for another day.

What I’m saying is here is that if our basic core message is misunderstood, it’s probably for one of two reasons: Either we’re not getting it right, or we’re not making it understandable in the vernacular of the day.

What’s the next Step?

What’s your take on this? Does the Canadian church have some work to do in the future? Are there redemptive analogies that would be beneficial for helping the church engage society?

Whether you agree, disagree, or have a fresh perspective, drop a comment and let’s discuss!

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