Know Thy Audience...

Hello, friends! 

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of doing one of my favorite things in the whole wide world... DJ a dance party. 

My friends and co-workers Will and Esther got married yesterday and asked me to be in charge of the dance party.  This is not a new occurance.  Apparently, anytime any InterVarsity staff in the Central Region (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska) gets married, I'm the one they call to DJ (and sometimes MC) the reception.  Apparently, I must have a reputation of being a fun staff or something.  =0). 

What I've learned is that the most important question you can ask is "who is the audience?"  I have done Chinese weddings, which look very different from Iowa weddings, which are not the same as bi-racial weddings.  Every wedding has a different culture and every culture has different expectations as far as what songs make a good dance party.  Everyone can do the Cha Cha Slide and the Cupid Shuffle but sometimes Journey is the way to go.  Other times, you should avoid it at all costs.  Not everyone knows how to Dougie.  Younger folk have no idea how to do anything beyond Thriller arms when it comes to Michael.  It's a thing. 

Oddly enough, as I was thinking back on my song selection from last night, I started thinking about the Gospel, namely, how the same principle in dance party also applies to the Gospel.  You need to know your audience. 

As Meg and I have been planning for next year, one of the things that has been on our hearts is the need for ACFers to be able to present the Gospel in a way that makes sense to the hearers.  We have a lot of demographics in ACF.  We have international students as well as Asian Americans.  We have Chinese, Koreans, Filipino, and other ethnicities.  There are cultural barriers and language barriers.  Just like with the song selection, it's a thing. 

So, friends, please be praying for Meg and me as we prepare to lead our students into this well.  Please pray for insight for the students and soft hearts for their non-Christian friends.  Above all, pray that the Gospel will be put out there in a way that is true to the Word and makes sense to its hearers. 

Have an excellent day! 

~Adam