3. Cultural Distance: P-Scale
While the E-scale represents the cultural distance that Christians go, or need to go to bring the Gospel to different people groups, the P-scale represents the cultural distance potential believers must move in order to join a church. Lets look closer at the P-Scale and see what it teaches us.
P-0: People in the Local Church Setting
In this group there are no cultural barriers to their belief, they may just not have given their heart to the Lord. These people have their social circle within the church and its culture. P-0's would feel out of place without church culture around them. John the Baptist was an E-0 reaching out to P-0’s when he said, “Produce fruit that shows your repentance.” The people he was reaching were not different from his own customs, culture, or language they just needed change of heart.
P-1: People Who Could fit in a Local Church with Some Adjustment
These peoples biggest barrier is the culture of the church itself. They do not understand the vocabulary and are not generally familiar with church life and church activities. However, they do have many common interests and expectations as the church, as far as the social atmosphere is concerned. Some of these people may feel antagonistic feelings towards church due to being burned by a church, or because they had backslidden.
P-2: People who would have to sacrifice themselves culturally to belong to a local church, requiring a significant loss of friendships and family ties.
There are often two barriers to their belief. First, the culture from which they come from in all of its forms, and secondly, the local church culture to which they are extracted. These people must cross barriers of culture, race, and identity to join a local fellowship and are highly unlikely to do that. When P-2’s hear of Jesus, they may develop
a high regard for him, but he cannot see a way to become his disciple and will remain within his personal community. Faith in Jesus can mean immediate, significant, and even life threatening persecution.
P-3: People that Know Nothing of Church or Jesus and don’t know what it means to Participate.
There are three barriers to their belief and they are significant. They are language and communication, the culture itself, and the micro-culture of the local church. Probably the most obvious and immediate example of P-3’s are indigenous tribes who speak a different language, who have never seen Christianity or church work, and whose culture has not developed a way of doing church.
In Summary
The P-scale represents the cultural distance potential believers must move in order to join a church.
P-0: People in the Local Church Setting
In this group there are no cultural barriers to their belief, they may just not have given their heart to the Lord. These people have their social circle within the church and its culture. P-0's would feel out of place without church culture around them. John the Baptist was an E-0 reaching out to P-0’s when he said, “Produce fruit that shows your repentance.” The people he was reaching were not different from his own customs, culture, or language they just needed change of heart.
P-1: People Who Could fit in a Local Church with Some Adjustment
These peoples biggest barrier is the culture of the church itself. They do not understand the vocabulary and are not generally familiar with church life and church activities. However, they do have many common interests and expectations as the church, as far as the social atmosphere is concerned. Some of these people may feel antagonistic feelings towards church due to being burned by a church, or because they had backslidden.
P-2: People who would have to sacrifice themselves culturally to belong to a local church, requiring a significant loss of friendships and family ties.
There are often two barriers to their belief. First, the culture from which they come from in all of its forms, and secondly, the local church culture to which they are extracted. These people must cross barriers of culture, race, and identity to join a local fellowship and are highly unlikely to do that. When P-2’s hear of Jesus, they may develop
a high regard for him, but he cannot see a way to become his disciple and will remain within his personal community. Faith in Jesus can mean immediate, significant, and even life threatening persecution.
P-3: People that Know Nothing of Church or Jesus and don’t know what it means to Participate.
There are three barriers to their belief and they are significant. They are language and communication, the culture itself, and the micro-culture of the local church. Probably the most obvious and immediate example of P-3’s are indigenous tribes who speak a different language, who have never seen Christianity or church work, and whose culture has not developed a way of doing church.
In Summary
The P-scale represents the cultural distance potential believers must move in order to join a church.
- P-0’s are people in the local church setting.
- P-1’s are people who could fit in a local church with some adjustment.
- P-2’s are people who would have to sacrifice themselves culturally and relationally to belong to a local church.
- P-3’s are people that know nothing of church or Jesus and don’t know what it means to participate.
Next we will look closely at the significance for understanding these scales and what it means.