Several years ago, I was a participant at the Missionary Learning Center in Rockville, Virginia. While there, we participated in a large group experience where some of us were missionaries and others were members of an unreached people group. I don’t remember the details of the experience, but I do remember that I left feeling like I had a better understanding of relating cross-culturally.
Earlier this week, I was tasked with training the Celebration Church staff on community interaction. I put together a short learning experience based on what I remembered from my time at the Missionary Learning Center. It turned out good for us. I hope it blesses you as well.
The Anthropians
STEP ONE:
Select six people from the group and send them into another room where they cannot hear what is happening in the large room.
STEP TWO:
Explain to both groups of people that they now have a new identity.
- Those in the large group are members of the Anthropian Tribe.
- The Anthropian tribe members only wear one shoe.
- The Anthropians speak English but only in whispers.
- The Anthropians applaud whenever anyone says “thank you” or “good-bye.”
- It is considered polite in the Anthropian culture to hiss and look repulsed whenever someone greets them. ONLY if someone responds in a similar fashion, will they smile and whisper to them.
- The Anthropian leaders wear funny hats. They only speak to non Anthropians when they are introduced to them by other Anthropians. If someone is introduced to a leader by an Anthropian, the leader hisses and looks repulsed. If the new person responds in kind, the Anthropian leader smiles and speaks to them in a whisper. Every so often the leader says “thank you” for no reason, causing those Anthropians around him to applaud.
- There is an Anthropian Ruler who sits on the raised level who never speaks or acknowledges anyone, ever, no matter who they are or what the reason.
- Those now in the “small sent out group” are the missionaries.
- They wear matching shirts
- They speak English in a normal speaking volume
- Their mission is to learn how to interact with the Anthropian Tribe so they can impact their community for the better.
- The mission team consists of:
- A leader who directs the team
- Four team members who carry-out the directions of the leader
- One scribe who takes notes on the what he sees and reports his findings to the group.
STEP THREE:
- In the large group, have the Anthrops gather into circles of 10 with a leader for each group. Give each leader and hat then lead them to practice being Anthrops.
- In the small group, have the missionary leader and team develop a strategy for interacting with the Anthropians.
STEP FOUR:
- Bring the missionaries into the presence of the Anthropians and have them begin their missionary journey. The leader directs, the missionaries engage, and the scribe takes notes.
STEP FIVE:
- The action ends. The missionaries de-brief for 2 minutes while the Anthropians return to their seats. Then, the scribe takes the stand and reports to the whole group the findings of the team.
Large Group Questions:
- Do the Anthropians Need Jesus?
- Why is doing a little anthropology on the Anthropians important to understand their culture if we’re trying to impact their community?
- How can understanding the culture of the communities surrounding our campus help us in impacting them?
*Photo courtesy of Re.zin of Unsplash
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