Culture Matters Costa Rica

Philippians 2:1-18

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things without grumbling or disputing, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷ Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸ Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

“Culture” is one of those buzzwords that is everywhere today… from books on corporate culture like good to great or culture code… or books on sports team culture like Captain Class… we all know that group culture can significantly impact the health and effectiveness of any group.

One of the things that sets Royal Servants apart from other mission trip is our unique and intentional culture.  The first night at Training Camp we establish our team cultural guidelines through our acronym PRIORITIES. Ask your student when they get home and they will recite it for you. We expect students to be prompt, responsible, to take the initiative, and to be organized. Sometimes parents hear these expectations and laugh… “my student can’t be those things, I’ve been trying for years.” But when the community is gathered around a shared expectation for the purpose of the mission and all their peers are holding them accountable it is so encouraging to see students rise to these simple expectations.

These expectations that we gather around as a community are not arbitrary or incidental, they are essential for the effectiveness of our ministry. Part of our culture at Royal Servants is that we leave a place where we are staying cleaner than we found it and it doesn’t matter whether we are staying at a hotel, hostel, camp ground, or church. If we are a burden to our hosts and our ministry partners or a nuisance in the community, it will negatively impact our ability to share the gospel. On the other hand, if we are a blessing in simple practical ways, we will create space in the wider community for the gospel to be heard.

The third “I” in PRIORITIES is “I, that’s the problem, yield your rights.” This phrase is our attempt to memorably sum up Philippians 2:3-4, “³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” For us to effectively share the gospel in the community, we must be unified. For us to be unified each of us as individuals must, at times, set aside our preferences and desire for the sake of loving our neighbors on our missions team and loving our neighbors in the community with the gospel. The false gospel of the self and self-expression, that is so prevalent in American culture, must be replaced by the Fruit of the Spirit for our teams to function successfully.

Since, transitioning to Costa Rica, our team has been continuing that work that we started at Training Camp of building a healthy community out of which the gospel will shine forth. Our first day of ministry got rained out. Costa Rica suffered a drought through the summer and we are now into their rainy season and rainy it has been since we have arrived. The rain is God’s goodness to the people of Costa Rica – farming and hydroelectrical power are cornerstones of their economy – but for us, as our ministry is exclusively outside, it has been a challenge to work around. With our first day a washout, we spent the afternoon getting to know the youth group here at the church, many of whom serve as interpreters for us as we minister throughout the summer. Thursday, our second day of ministry, we went to a small community near our home base of Cachi and setup games for children on the local soccer field. Many kids came out and our summer staff Noelle boldly shared the gospel in Spanish to the kids and parents who were present.

On Friday, we took the long bus ride back to San Jose to minister in the capital city’s central park. We did two session of street evangelism during our time at the park. Our puppet team performed for kids. Our dance team helped draw a crowd and our drama team worked to effectively illustrate the gospel. After the performances, our team branched out in small groups to the share the gospel with many families and individuals. Many allowed our team members to pray for them and their families. We continue to pray that these gospel encounters would be seeds that would grow in the hearts of the people that they would develop a thriving personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

May God’s Kingdom Come and His will be been done in Costa Rican culture as it is in heaven, that the world would know that Jesus is LORD because of the church in Costa Rica.

Matt Swanson

Costa Rica Trip Leader

July 6 2024