When was the last time you shared your faith, really shared with someone how they can have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ?
If most of us were honest, it’s been a while, but it doesn’t have to be as awkward as it is in this video. In fact…
the more you share, the more natural it will become. Allow the Gospel to be a regular part of your daily life. You don’t have to “force it” simply be intentional, here’s some tips.
- Spend time in God’s word daily. The more you think about the Gospel and the things of God, the more it will become part of your natural vocabulary. You talk about what you know with your friends, co-workers, family, and even strangers. It is disjointed and unnatural to talk about something that isn’t a regular part of your life.
- Take some time to learn effective ways to share your faith. I recommend, among many others, “One Verse Evangelism” (see my blog post from July to learn how). It’s not that you have to nail down a pre-set outline in order to share your faith, in fact, I recommend not using a “canned” approach. However, if you think through a Gospel presentation there are many benefits. (1) You will be spending time studying God’s word (2) You will have a better understanding of God’s word (3) You can spend more time in a conversation listening and talking rather than thinking about answer. (4) You will know what to say, then they can take it our leave it.
- Pray Pray Pray. It’s amazing how much we try to do before we pray. We believe that God is in control, do we not? Shouldn’t we pray and ask Him to bring opportunities our way? You’ll also find, when you pray for something, you are more open to seeing the answers when they come.
- Make a list of people. Don’t just pray for random people (pray for random people to come, don’t just pray for random people) to come along. Think about people you know or could get to know. Who is there within your broad sphere of influence who doesn’t know Jesus? Try this. Think through every person you know and communicate with. For each person ask yourself “do I know they are a Christian” and if the answer is “I’m not sure” write their name down and pray for them. Then ask. If you don’t know 100% sure, then you don’t know, there’s your list. We should care, right?
- Make appointments. The Gospel is not a product, and you are not a “salesman,” you are simply the messenger. However, if you think of salesmen, they don’t just hope they run into someone to talk to, they are intentional. Isn’t the Gospel worth so much more than a product? You have your list of people, make appointments. Meet them for coffee to catch-up. Have breakfast. Make them cookies. Don’t ambush them, invite them over for coffee cake and Diet Coke. Be a friend. This is not Amway, we are taking about people’s eternal destiny, it’s worth at least as much effort. Doesn’t it?
I hope this is an encouragement. The most important tip I could give in sharing the Gospel is to just do it! Set aside intentional time to prepare yourself and do it. Open your mouth and tell someone about Jesus. Tell a friend your plan and ask them to follow up with you to see if you’re doing it. If it works for Weight-Watchers it can work for the church. Jesus is far more important than losing a few pounds. Get after it!
