Kristen

Evangelism in the past relied heavily on canned methods and guilt motivation. But I believe sharing the good news about Jesus can be fun and very natural for every one of us.

Jesus defines personal evangelism in these terms:

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (NIV)

We are called to be witnesses. We don’t need to be professional debaters. We just need to be credible witnesses. A witness is not a judge or jury. A witness is simply someone who tells their story of what they have seen, heard and experienced.

We all have a story to tell.

We are all first hand witnesses to the life changing power of Jesus. People can argue with our ideas but they can’t argue with our story.

Story of the man delivered of demons… He wanted to go with Jesus….

Mark 5:19-20 Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (NIV)

Blind man healed by Jesus questioned by the Pharisees:

John 9:24-26 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner." He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" (NIV)

The blind man was simply a witness- He didn’t know how to answer their hard questions but he had a story to tell. “Jesus healed me. I was blind but now I see.” His story caused them to ask more questions.

We are called to tell our story where ever we go in everyday life. You don’t have to know how to answer all the questions people have.

Use your natural style to tell your story.

Every person has their way of expressing themselves and God uses all styles if it comes out of a heart of compassion and love.

The question is not whether God wants you to share Jesus with others. Some people are outgoing and are prone to be more direct in expressing themselves. Others are more quiet and relational in how they share.

Some are good at asking questions and creating openings, others are good at using natural conversation. Some are good at meeting strangers and some are better at friendship styles of evangelism.

Being a witness for Jesus is to be very natural and everyone here can do this. Everyone has a story to tell. Just find your natural style.

Don’t feel you need to rush people to make a commitment. Just be yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to draw them to Jesus through your friendship and sharing.

Find common experiences to open conversations about Jesus.

Maybe it is an experience that someone else is going through that you can relate to and you share how Jesus made a difference for you. Finances, kids, marriage, work.

Invite people to attend a church service, small group or event with you.

Do you know that according to a Gallup Poll:

• 65 million people in the USA have no church home

• 34 million responded “I would go to church if someone invited me”

• 34 million people are just waiting for an invitation

• Lancaster County Pennsylvania– Estimated that 75% are unchurched

The harvest really is ripe and they are very responsive to Christians who will take time to be friend them and truly care about them. They are not very responsive to canned approaches that smell of religious works.

We need to understand that it is the Holy Spirit’s role to convict people of their sins. Our role is to develop relationships with those who are not yet followers of Jesus and to tell our story.

Let me ask you a question. How many relationships are you nurturing with those who are not Christians? Do you have any activities that include non-Christians?

don’t do missionary dating….big trap and…it doesn't work

Jesus was known as the friend of sinners and never compromised His values.

They felt comfortable around him because He genuinely loved them and was willing to hang out with them.

With that understood let me gently challenge those of us who have been Christians for a long time. I challenge you to consider getting involved in something that will help you develop friendship outside your circle of Christian friends.

• Volunteer as a big brother or sister

• Join a neighborhood sport team

• Start a special interest small group where you can combine Christians with non-Christians – excellent way ….

• Get outside your box

You don’t need specialized training to be a good witness for Jesus. You just need to be authentic and naturally open about Jesus in your daily life conversations.

The enemy has planted a root of fear into our lives about sharing our faith ….but perfect love casts out this fear. God’s love in our hearts is stronger then the fear of sharing when we begin to really love people.

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• #1 Comment from bhbner2him 
  11/13/06 8:14 AM | Permalink

  Great entry!  I have heard several pastors say that in the original language, "Go ye therefore" of the great commission translates more as .....as you go.  Whatever your life, as you live it.  We don't have to sign up to be missionaries to share Jesus.  -  Barbara