When you dig around to discover what many believers are scared of, sharing their faith is on the top list. The idea of approaching a complete stranger and then telling them to come to Jesus due to their sinfulness is appalling. A lot of questions fill our minds at this moment. We neither know where to begin the conversation nor how to introduce the person to Jesus. The spiritual health of a believer deteriorates when they stop sharing their faith. Before we dive into the various methods of sharing our faith, let us look at some reasons why we do not share the good news.
In the book The Millennial Missionary the author identifies three reasons why we should evangelize. The first is because of the love that God has for the world, including the sinners. Despite the smallness of man, God gave up everything to restore His relationship with him. The man then is only saved from destruction only after his encounter and acceptance of the love of God. The second reason we should share our faith is that Jesus commands it of everyone who follows him. Contrary to many people’s opinions, sharing our faith is not designated for church elders and their pastors.
In many examples all over the gospels, Jesus taught that it was the responsibility of all of us. Paul, a single man, arrested by the command of Jesus, used every resource available to him to reach the known world during his time. Then finally, he writes that we must share our faith to defend our convictions. 1 Peter 3:15 says that every believer should be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in him, with meekness and fear.
Sharing your faith does not only involve filling the church with new people, repeated calls for decisions, or traveling overseas. It is simply sharing the good news. It is lighting the candle of another person in darkness after yours has been lit. It is not sharing denominational truth but introducing Jesus in the life of your hearers. It is the goodness of Jesus.
Now let us look at six ways you can easily share your faith with others. I believe after going through the following tips; you will be afraid to share your faith anymore.
- Pray
Before embarking on the journey to transform your community, a decision at a time, while deep in prayer, grace, peace, and strength for the journey, is poured out. Bringing people out from darkness into the marvelous light of God is war. This battle is not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers. Your zeal and passion are not enough to win. Brethren, it is for this reason that we can not afford to slack in the place of prayer.
Prayer avails tremendous power. Prophet Elijah prayed, and it stopped raining. Three years into the famine, he prayed again, and it started raining. In the early church, they spent a lot of time in prayer before going into the field. Today we take ten minutes in prayer then go for hours in the field.
- Sharing Your Testimony
There is nothing that resonates with an unbeliever more than a testimony. The presentation of the first-hand experience of the believer’s life brings such a strong point of view for the unbeliever. With testimony, you are not reciting Greek translations of the Bible; you are instead reciting what you have seen, touched, and heard the lord do in your life. Scripture describes a testimony as one of the weapons that we must use to overcome the evil one (Revelation 12:11).
The testimony is a story of five parts of your past, present, and future.
- Foreword
This is a prologue with a theme. It can be relationships, reputation, school, or family. Here you explain what your life revolved around and how he used it to bring you back to himself.
- Your life Before Christ
Paint a picture of what your life was like. Do not dwell on the struggles too much. Share details that relate to your theme and your need for Christ.
- Your coming to Christ
Introduce the why and how you became a Christian. Communicate this part well so that the person you are talking with can understand how they would make the step. The unbeliever can use your story at a later time to bring them to salvation.
- Your life in Christ
Accentuate the changes in your life after knowing Christ. It can be a change in attitudes, character, mood, or the presence of peace. Provide a realistic example. Salvation life is not perfect, but there is undoubtedly a difference in contrast to your previous one.
- Conclusion
Now summarise your story and connect it back to your theme. And give the person the opportunity to make a decision.
3. Invite And Visit People At Home.
In the early church, many of them met at house churches (Philemon 2). While on campus, I saw many believers hosting birthdays and other celebrations as a way of doing outreach. You can also host events, game nights, investigative bible study, and so forth. Visiting other people is also a brilliant way to reach out. During a period when most of us are professionals that have no time for God, this works. Visiting homes provides an eye-opener regarding the needs people have. And when you fulfill such needs, a door of ministry opens up in the lives of people.
During the visitation or hosting, you can use these two EE diagnostic questions to share the gospel. (the questions are taken from Evangelism Explosion)
Question 1: Have you reached a place in your life where you are sure that you would be going to heaven if you died tonight?
If they answer affirmatively, then move on to the next question. If the response is No, then you can share the gospel front there.
Question 2: why do you think God would allow you into heaven?
4. Personal Conversations
The next method that we can use to reach out to others is one on one conversations. Naturally occurring discussions with police officers, teachers, friends, taxi drivers, or public transport passengers create great pockets of opportunity.
A great example of a life that was changed by sharing personal conversations was the thief on the cross. He had not expected to be on the cross with the savior of the world. Suppose Christ had not engaged in his conversation. In the same way, we may never know which person needs our conversation on their salvation; therefore, when the opportunity comes, share.
5. Media
We are in a world that consumes media content from morning to late at night. Never have we had an opportunity to converse and meet people from all over the world like we do today. This also offers an excellent opportunity to reach people who would have never been reached by any other method. Stories have been told of people from anti-Christian countries receiving salvation through a television program. While not many of us can afford the budget of running a Christian show on a worldwide channel, we have access to people on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Tik Tok, to mention a few.
Broadcast evangelism enables us to reach a greater spectrum of individuals. Let us take advantage of the platform that social media has brought. Just like the parable of the sower, it’s not all the seeds that will fall on fertile soil, but those that do will result in a bountiful harvest.
6. Discipling New Converts
Discipleship is probably the most overlooked part of the chain of sharing our faith. Many come into the church, and after they decide to get saved, they do not get discipled. It is unwise to believe that decisions are enough to keep a believer from backsliding and being encouraged when facing trials. A follower or disciple is someone who, because of God’s awakening grace, conforms his whole life to the ways and words of Jesus (Acts 26:28).
The process of discipling is slow and requires a lot of patience. No newborn becomes mature in a few days. We then should study the life of Jesus with his disciples to learn how to nurture new believers that join the fold. Through discipleship, Jesus took tax collectors, fishermen, doctors, and even thieves to become the men that turned the world upside down. They were from different backgrounds: academically, family, and even financially. Yet, they learned to govern their attitudes, endure hardships, trust God, raise others like them, establish the church, and even die for the sake of the good news.
Today I encourage you to hold somebody’s hand. Teach that person how to stand for Christ, supervise their walk with the lord, encourage them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. New converts should be taught how to examine their priorities, study the Bible, and pray. There are a lot of other ways we can use to share our faith. However, the six we have discussed above will continually point us in the right direction.