Essential (for) Evangelism
Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. – Colossians 4:5-6, NLT
“…we should make it our goal that every woman, every man, every child in our neighborhood, in our city, and in our metro area, has the opportunity to hear the good news of Jesus from somebody they love and make a decision for themselves.” -Mark Ashton, Alliance Life November/December 2023
If we seek to be a winsome witness for Jesus, we have to learn effective ways to share the Good News about Jesus with others. The danger of course is that we become trained in how to share the Good News but never actually put any of it into practice. There are many practical tools available online for free. From video courses on evangelism, to videos that help explain the Gospel, to videos that lead a person through the steps for salvation, our excuse can hardly be that we don’t have the proper resources. The problem usually is getting to “the conversation” with another person. You know the conversation where you simply lay out the good news about Jesus for them to hear and ask questions about. There are many reasons why this is difficult but, we have to overcome those difficulties if we are going to fulfill our mission as winsome witnesses. Here are some practical ideas to help you:
1. Download (and/or memorize) The Bridge to Life diagram. This Navigators Discipleship Tool is an old classic but does such a wonderful job giving all the important parts of the gospel a space. If you can remember 4 categories and a simple picture, you’ve got a portable, practical way to share Jesus with someone. You can download the diagram (it will even work on your phone) here. You can watch or share this video of someone using the diagram here.
2. Set a time for the conversation. Sometimes the hurdle to sharing Jesus with someone is that we are too busy ‘hanging out’ with them. What I mean is, we can talk with a lost person about everything but Jesus (and often do). If we are intentional about setting a time and place for say a coffee or lunch or something, and preface that time by saying, “I have something important to talk with you about…” then its far more likely to happen.
3. Avoid being agenda driven. We’ve all had that moment when we realize that the person we are talking to cares more about their agenda (be it Pampered Chef or a political party), than us as a person. Sadly, if we are not careful, this can be our pre-Christian friend’s experience with our attempt to share Jesus. That doesn’t mean we cannot or should not share the gospel with someone we’ve just met. It does mean that we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Is now a good time? Is there a way to bring Jesus into this conversation?
4. Know your ‘in’ for the Gospel. Most often, you will not have someone come to you and simply ask you to tell them about Jesus and what you believe about Him. (Though that might happen!) The vast majority of opportunities to share the Gospel come as we go deeper in conversation with a person. As we get to know someone, we should be working to recognize their ‘functional saviors’ and their ‘gods’. Everyone has some top priorities, those things or people which matter the most. Everyone has something that is most vital to them. If you don’t know you might even be able to simply ask. “Does your family mean the most in the world to you?” or “Success in your career matters a lot to you doesn’t it?” Those questions seem like they are far from the Gospel but, they are in fact stepping stones. Maybe the question causes the person to ask you the same question. Even if not, once we can diagnose what someone is looking to for meaning and significance, who or what they serve as god, we have traction for sharing the way in which the Gospel displaces those lower-case saviors and gods with the Savior and the God.
5. Be intentional about getting to know non-Christians. One of the greatest difficulties for some in sharing their faith is that they have no one close to them relationally that doesn’t yet know Jesus. This is an easy to document phenomena with followers of Jesus. The primary reason is that most of the people you knew before you met Jesus, are no longer your close friends. That doesn’t make winsome witnessing impossible for you, it simply means you have to intentional. Join a civic organization. Be in a bowling league. Volunteer at a non-profit or school. There are lots of ways to get to know some people who don’t know Jesus yet. Find those ways and be intentional in befriending, praying for, and ultimately sharing Jesus with that person.
Some more great resources can be found here.