IDEAS
Some ways to serve the people in your life who do not know God:
1. Ask for permission and don’t be pushy. “Would you mind if I tell you a little about a way God has changed my life?”
2. Be clear and use common language. Try to avoid “church” language. Words like, “born again,” “Savior,” “redemption,” “grace,” “accepting Jesus,”etc., are beautiful and meaningful to Christians but have little or no meaning to people outside the church.
3. Keep it short. Share more as it becomes appropriate. Keep it to two
minutes or less. If you want to write it out, 100 words is a good length.
4. Be humble and focus on what God did. “Look at what God did in my life!”
5. Use a before-and-after pattern. How did God change you?
6. Focus on Jesus as the source of change.
7. Tell your story with joy and passion.
8. Tell a story from your life that connects with their life.
Recommend Reading
REIMAGINING EVANGELISM: INVITING FRIENDS ON A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
By Rick Richardson
Sometimes talking about Jesus with your friends can feel like trying to close a deal on a sales call, pushing something on people they may not really want. But what if you thought of it more like inviting them on a spiritual journey? Imagine being free to be yourself and free for the Spirit to work in you. Imagine that it doesn’t depend on you alone but that you can be an important part of a witnessing community. Imagine telling people stories instead of trying to download content. Here is your invitation to reimagine what evangelism could be for you.
THE TRUE STORY: A CHRISTIANITY WORTH BELIEVING IN
By James Choung
“Christianity seems like just another screwed-up religion’” Anna said. “Seriously, what has Christianity done for us–or for the world, for that matter? They’re just a bunch of hypocrites, that’s what I think! Are they good for anything?” “I don’t know, Anna,” Caleb said. “I just don’t know.” Caleb has been a Christian for a long time. But he realizes that he can’t bring himself to share his faith with anyone because it doesn’t sound like good news anymore. Christianity’s truth claims can come across as hollow. Arrogant, and intolerant. Christians have a bad track record of hating and condemning those they disagree with. Worst of all, it feels like Christianity is just about “saving souls,” giving people an escape ticket to heaven while the world falls apart. Is it only about Jesus forgiving our sins? There must be more to it than that. In this engaging narrative, James Choung, national director of evangelism for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, draws on intergenerational theory and his decades of work in student ministry to identify what’s important to young people about the gospel. Boomers ask if it’s true, Gen Xers ask if it’s real, and millennials ask if it’s good. Get past the old clichés and simplistic formulas. And discover a new way of understanding and presenting the Christian faith that really matters in a broken world.
