Dear church,
I hope we are a church that continually proclaims the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know it or have not placed their faith in Him. Whether that’s with your neighbors as you walk the neighborhood or the staff at a place you regularly grab lunch or coffee, every one of us has opportunities to share the Gospel. In order to encourage you and help you do that more effectively, here are a few things to concentrate on and a few things to avoid.
· Pray for people you share the Gospel with. Ask God to give them eyes to see and ears to hear this good news.
· Avoid using “Christianese” (words that are only familiar to Christians). I love the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement, but I rarely (if ever) mention it in evangelistic settings. Use words that make the Gospel plain.
· Establish a personal relationship. Remember a person’s name and a few basic details about their life such as the number of children they have, a hobby they enjoy, or a burden they told you about.
· Avoid making them feel like a target. Let a conversation flow more naturally to the Gospel by mentioning weekend plans or inviting them over for dinner.
· Be able to summarize the Gospel in 60 seconds or less. Make sure to tell a person about the perfection of God, sinfulness of every person, death and resurrection of Jesus, and God’s call to place our faith in Jesus to be saved. You may rarely state it like this, but it is a helpful checkpoint in preaching the biblical Gospel.
· Avoid having all the answers. This one seems counter-intuitive, but should be great encouragement, as you fear a question you cannot answer. Instead of giving an answer, suggest you study the Bible and answer questions together or ask for some time to talk to another Christian and have a follow-up conversation.
Pray for boldness to share the good news of Jesus with a friend this weekend.
For the sake of His name,
Pastor Adam