Share your Faith
- U and the Mission
- Living The Faith at Work
- Battle over the Bible
- Talking with Mormons
- I am Second
- Irresistible Evangelism - Video on Vimeo.com/CFtraining
Share Your Faith
There was once a dark cave, deep down in the ground, underneath the earth and hidden away from view. Because it was so deep in the earth, the light had never been there. The cave had never seen light. The word “light” meant nothing to the cave, who couldn’t imagine what “light” might be.
Then one day, the sun sent an invitation to the cave, inviting it to come up and visit.
When the cave came up to visit the sun it was amazed and delighted because the cave had never seen light before, and it was dazzled by the wonder of the experience.
Feeling so grateful to the sun for inviting it to visit, the cave wanted to return the kindness and so it invited the sun to come down to visit it sometime, because the sun had never seen darkness.
So the day came, and the sun came down and was courteously shown into the cave.
As the sun entered the cave, it looked around with great interest, wondering what “darkness” would be like. Then it became puzzled, and asked the cave, “Where is the darkness?”
Source Unknown
Natural. Real. Genuine. Authentic. Non-Scripted.
These words describe the life of a Christ-follower who allows their light to shine in them and through them. And just like our story above, the sun did nothing but be himself when he went down into the cave and caused the darkness to dispel, and so should our lives as Christ- followers be. Here at Christ Fellowship we believe that Jesus Christ should be a natural expression of the life of the believer. True evangelism is not merely proclaiming a message of good news; it is becoming a living representative of God’s heart toward people. We believe that you’re the most effective evangelizer when you’re real. Non-threatening.
Here are some pointers to effectively love people and share Jesus with them fluently and enjoyably because it’s a natural expression of who Christ is in you:
View evangelism as a process rather than an event
Sharing your faith is a process that’s best done gradually through a series of conversations with people, building trusting relationships with them over time. Evangelism is helping your non-believing friends take one-step closer to Christ every day and in every way. Try to make the most of every encounter with your non-believing friends to help them take steps toward Christ.
Finding a person’s spiritual address
It may seem obvious, but even a great messenger can deliver mail only if he or she has an address that clearly identifies where the intended recipient lives. So the challenge that precedes all effective evangelism is identifying the “spiritual address” of the people we want to reach. When you sort mail, what do you usually do with the pieces addressed to Resident? That’s right. You toss them in the trash! Traditional evangelistic approaches tend to send the same message to every “unsaved” address; we’ve shown little concern for precision. Every human being on planet Earth has a unique address in relationship to the kingdom of God. Some are very close; others are much farther from faith in Christ. The messages that are likely to get through to a person’s heart are the messages addressed to that person’s individual needs. Think of this in terms of a written address. We are starting at the bottom, with the state where a person lives. Then we move progressively inward to the city, the street, and last of all the most personal part of the address, the person’s name. The goal of delivering God’s mail (message) to a person’s spiritual address is really not difficult at all; it’s mostly a matter of caring enough to identify what the spiritual address of a person is and caring enough to meet people at their spiritual address.
Pray for more passion
Ask God to give you more passion for lost people so you’ll be motivated every day to use your conversations strategically to help them find Christ.
Focus on availability rather than ability
Remember that it’s the Holy Spirit who ultimately draws people to Christ. You shouldn’t feel the pressure of being responsible for how people respond to the Gospel. Your job is simply to lead them to it and give them opportunities to respond. As you make yourself available to God every day, His Spirit will empower you to speak the truth to others in your conversations.
Active Listening
Listen carefully to what your non-believing friends have to say, and listen for their spiritual hunger. Their spiritual hunger often deliberately manifests itself in practical ways. They want to reduce their pain or cope with loneliness and stress. Or maybe they’re seeking ways to control unruly kids or to strengthen their marriages. Individual needs vary so greatly from one person to the next so make sure you actively listen. Listen well giving people your full attention when they speak. Eliminate distractions and focus on what they’re saying rather than thinking of your response while they’re still talking. Make eye contact with them. Reflect back what you think you’ve heard them say, paraphrasing it to clarify whether or not you truly understand them. When you understand people’s perspectives more clearly, you’re more likely to engage them in meaningful dialogue.
Asking the right questions
Use questions to create meaningful conversations. Rather than telling them what they should believe, tactfully ask probing questions in ways that allow them to surface the truth for themselves and evaluate the strength of their beliefs. When they see for themselves the inadequacies and inconsistencies of what they believe, they’ll be curious to hear more about Christ. Phrase your questions in non-threatening ways to minimize people’s defensiveness. Ask questions that clarify the meaning of unclear terms they’re using (for example, if someone says, “I’m a pretty good person so I’m going to get into heaven,” you could ask, “What do you mean by ‘good’?”.). Ask questions that surface uncertainty and expose false beliefs to help people see the cracks in the foundation of their worldview (for example, you could ask, “Do you think that all religious beliefs basically teach the same thing?” and then follow up by asking, “How is it possible for all religions to be the same when some of them contradict each other’s key beliefs?”). To avoid overwhelming people with too many questions, pray for the wisdom to know which issues you should focus on.
Be a builder
Build bridges to the Gospel for people. Find the right balance in your approach between objective evidence (such as evidence for Christ’s resurrection) and subjective experience (such as how people see God at work in your own life as a role model to them). Find common ground with the people you’re trying to reach, and use those areas you have in common as the basis for meaningful dialogue. Earn the right to be heard. Then build a bridge from a point of shared beliefs toward the Gospel. Build “head bridges” by helping people come to understand the Christian faith better. Build “heart bridges” by showing people how Jesus satisfies the longings of their hearts and helps them realize their hopes. Then look for opportunities to transition from preparing people’s minds and hearts to actually sharing the Gospel message with them.
Always be ready
Be prepared to answer people’s spiritual questions at any time. Use every encounter you have with your non-believing friends to help them take steps closer to Christ.
Want to Learn More About Outreach?
If you have questions or would like more information, contact Jaime Gonzalez at 972.547.7055 or
Adapted from Irresistible Evangelism: Natural Ways to Open Others to Jesus, copyright 2003 by Steve Sjogren, Dave Ping, Doug Pollock. Published by: Group Publishing
Adapted from Conversational Evangelism: How to Listen and Speak So You Can Be Heard, copyright 2009 by Norman Geisler and David Geisler. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Or