June 15, 2009
by Insight for Living
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God has provided an open door. A conversation with a friend, an acquaintance, or a family member turns to spiritual questions, and suddenly you find yourself with an opportunity to explain what having a relationship with God really means.
What do you do now?
No matter where your comfort level rests in terms of personal evangelism, the reality is that God has designed an opportunity, and He desires to use you to change someone’s life. Incredible, isn’t it?
1. The Power of Your Story
The most valuable way for you to share the best thing that’s ever happened to you is by telling your own story, your testimony, in a firsthand account. Share candidly and personally with your friend or family member how your life has changed since you gave your life to Christ.
When you share your story, open your life to them in a non-threatening way. Explain who Jesus Christ is and the personal difference He has made in your life. When you give evidence of how the power of God has transformed your life, you illustrate one instance of the miracle of salvation. Even if your testimony isn’t filled with fireworks and tragedy, it’s a miracle. People are looking for evidence that God exists and that He is personally involved in individual lives. Your story proves that God wants to know you . . . and them. More than a formula or technique, evangelism is a way of living—being available to God in the opportunities He gives you.
2. Ask the Right Questions
How can I share Christ with a stranger? When Jesus shared the good news, He met people on their turf—tax collectors, adulterers, well-educated leaders, little children, physically impaired men and women, and common laborers. He often began His conversations by asking questions, and then He listened carefully to the answers given. (Read John 4.)
Philip used the same model in Acts 8 when he chanced upon the Ethiopian official reading from the Old Testament. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
You can follow this model today by learning to ask the right questions, by listening, and by responding to the needs before you. When you find yourself with an open door of opportunity, try one of these questions to get the conversation started:
- What is it that you believe the world needs more than anything else?
- Do you ever wish you could make a fresh start in life?
- What really will make people successful in the twenty-first century?
- So, what do you think people mean when they say they know God?
Let’s be faithful to live and be ready to share the gospel in every conversation (2 Timothy 4:2).