Though sharing your faith with someone who does not have a relationship with Jesus is a command that comes from Jesus himself (Matthew 28:18-20), most Christians don’t do so. The average Christian has never had a Gospel conversation with someone who does not follow Jesus. There are a number of reasons for this, and they vary depending on culture, but one of the primary reasons is comfort.
No one I know has these types of faith conversations, so do I want to be the weird guy who brings up Jesus out of nowhere? What will people think of me? What if I they have questions and I don’t know the answer? Won’t it be awkward because these conversations don’t occur naturally? How do I even discuss such a complicated topic?
Have you had any of those thoughts? I know I have. Those are some of the insecure thoughts that keep people from taking the faith step of having a Gospel conversation and almost everyone who shares their faith, from the person doing it for the first time to the famous published apologist, has had those thoughts at some time in their life. Indigitous is about empowering people to become digital missionaries, so we have some thoughts about how digital strategies can help with this.
Teach Me To Share is an exciting new tool that can help with the uncertainty and anxiety that goes along with taking the step to share your faith. Teach Me To Share is part of the GodTools app, but whereas the other tools on GodTools are Gospel presentations that guide you through the last question (How do I even discuss such a complicated topic?), Teach Me To Share is about preparing you to even have that conversation.
God is with you
The tool begins with a reminder that God is with you. That might sound like meaningless Christian-ese – of course God is always with you – but it isn’t. When taking the step to share your faith, it’s important to remember that God is the one in control and it is He who changes hearts, not you. As the tool says, “Successfully sharing your faith isn’t about making someone believe. It’s taking the initiative to share the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.” That realization should be freeing.
What do you say?
Okay, so you’ve taken the step to have a faith conversation, but what do you say? The conversation will go differently if you’re talking to a good friend, a coworker, or someone from a group outreach event, for example. The Teach Me To Share tool gives some advice and conversation starters for each of those groups, as well as others, to help you think about how to have the conversation.
How do I make it a good experience?
Have you ever had a bad experience with someone attempting to share their faith with you? I have. Once when I was in college I was walking to class and a guy stopped me and asked, “If you were to die today, do you think you would go to Heaven?” I was caught off-guard so I just said, “I sure hope so.” I was in a rush and couldn’t stay to have a conversation so he just handed me a tract that explained the Gospel.
The truth is I was already a follower of Jesus at that point. In answering his question, I probably should have said yes, but I said I hope so because my faith exists in uncertainty. There’s no way to know for sure, with 100% certainty, and that’s why it’s called faith. He took the answer to mean I needed to learn about the Gospel. He didn’t listen to me and have an authentic conversation. That was partially my fault because I was in a rush and didn’t give him much time, but the fact remains that it was an uncomfortable and overall bad experience. How can you avoid that when you share the Gospel?
The Teach Me To Share tool gives advice on that, offering four tips to make the Gospel conversation a good experience:
- Listen
- Be authentic
- Practice
- Respond lovingly
Teach Me To Share is just one tool, and it may not be what you need to get started, but it is a great option for someone who wants to take that first step but is troubled by uncertainty or anxiety. Indigitous will be highlighting other tools and strategies to help break down whatever barriers you have to sharing your faith, so be on the lookout for them. And of course, pleasure share your thoughts and experiences with us as well.