When it comes to sharing the Gospel, there are what we call 4 sound barriers to get through. They are called sound barriers because each involves your need to speak. Each barrier represents a real point in every conversation where you will be tempted to give into fear and back down. It is important to analyze where you are in a conversation and trust Him to cross the next sound barrier. Once you learn them, it becomes easier to know how you can cross each barrier. 1.Meet someone and initiating a conversation: This can be done in a natural way with easy questions. The most common one that you use and probably don’t even realize is, “Hi! What’s your name?” But you can also think of different questions to start conversations in different scenarios. For example, if you’re standing in a line in a coffee, you can ask, “What’s the best thing on the menu?” Or if you’re outside standing next to someone, comment on the weather. Once you get the conversation started, keep it going with asking more questions about themselves. Think about “what” questions, like, “What brings you outside today?” “What do you like to do in your free time?” “What do you do for a living?” Try to find out their interests, hobbies, life, etc. and try to relate to them. 2. After starting the conversation, the next barrier is to transition your conversation into a spiritual one by asking more thoughtful questions. Ask “what” questions to find out more about their viewpoints, and “why” and “how” questions to clarify and find out more about how they came to believe what they do. What has been your experience with Christianity? What do you think about Jesus? How would you describe your spiritual journey? Do you have a religious background in anything? Why do you believe now? Why did you choose to believe that? How did you come to that perspective? What brought you to those conclusions? 3. The third barrier is actually getting into the Gospel. You can have a spiritual conversation for hours without getting to the Gospel. You can even talk about Jesus, the Bible, and about Christianity without actually sharing the Gospel. This can be the hardest barrier to cross because this is where the lie that, “They will yell at me” or “They don’t want to hear it” come into our minds. My biggest encouragement in this area is to never assume you know what someone does or doesn’t want a relationship with Christ until they say as much. There needs to be a good balance of exposing people to the Gospel and pushing through barriers, and imposing the Gospel when they clearly aren’t ready for it. But don’t skip the Gospel because you’re afraid of what they may or may not say. Ask “leading” questions to transition to Gospel from the conversation you are having. Examples: o If Jesus was standing here and He had one thing to tell you, what do you think He would tell you? Would you mind if I share what I think He would tell you? o Do you know why Jesus came to earth? Would you mind if I tell you His purpose in coming? o If a friend came to you and wanted to know how to become a Christian/to get to heaven, what would you tell them? Do you mind if I show you what the Bible says on how to become a Christian/get to heaven? o What do you think the Bible says about Jesus/being a Christian/getting to heaven/etc.? Can I show you what the Bible says? o Would you like to know for sure if you’re going to heaven or not? o Would you say you know God personally? Would you like to know God personally? Would you like to know for sure that you know God personally? This is where you can use the “Knowing God Personally” booklet. This is not the only way to share the Gospel, but it is an excellent tool that is a simple, concise and complete summary of the full Gospel. It begins with a positive – God loves you. It clearly presents how to receive Christ. They build your confidence in sharing the Gospel because you don’t have to rely on your own memory. You can show a person how to receive Christ in a short period of time. You can send the person home with it so they can read it after your time together. And they are a transferable method for teaching others to witness. 4. The fourth barrier is bringing the person to a point of decision. No presentation of the Gospel is complete without asking them to respond to Christ’s message. Good tools, like the KGP, always include this. Try to always explain the whole Gospel AND ask the person for a decision. At the end of your conversation leave the KGP with them. Even if they aren’t very interested, you can say something like, “Do you have a junk drawer? Would you be willing to take this home and put this in your junk drawer? If you’re ever curious about this later or come across it later you can read it again.” ALSO give them your phone number so they can call you if they have more questions later. (Gender safety) At the end of any discussion where the person accepts Christ or is interested or wants to talk more make sure they have your number and YOU GET THEIR NUMBER TOO!!For 15 great transition questions to get into spiritual conversations, click here. About LeahLeah works with Master Plan Ministries at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Other than watching college students' lives change, she enjoys getting her mind blown by God and His Word, watching sci fi, baking cupcakes, and spending time with her hunky husband. If you'd like to read more from this contributor, type her name in the search box on the top right. Sharing this over at these awesome blogs
1 Comment
5/26/2014 11:55:31 pm
These are some great ideas about evangelism. It is so awesome to see that you are encouraging people to share their faith.
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