It’s not about me November and I wanted to share with you a lesson I learned the hard way about evangelism and how it pushed my comfort zone, uncomfortably. In high school I went to visit my grandparents, who are believers in a different religion, the first chance my grandmother had she tried to take me to her church and get me to convert to that religion. I respectfully told her that I followed Jesus Christ and that I wasn’t interested in this other religion, she turned to me angrily and told me how disappointed my parents must be in me for following Christianity. It was a huge blow to my confidence in sharing my faith, especially with her. Several years later I felt more comfortable in evangelism and sharing my faith when meeting new people or sharing with friends, but the comfort zone ended at sharing my faith with my grandmother. I was getting ready to go on a mission trip in 2011 and I went to visit my grandparents again so I could see them before I left. My grandmother opened up opportunities where I could have shared why it is that I follow Jesus Christ but each time the opportunity came up I felt uncomfortable and afraid of her rejection or the possibility it could end up with her extremely mad at me and not wanting me to be part of the family anymore. When I drove out of their driveway I waved goodbye and drove home in tears because of how much my heart was breaking for my family who did not know, really know, who Jesus Christ was. I guess I thought another opportunity would come up in the future where I felt more comfortable, a perfect opportunity, but that opportunity would never come with my grandmother again. Three months later while I was on my mission trip I got an e-mail that my grandmother passed away unexpectedly. The amount of grief I had was immense. I grieved her leaving this world, but more I grieved that I did not take the opportunity to share the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ alone by faith with her. So this Not About Me November I wanted to challenge you that sharing your faith isn’t about you, it is about the person you are sharing your faith with and ultimately it's about Jesus' passion for them to know Him. They might not take it well, they might reject you, but in the light of eternity it is worth any amount of rejection or discomfort you may have. If you are like me and have family you love who are completely unopened to hearing about Jesus Christ I want you to know that I am praying for God to give you the perfect opportunities, words, and selflessness to share with them, and that their hearts may be opened to receive it. Check out the rest of the Not About Me November Series About HopeHope McCleary graduated from Mesa State College with a degree in Mass Communications. After graduating she spent two years working in local news at KKCO 11 News in Grand Junction, Co. She decided to give up her career in the media to share the message of Christ full-time. She joined full-time staff with Master Plan Ministries the summer of 2012 and got married to Forrest McCleary in September of 2012. Through her own personal ups and downs in college Hope has a heart for college women understand their worth as God’s daughters, to see them grow in their faith, to grow in the unique gifts God has given them, and to stand firm in their faith even with the pressures of the world all around them. Hope’s interests include world and local missions, photography, singing, playing guitar and writing music, reading, meeting new people, coffee, and hiking. Want to read more from this contributor? Put her name in the search box at the top.
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4 Comments
Hope,i started reading this because the title of the post had me curious.Fear of rejection and disappointment is so hard to swallow but that's exactly what we did to Christ,yet he did not back away from us and redeemed us.And you are so right in saying that in the light of eternity, any amount of discomfort and rejection is worth it.I will remember that.
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Hope McCleary
11/5/2013 09:48:29 am
Nive, thanks for your comment. I am glad you came across the article and I pray God gives you many opportunities to share your faith!
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11/6/2013 11:36:06 pm
Hope, thank you for such an important reminder. Sharing the gospel is hard especially with very close friends and family. ultimately, we have to trust that God is the one to bring people to him. He will grow the seeds we plant even if we face rejection in this world. Thank you for encouraging us to see our role this way!
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11/8/2013 02:45:28 am
This is such a spiritually rich blog. Thank you for sharing your vision of living missionally as women for the Lord.
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