Sharing the Gospel
Description
For many Christians, evangelism is a daunting task. **Even after months of training, a dozen gospel conversations, and a tract in my hand, initiating a conversation with a stranger—or transitioning to discussing matters of faith with a non-Christian friend—can still make me nervous.**
I know sharing about the love Christ has for us and what He accomplished on the cross should be the most exciting thing in the world—and it is! But in our hyper-individualistic and post-Christian culture, discussing matters of faith—especially sharing an objective opinion—can cause people to label you as bigoted or narrow-minded.
Mention the name “Jesus,” and often a whole host of emotions flood the listener, shaped by their past experiences—good or bad—in the name of Jesus or Christianity. Still, as followers of Jesus, we must remember that if we believe Christianity is true, then sharing this message is the most loving thing we can do for someone.
**So how do we do this in a way that is not threatening, yet still full of truth?**
Through the Fellows program at Impact 360, we have been learning how to share the gospel through conversations filled with questions, rather than standing and reciting a monologue. Sharing truth and testimony is essential—but not before asking questions, getting to know the person, and learning about their spiritual background. In our postmodern and post-Christian culture, sharing the gospel is becoming increasingly difficult. Often, we first must establish the existence of God, the reality of objective right and wrong, and the fact that humanity is sinful and in need of a Savior, to frame the worldview before we can even begin to share how God sent His only begotten Son.
On Wednesday, all the Fellows participated in a student-led evangelism day! We dispersed in small groups across the Columbus, LaGrange, and Auburn areas. My team went to a retirement center in Columbus with another group of girls and had conversations with the residents and staff, as well as led a time of worship. Some were believers, and some were not, but we were an encouragement to all of them and could share the love of Jesus through listening, friendship, and song.
After spending our morning there, my team visited downtown Columbus near the riverfront. We prayed for the Lord to fill us with His Spirit, to give us words to say, and to cross our paths with people who were eager to learn about Him. Jenna, my partner, and I were walking past the art museum at Columbus State University when we saw two students sitting in a courtyard. We began by asking them questions using a worldview and spiritual beliefs survey, but as time passed, we began conversing. As we talked about the existence of truth, God, and moral laws, they shared with us that they were either atheistic or agnostic and had both suffered significant hurt or judgment from other Christians in their lives.
Jenna and I realized that in this situation, reciting the gospel wouldn’t get us anywhere. The Holy Spirit helped us to see that what these two people needed was to be heard and loved. In the end, we were able to challenge them to consider the evidence for God, the existence of objective morals, and to research who Jesus really was.
All in all, it was a fruitful conversation to end a great day of spreading the good news and love of Jesus!
In His Love,
Caleb Henderson
Class XIX
Maintained by Impact 360 Institute.
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