In September, we began the Connect>1 Evangelism Campaign. This statewide campaign is short term emphasis on evangelism that we are praying will have long time effects, both with us and the people we share. A large part of this campaign  is the 3151 Challenge which involves us praying for three lost people, learning one gospel presentation, inviting five people to small group/church and sharing the gospel one time. We look forward to hearing how God works in you and through you as you attempt to complete each step of the challenge.

As we are halfway through the 3151 Challenge I want to ask one simple question, “How’s it going?” Are you praying for lost people? Have you learned a gospel presentation? Have you invited anyone to church yet? Have you shared the gospel yet?  I don’t know how each one of you are doing but if I had to guess I would venture to say that if there is one of the tasks that many of us are struggling with, it is the last one- sharing your faith.  For those of us that struggle with sharing the gospel let me suggest an easier path to presenting the gospel.

During the challenged I started reading a book by Greg Laurie entitled “Tell Someone: You Can Share the Good News”. This book is a great and quick read that will encourage any follower of Christ that wants to be a part of the great commission. In the book, the author, encourages readers to use their story to help point people to the gospel . He believes that your story is one of the “most effective tools in your evangelistic tool box.” He notes that your story can help you find common ground with the person you are sharing with and it also serves as a bridge to the gospel.  By sharing your story you can tear down walls and have a more natural path into sharing the gospel. But remember “our story is the bridge, not the destination. The point of sharing your story is so you can tell His story.”

A great place to start sharing your story is to write it out. When thinking about your testimony, you will want to keep in mind three things: your life before Christ, how you came to Christ, and your life after Christ. Once you have your testimony written out, practice telling it to someone. I would recommend telling it to your children. No matter whether they are in the home or grown-up. Telling your children (or other family members) is good for many reasons. You are comfortable with them so that will lessen the pressure. They are comfortable with you so they will be great sounding boards. If you are telling younger children you will have to be careful what words you choose to use because they may not know all of the Christian lingo (which is good because non-Christians don’t either). It may even lead to questions about the gospel with the people you are practicing with.  I practiced this last week with my wife and our foster son and it led to some good questions from him.

Several years ago, I did my first funeral. It was for one of my uncles and he was a believer. He raised two great kids who are following after Jesus and leading their families to do the same but during the funeral his daughter got up to speak and share that she struggled with knowing whether her dad was a Christian because he never told her his testimony. Don’t let this be true of you. Tell your story to your family. It is great practice and it has great benefits. Then once you have practiced it, go and share it with someone God is leading you to.

In Christ,

Pastor Tyler