How to Practice a Gospel Presentation

In our personal evangelism seminars, I have found that most participants have heard of a particular gospel script and think they know how to use it.

The practice

Since I use the Bridge Illustration as my default setting, I use it in training others with a little practice exercise.

I use a whiteboard to draw the pictures, go through the script as if I was with a live person.

Then I ask participants to break up into groups of two, and repeat the process.

Then I coach through the process and we debrief the exercise together.

“I thought I knew how”

This hands on experience reveals to most participants that they don’t really know how to present the Bridge Illustration, nor are they initially comfortable with the script.

This practical group exercise

• Helps you practice your presentation
• Reveals gaps in your own understanding
• Increases comfort when the kairos moment comes.
• Reveals your use of Christianeese (words that only make sense to Christians).

Consider this

• Have you picked a gospel script to use as your default setting?
• Are you so familiar with it that you can go through it with ease and flexibility?

Let me suggest this

Find a good friend and ask permission to practice going through your default setting.

• Where do you need to improve your presentation?
• What Christianeese do you need to remove?
• What was clear as mud?
• What was clear as crystal?
• What part do you need to remember more clearly?

If you speak with a non-Christian, let them know you are practicing — that helps alleviate some of the inherent tension in a religious conversation. God can still use it however in bringing a person to faith, but you’ve shared your motive ahead of time.