Perhaps you’ve spent time sharing your faith (maybe a few years) by

• Developing authentic relationships with non-believers
• Faith sharing conversations over dinner
• Answering difficult questions

Yet, they never seem to get the faith you share with them.

Years of faith sharing with little results

Some of you probably have encountered this.

I know I have.

There are people in my life that no matter how much I share my faith, they remain apart from Christ.

As an evangelist, that’s hard.

I remember one person with whom I shared my faith with for four years.  Nothing.

Apostle Paul shared his faith with the same person for two years!

At the end of Acts 23, the apostle Paul was sent to Felix, the governor. Felix had Paul guarded in Herod’s palace (Acts 23: 35) until he had the chance to hear Paul himself (Acts 24).

After the hearing, Felix gave Paul some ”freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs” (24:23)

Felix had some level of spiritual curiosity, and some working knowledge about the followers of Jesus (Acts 24:22), even if it was only on a political level as the movement of Christianity spread.

Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. (v24)

Paul and Felix discussed Jesus and what it means to follow Jesus.

 25 As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

I can imagine that Felix even experienced the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in some of those conversations.  Even if there were some hidden motives for hearing Paul (like bribery – v. 26), Felix still got to hear of Jesus and the implications of being a disciple of Christ.

These faith sharing conversations went on for the next two years (v.27).

Even though Paul was a prisoner, it’s hard not to imagine that a friendship developed, or at least a level of mutual respect between these two men as Paul shared his faith.

We can speculate some of the relationship dynamics that changed over the course of the next two years.

Two years of faith sharing, no immediate fruit

I can imagine (and this is santicified imagination) Paul doing the following

• Praying for Felix on a regular basis.
• Asking God for how to talk with Felix.
• Waiting for God to open the heart of Felix to respond.
• Frustration when Felix cuts the conversation short when it gets personal.
• Rejoicing when questions were answered to the satisfaction of Felix
• Celebrating the apparent progress Felix was making on the journey to faith.

Yet Felix was appointed somewhere else and was no longer in Paul’s life.  The end of the road together had come.

Two years, Felix and Paul talked about Christianity, salvation, following Jesus, etc, yet Felix still walked away without having surrendered his life to Christ.  I would imagine author Luke would have reported on Felix’s conversion if it had happened.

Sharing faith without results?

Perhaps you are in a similar situation of sharing your faith with someone who seems to have spiritual curiosity, but just won’t surrender.

Like Felix, they keep cutting the faith conversation short when it gets personal.

They simply avoid the hard questions of surrender.

What can we do?

1.  Don’t give up.

Keep praying for your friend.

Keep spending time with them.

Enjoy life together.

Keep sharing your faith and answering their questions.  They are on a spiritual journey

They are your friend, not your evangelistic project, so keep the relationship authentic.

2.  Trust God’s sovereignty.

I’ve heard testimony from people who have come to faith 15 years after I shared with them.

Remember the friend I shared my faith with for nearly 4 years without success?

Fifteen years later, she tells me she became a Christian.  Those seeds I planted produced a harvest.

God can keep the story going, even if you are no longer in the picture.

This was a question my neighbor asks while we visit at the poolside on a spring day.

While our kids are splashing, shouting, screaming, laughing and diving into the water, my friend talks with me about deep issues of the heart.

How did we get to this point?

1.  He is my friend.

We laugh and talk about life over a cup of coffee.  Our kids play together.

We also have a history of sharing concerns and preoccupations.

In other words, we are friends.

We are friends who share life together.  He is not my evangelistic project.

I know that sharing faith in the context of genuine friendships has the deepest impact in making life change.

2.  We pray for them.

As a habit, we have regularly prayed for them as well as all of our neighbors.

We pray specifically that they would experience spiritual thirst and that God would give us the eyes to see those conversational opportunities.

I was sensitive and alert to the moment when his thirst was expressed in the form of his question.

I know that sharing faith will not happen unless we have prepared the way in prayer.

3.  Our faith is visible

Our faith is visible without being obnoxious.

For example, we celebrate birthdays and anniversaries together.  They’ve given us permission to publically pray with them at such events.

We invite them to church on a regular basis, as well as to other church gatherings like picnics and community service opportunities.

We share how we do family devotions as parents, talk about the Bible with our kids, and testimonies to how God answers our prayers.  Our faith is not hidden as private matter behind close doors.  It’s part of who we are.

Our faith is visible and open for examination.  Sharing faith is not revealing a secret about who we really are.

Sharing Faith is easy in the security of relationship

It was easy to share my faith that day at the pool side.

In the security of a authentic friendship, he felt comfortable asking me a deeply spiritual question.

Because we had been walking together in life for several months, I had earned the credibility to potentially speak into his life.

This day at the poolside, he gave me permission to share my faith, particularly about his question on forgiveness.

I shared my faith in Jesus, how I encountered forgiveness in Jesus, and how I knew that I had been reconciled to God.

It wasn’t a scripted monologue, but a two way conversation between friends about my faith and his search for forgiveness.

At the end, his last question was

“How can I have this like you have it?”

That day, after hearing the good news, he asked God to forgive him.

I’ve had deeply personal conversations with strangers, and have led strangers to Christ.

But those conversations were the results of months of spiritual preparation by their friends who were already speaking into their life – I just happened to be a confirming piece of information they were looking for.

Statistics in various studies have shown that the verbal and life witness seen through personal relationships with genuine Christians are what lead new believers.

For example, in Shawn Anderson’s nationwide study in the US (in (Living Dangerously: Seven Keys to Intentional Discipleship), writes

The results revealed that, indeed, individuals were influenced to commit their lives to Jesus by people who modeled Jesus in their lives.

4 Reasons that Relationship Evangelism Works.

As I thought about this, here are 4 reasons why relationships are important in personal evangelism.

1. You’ve got credibility.

From reading unChristian, the Church as an institution doesn’t have a lot of credibility. Your friend might even have a crazy relative or obnoxious friend who is always forcing a Jesus-conversation upon them.

For your friend to become a Christian, they need a credible witness: someone who is normal.

Your friend trusts you and your ideas, even if they don’t agree with you. You’ve built respect in your relationship and that fosters the positive credibility to be a person of influence.

Growth step: In which relationships with non-Christians do you need to improve credibility? What can you do this week to change that?

2. You’ve got visibility.

Over time, people can see what defines your life. Your interests, hobbies, and choices, plus how you respond to circumstances, are visible to your friend.

For example, with my friends, I can talk about

• my calling,
• how I experience God’s provision for our work
• what I’m learning from my devotional life with God.
• how God is at work in the life of our church as people find faith
• knowing the presence of God’s peace in the midst of our challenges.

They see that I choose

• Giving $$ to mission projects that advance the gospel.
• Going to church over cutting the yard on a beautiful Sunday
• Godly ways I raise my children as I get wisdom from God’s word.
• Giving vacation time to foreign missions with my family instead of a week at the beach.

I am comfortable in expressing the spiritual side of my life: my walk with Christ. People hear that I walk with God. They hear current stories of what God is doing in my life.

Growth Step: Can you talk about your spiritual life with Christ? What story God’s activity in your life can you share with a friend?

3. You’ve got accessibility.

When strangers interrupt our life with some agenda they are pushing, we are naturally defensive.

But in your relationships, you’ve got access to speak to deep places.

You’ve got access to hearing their needs, hopes, desires and struggles. They call on you when life throws them a curve ball.

They might share with you how they face financial ruin.

They might share with you how they are headed towards divorce.

In the safety of credible relationships, you’ve got access to their deepest needs when they come to the surface. You’ve got access when they start to talk about their spiritual thirst.

Very rarely will a stranger get that level of access.

Growth Step: What steps can you take this week to deepen your relationships with non-Christians?

4. You’ve got “speakability”.

Within the safety of a trusted relationship you have earned the right to speak freely about faith.   You’ll have earned the right to speak about your friend’s faith.

You’ll have earned the right to speak to their spiritual thirst when you hear it.

And this conversation may not be just at one time, but over the course of several conversations spread out over time.

The people that I have most influenced for the kingdom of God are people who allowed me to speak into their life over a season of time.

I’ve been able to ask about their beliefs, talk intelligently about them, and even disagree without being obnoxious about it.

Growth step: Have you heard your friend speak about their spiritual restlessness?  Pray that the Lord gives you a chance to speak into that.

Today’s Guest post is “Top 10 Evangelism Mistakes, Number Five” from Shawn Anderson’s Living Dangerously blog.  Shawn has written a book on Personal Evangelism that I recently finished.  We’ll be hearing more from him later this month in a webinar.

To get that announcement make sure you are on my newsletter list or that you’ve grabbed one of the Feed Options in the side bar.

Top Personal Evangelism Mistake #4

Neglecting to Build Relationships

A couple of years ago, our church planned to have a picnic in one of our city parks.

We decided to canvass the neighborhood and invite people to join us.

As one of our members was handing out flyers, he struck up a conversation with one of his new neighbors.

As he described the picnic to her, she smiled and her eyes lit up.

She even offered to supply some of the food.

But as soon as she noticed the stack of flyers my friend was holding in his hands, her expression turned from excitement to dismay.

In that instant, she realized that he was not only inviting her, but the whole neighborhood.

She imagined that her new friend was extending an invitation directly to her, but she likely ended up feeling as insignificant as a used piece of gum.

She did not come to the picnic.

Everyone wants to feel special

Everyone wants to feel special; no one wants to feel like “one of the crowd.”

Jesus understood the value of relationships.

He was the kind of person who would jump into shark-infested waters to save a minnow from being eaten! His life was dedicated to demonstrating his love to others by entering into relationships with them.

Relationship was so crucial to Jesus’ mission that he selected twelve men with whom he could personally invest three years of his life. As a result of his relationships with them, millions of people are followers of Jesus.

Most new disciples are influenced through friendships

Too often, we have assumed it is easier to recite a scripted conversion speech than develop relationships with unbelievers.

On the contrary, our research revealed that most people are influenced to become Jesus followers because of close relationships with believers. Further, in most cases it takes over a year for someone to be led to Christ.

If we want to be serious about fulfilling the Great Commission, we need to be prepared to devote ourselves to developing long-term relationships with unbelievers.

This requires us to initiate sincere relationships with others. It also demands that we invest our time, patience and commitment to the process of making disciples.

Who do you know that needs Jesus, and how can you build a relationship with that person?

Dr. Shawn D. Anderson is a minister and professor. He has a doctorate in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University. Shawn’s book is entitled, Living Dangerously: Seven Keys to Intentional Discipleship. He can be reached at docshawn.com

It’s a very short read at only56 pages, but it tells a very powerful story of his life.

He self-published it in hopes of getting the story out.

Freddy admits his addiction to work and things destroyed his marriage, his family, and nearly his own life, but through a series of circumstances, God brought him to a place of faith.

The Principles of Testimony

Pastor Valcarel uses key principles of telling your personal testimony. It follows a basic outline for those who have a conversion experience at a particular point in time.

• My life before Christ
• How I met Christ
• My life since then

Read more:

• Post Modern Evangelism Story
• Personal Testimony Questionarie

Evangelism is a Process

Another key take away from this story is evidence of the process of evangelism in Pastor Valcarcel’s life.

God used circumstances, people of influnence, a few sermons in a church, late night reflections, all to bring him to a place of surrender. It’s a prime example of the links in the chain principle of helping people find faith.

• Links in the Chain Video (Mister, I need God!)
• Links in the Chain of Conversion (how comments from slave girl led to a miracle).

The more I listen to stories of conversions and faith awakenings, the more convinced I have become that people need to see the process of evangelism from the beginning of the seeking journey.

Help others see the evangelism process

As evangelists, we can help people out in their journey to faith, no matter how long we might be in their life.

I yearn for people to come to faith quickly.  There is urgency that drives me to pray, rather than drives me to be obnoxious.

People around Freddy gave him the space to search, and grace to explore and ask questions.  They were present when needed, and helpful when needed.  I’m sure they wanted him to come to faith right away, but God worked to prepare his heart over the course of time.

Now Freddy is a pastor, teaching others to share their faith and helping new people find faith in Christ.

Order your copy here:

Unexpected Turn, An: My Testimony by Pastor Freddy Valcarcel
ISBN: 1-60610-048-3, 52 pages, 6 x 9, English

Freddy is now a pastor of a growing congregation, El Faro de Luz

Iglesia Bautista Faro de Luz, on line at www.elfarodeluz.net

Does that describe you, even if you are not a pastor?

From the seminars I give around the US and in Latin America, this is a common fear.

So to this fear, let me through out my list of 7 Habits for Highly Effective Personal Evangelism.

Practicing these habits knock out a lot of fear.

I’m sure the list would be 10 if I thought long and hard, but these are the first 7 that came to mind as practices in my life.

1.  Prayer for those apart from Christ.

Prayer prepares your heart, and God uses prayer to draw people to Christ.

Not sure how to create a prayer list to help you with that?

Action step: Make a prayer list of friends.

When was the last time you prayed through your list of friends?

2.  Regular Assessment of Current Friendships.

Real simple: Do you have someone with whom you can share your faith?

I regularly review how I spend my time and with whom.

I intentionally cultivate authentic relationships with people who don’t know Christ.

If I don’t have enough non-Christian friends, I look for ways to cultivate some new ones.  Always a challenge when a new friend comes to Christ.

3.   Look for spiritual thirst

In all my conversations, I look for spiritual thirst (See What is Spiritual Thirst?).

I have learned to recognize spiritual thirst in how people talk, what they talk about, and how they often initiate discussion with me.

I’ve come across a tool that can help you see a person’s spiritual thirst.  It’s explained at length in Gary Rorhmayer’s book Spiritual Conversations: How to Sustain them without being a jerk.

4.  Regular Devotional Time

Nurture your own relationship with God.  Spend time in worship, prayer, fasting, Bible reading.  Allow God to speak to you and guide your life.

As you spend time in Scriptures, you’ll be growing spiritually.  You’ll be discovering how God is leading you.  And often out of the overflow of the current activity of God in your life, you’ll have fresh content to share.

5.  Intentional Relationship Building

Most effective evangelism to produces discipleship happens between friends.  Thus, one highly effective habit to be intentional in building deep and authentic relationships.

As you look over your list of friends you are praying for, who do you need to “get to know better” or “spend some time with” this coming week?

I often make some notes after wards if there was some significant spiritual thirst shared with me.  I use that in my prayers.  I’m often praying for the next step in my friend’s spiritual journey.

6.  Debriefing Every Evangelism Conversation

Some questions I like to ask myself are:

1. “How did God point out that person to you?  How did you notice that person?”
2. “Where did you notice God was already at work?”
3. “What was their spiritual thirst?”
4. “What would you do or say differently?”
5. “What did you share about Christ?”
6. “How can you help that person along in the next step towards Christ?”

7.  Space in your life for impromptu conversations.

Phillip had margin in his life for a spontaneous conversation with the Eunuch.

Peter and John had margin in the life to heal the lame man at the gate called beautiful.

Most of us pack such a full day that we don’t have time to notice those spiritually thirsty people whom we encounter.

Leave some room in your life to be available during the day.  This happens to me on a regular basis, not all the time.

Let me ask you this?

Do you have a highly effective evangelism habit?

Read Some Others effective evangelism habits at “How to share your faith without freaking out.”

Feel free to share with us in the comment below.

Make a prayer list of friends whom you’d like to see following Jesus.

We might mentally agree to the the idea, but to actually make the list and use it may still be a challenge.

So let me give you a practical model to make your friends prayer list today.

The format of the prayer list I use

I use a leather bound journal for my devotional times.

A half sheet from an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper fits loosely in the back.

The journal’s clasp keeps it in place.

I choose this loose leaf format so that the list can change as life circumstances change.

I also choose the loose leaf format as I can move it around as a book mark in the journal.

This format also keeps it from being “forgotten” in a prior section of my journal.

Make A Prayer List of Friends

Here is one process to create your list, through filtering down one particular set of questions.

(From the post Do you have any non-Christian Friendships?)

Take a moment to look at your significant relationships.   Think of people you choose to spend time with on somewhat of a regular basis.

On a scratch sheet of paper, make a list of friends who immediately come to mind.  Try to name as many as possible in the next 60 seconds.

Write those names down.

Now look over the list.

1. Who goes to church with you? Cross them off this list.
2. Who attends another church regularly? Cross them off.
3. Who shows evidence of a relationship with Christ? Cross them off.
4. Who is left?
5. Do you have anyone left on the list?

You may find that you know some people who go to church with you, yet have no evidence of a relationship with Christ.  Feel free to add them or keep them on your list.

Write your prayer list for your journal

I then take this list and create the “clean” list for my journal.

As I write each name, I also ask God for how to pray for them.

Prayer is cooperating with God in a sense, and I want to pray in accordance with God’s will, so I ask the Lord for guidance about how to pray for my friends.

Beside the names on the prayer list, I’ll note specific prayer requests.

The idea is to get beyond the generic “I pray for Jose and Martha” and into more specific areas.

For example:

• Give me eyes to see their spiritual thirst.  (See What is Spiritual Thirst?)
• Give me opportunity to speak with them.
• Give them a thirst, help me to see it.
• Is God inviting me to spend a little more time with them?
• What is the next “do” with them?  Call?  Coffee? Cookout?
• Help them move another step closer to you.
• Reveal yourself to them in undeniable ways.

People are in different places in their spiritual journey.  As I write each name, I ponder what might their next step be?

If they are hostile to God, how I can pray that they may start seeking God?

If they are seeking God, how can I pray they would talk with me about how I found God?

If they are studying the Bible in their search, I’d like to pray that God’s word would speak.

In other words, I try to pray in accordance with the work that God might be doing in their spiritual life already.

Watch for answers on your prayer list

Going beyond the generic and into specifics prepares me to cooperate with what God might be inviting me into.

It sensitizes me to be more observant about their spiritual journey and how I might be able to be a positive influence.  Along the way, I may discover new information that may change how I pray for them and what for.

As God answers some of those specific petitions on my prayer list, I’ll update the list from time to time.  Updating my prayer list helps me to see progress in a person’s journey towards Christ.

He connected with the local people

When he came to the town, “he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla,” (18:2).  Paul went to see them, and “because he was a tent maker as they were, he stayed and worked with them” (v.3)

Here is an example of relationship building.  They had something in common – tent making, and that formed the basis of their relationship.  They were local, even though they were transplants from another city.

At this point in the story, we do not know if Aquila and/or Priscilla are believers.  We know that eventually they are, because of their role in discipling Apollos when they all meet him for the first time in Ephesus.

I recalled reading about the Luke 10 principles from The Rabbit and the Elephant (see review of The Rabbit and the Elephant).  There, the authors remind us of how Jesus sent out the people ahead of him, to find the “person of peace” and to stay with that person.  We see this pattern in Paul’s work here in Athens.  Aquila and Priscilla were those persons of peace.”

He worked among them

While staying at the house of Aquila and Priscilla, Paul used that as a base for his outreach every Sabbath.  Verse 4 reads “Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.”

During the rest of the week, Paul was likely making his tents and setting up his business.  Costs were likely low as his lodging was covered, and he wasn’t supporting a family.

He devoted himself full time

Verse 5 reads: “When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching.”  This suggests some possible growth in Paul’s business – either

• Paul had made enough funds from selling tents that he was free, or
• Silas and Timothy took over business operations, or
• Business had grown to the point where a manager was in charge, or
• Aquila and Priscilla were running the business to support Paul (All three go to Ephesus).

Once they arrived, Paul was able to devote himself full time to the ministry of teaching.  As was his pattern, first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles.  Verse 6 shows his opposition from the Jews, so he setup his teaching base next door.

Paul’s fear

Paul was busy doing good work.  Building relationships, conversing with people, and doing the basics of evangelistic work.  Yet even he was afraid of those who mocked, ridiculed, and opposed him.

The Lord gave Paul a vision one night: “Do not be afraid.”  At first, I thought this was the common greeting of angelic visitors, but as I peered into first Corinthians, I read “I came to you in weakness and with much trembling” (1 Cor 2:3).

Then there is guidance: “For I am with you, . . . .because I have many people in this city.”

Elijah had a similar fear – when he thought he was the only one – the Lord reminded him that there were others.

When one faces that kind of fear in personal evangelism, it can be emotionally draining.  When one thinks of all the other fears that hinder personal evangelism, we have this reminder that Paul faced similar fears.

How did the Lord comfort him?

“keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you”

In other words, God reminded Paul of his presence, and the presence of others in that city who could help him.

If you are a church planter, perhaps one prayer could be “Lord, where are the other people in this city who are called to help us?”

The question that stirs in my mind – what are my fears?

Planting Churches

This missionary work wasn’t setup and funded overnight.

In this case, Paul lives among his initial contacts in Corinth and then sets up and runs his business.  He grows it to the point where he can hand it off, likely using the proceeds to fund his own church planting or missionary activity.

In receiving comfort from God about his fear in the face of rejection, he likely begins to pray, “Lord, where are the other people.”  We see that new relationships develop in the next 18 months while Paul remains:

• Titius Justus, a worshipper of God.
• Crispus, the synagogue ruler and his household.
• Sostehenes, the next synagogue ruler (v.17), who helped write 1 Corinthians (1:1)
• Cloe’s household (1 Cor 1:11)

We can see how the Lord answered Paul’s prayer.

The challenger warned me that I could only reach so many people, but if I delegated and empowered, I could lead larger ministries with longer reaches and greater sustainability.  The challenger mentioned that my personal limit of people I could effectively influence was likely around 120-150.  If I could influence leaders, the ministry could grow beyond my personal limits.

One blog I read (ChrisBrogan.com) shares the source behind the social limit of real relationships that a person can maintain.

There’s a theory called Dunbar’s Number that suggests there’s an upper limit to the amount of relationships we can maintain. If you’re interested in networking, this should be an issue. That number, for the record, is 150. 

Source: Beating Dunbars Number | chrisbrogan.com.

Implications for pastors

I know of a church plant that started about nearly 10 years ago.  I checked in on it recently, and the pastor reports that it has plateaued about 125-135 people for the past five years and that the turnover rate is about 45% each year.

New people come in, other people leave after about a year or two.  The net effect is that the congregation has remained numerically stable.

This church is a single pastorate, and the pastor has a leadership style where his hand is in everything.

Pastor sets the direction (with a board of government), pastor runs the small groups, pastor runs the worship service and no ministry gets started without the pastor’s initiative.  Recently pastor split up the small groups into different areas, but he still maintains a pretty tight involvement with the leaders.

Pastor lovingly leads it all.  There is joy in the congregation, no complaints, and for this church this type of leadership functions.  It’s not a dictatorship and pastor is not a control freak.  He gets joy out of being involved.

Now, before you agree with me that this is

• Not healthy, or
• A recipe for burnout or
• Effective in a small church, or
• Leadership style that hinders further growth

let me connect it to the point.

1.  The church will not grow any larger.

If Dunbar’s number holds true, the limit of a single pastor who feels the need to be involved in everything will be about 150.  It seems to me that the congregation has reached the practical end of its growth unless the pastor gives and empowers leadership to raise up their own networks.

2.  Leaders leave because they can’t serve or lead.

This church leadership model does not delegate and empower leadership of other ministry.   It doesn’t effectively raise up others to lead their own network of 150.  Not having a place to serve or contribute their gifts, after a while solid believers leave for a place where they can serve.

This particular congregation is at a moment of stage of church growth.  If it wants to continue its dream of fulfilling its particular calling, one thing that must change is the leadership style.

Implications for Church Planting

I know it’s not as simple as waving a wand to make a solution, but if you are wondering why your church isn’t growing — perhaps you’ve maxed out the social limit of your leaders?

How much leadership can you give away to trusted and respected leaders?

With regards to evangelism training in your church’s DNA, is the pastor in charge of it all, or is that delegated as well to empowered leaders?

One church planting coach that I have gotten to know uses Jethro’s advice to Moses — delegate and empower.  Put people in charges of 50s, 100s, and 1000s.

Implications for Church Visitor Retention Rates

There are practical implications here as well to keeping church visitors in your midst.

In the church I describe, the back door is as big as the front door.

People come and perhaps stay connected for a little while, but without the empowerment to lead and serve in ministries, they may likely take their gifting elsewhere where they are needed.

Your church is working hard at retaining visitors and building connections, but the leadership DNA won’t let it grow.

Coaching corner:

Could this issue — 150 people per pastor — be part of the reason?   Take a look and think about it for a while.

]]> http://www.evangelismcoach.org/2009/beating-dunbars-number/feed/ 7 http://www.evangelismcoach.org/2009/8-conversational-bridges-to-the-gospel/ http://www.evangelismcoach.org/2009/8-conversational-bridges-to-the-gospel/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:33:06 +0000 EvangelismCoach http://www.evangelismcoach.org/?p=1945 A blog had a great article ( “Gospel Connections in Suburbia“) that has evangelistic conversational tips.

The problem posed is

How can I take a natural conversation about common things and connect it to the gospel without it coming off like an abrupt topic change?

The farther the distance between the subject matter at hand and the gospel, the more abrupt the change.

How does one take a mundane conversation into spiritual matters?

How does one build a conversational bridge?

To help us think through natural conversational bridges, Joe gives us 8 conversational bridges to the gospel:

1. Corruption, evil and sin.
2. Community.
3. Politics.
4. Environment.
5. War.
6. Family.
7. Church.
8. Art/pop-culture

With each one, Joe gives a conversational example, as well as a possible bridge to move from such topics to matters about our faith.

Give the full article a good read and let me know what you think.

Email me an example of a conversational bridge you use, and I’ll send you a list of 99 questions to start a spiritual conversation.

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