Evangelism Coach

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During the time in Enfield for the Youth Night: Discover Your Faith - Enfield CT I had blast meeting with several teenagers and talking about faith.

You are God’s poem.

Ephesians 2:10 shares how we are God’s workmanship.  The Greek word for workmanship is the root of our word poem.  That says a lot into how God designed each one of us, for beauty, craft, wisdom, and strength, and certainly uniqueness.

The Bridge

What got us really going I think was discussing our separation from God.  I asked the question: What does that separation from God feel like or look like or how do you experience that separation?

The answers came from the teens themselves.  Things like “Emptiness, Darkness, abandonment” and so on.  I didn’t have to describe the fruit of our sinful condition.  There was common agreement of it’s description.

Then I asked the group what kinds of things did they do to fill that gap.  Answers came pouring forth: drugs, sex, pregnancy, alcohol, music, medication, suicide, cutting. 

The group was then asked: “Do any of these work?  Do they fill the gap?”

Universally, the answer was no.

That’s the beauty of the Gospel: that while we were separated from God, we have now been reconciled by Christ. 

When we choose to surrender our life to him and follow him, we can find that forgiveness, and begin to step into the fullness of what God has created us and designed us for.

We moved into a time of prayer, where space was given for people to make that decision.  To choose Jesus over all the other options to fill that gap in our relationship with God.

 

Other uses of the Bridge

For a more traditional use of the bridge, see How to Use the Bridge Illustration, or for a more elaborate video: The Big Story - Improving the Bridge Illustration

Looking for practical evangelism tips?  Here are a few.  Links will take you to further explanations and articles on these items. 

Evangelistic Prayer

1.  Seek the Father’s Heart — (see Getting Emotionally Worked Up)

2.  Offering yourself for God’s use in sharing your faith.

3.  Regular Prayer for those who don’t know Christ.

See Also:

• Ten Prayer Points For your Friends
• Prayer and Evangelism
• Three Verses on Prayer (in a book review article)
• Take the Risk, Offer to Pray.
  
• Prayer and Evangelism (Acronym to lead your prayer)
• HEART.
• Evangelism PAINS

Position Yourself

4. Find a way to be a blessing to others

5.  Live Authentically in public and in private.

6.  Build genuine relationships

See:

• 10 Ideas To Reach Out To Your Neighborhood

Proclamation:

7.  Choose a gospel script.

• Gospel Scripts Series

8.  Practice the gospel script until you are comfortable with it.

• How To Practice A Gospel Presentation

9.  Discover your story

• Personal Testimony Questionnaire
• Evangelism As Storytelling
• The Power Of Testimony
• A 2 part Questionnaire

10.  Learn how to use questions in a conversation

• 20 Evangelism Questions To Start A Conversation
• Evangelistic Questions For Evangelism

See also:

• Keys For Evangelism Training
• Evangelism Training In The Local Church
• Effective Evangelism Training Lab Time,

For help with any of these through 1-1 coaching, see also Personal Evangelism Mentoring

I remember a model of evangelism that felt like a sales pitch.

I would attend a seminar and learn the newest script for evangelism.  The idea is that I would learn a series of conversational steps that would help people

• See their need for Jesus
• Make a decision to follow Christ
• Repeat a prayer after me.
• Sign here for follow up.
• All in less than 30 minutes.

The script was “the powerful new tool,” and it was meant to help you “share your faith” and confidently prepare you to “lead people to Christ.”

If we were truly honest with ourselves, in the practice of your life did it ever work?

Not in my life.

I never really latched onto that sales pitch.  Most of the readers of this blog never latched on to that model as it felt forced, maybe dishonest and turned Jesus in a product marketing.

Life doesn’t fit the script.

In the last few days I’ve had to deal with customer service people in various businesses. 

In each case, my need was not “in their script.” 

• Company A sent me to at least 4 departments today on the telephone, because no one could answer my question.  That was after going to 3 different departments yesterday.  I wasn’t permitted to speak to a supervisor because they didn’t have the  power to get out of their script.
• Company B simply said “I don’t cover that situation — you can’t be our customer anymore.”  I’ve been their customer for 11 years and now they don’t want me anymore.

I did not fit their script.  They didn’t have an answer for my questions.  They didn’t have a solution for my need.  Their scripts didn’t have a place for me.

This is the problem with scripts when they are positioned as the “one true way” of doing evangelism. 

Human beings and life conversations can’t all fit into a one size fits all  scripted evangelism presentation.  Humans have so many different needs, so many different starting points, so many different questions.

I don’t teach complicated scripts in any of my evangelism seminars. 

Rather, I help people learn how to listen to the Holy Spirit for the right place, right time, right words.   I don’t have a script I follow because each person and each conversation is unique.

What then are the role of Gospel Scripts?

I’ve written on gospel scripts before and will do so in the future (grab my feed to get these future posts).   They are handy little tools and I’m not throwing them out.

The gospel scripts that I like are all simple presentations of the gospel that are useful at an appropriate point in a relationship.  They address different needs but ultimately get at the Need to Follow Jesus.

In my life, I haven’t found that any of my conversation partners are at the same starting point the gospel script is at. 

The scripts assume

• that a person recognizes the consequences of sin. 
• that the person is ready to deal with a spiritual need. 
• that a person is seeking for a relationship with God.

Phillip and the Eunuch

Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunuch had a ‘chance’ conversational encounter.  Yet in that encounter, the text says that

“Beginning from that point [where the Eunuch was reading], Phillip went on to explain the good news about Jesus.”

Notice that Phillip began where the eunuch was. 

The eunuch was dealing with grammar issues with pronouns, frustrations with reading a foreign language, and perhaps his own disappointment in not finding what he was searching for in Jerusalem.

Phillip spent time talking with the eunuch at that point.  A point unique to the eunuch’s spiritual journey.

So many scripts want to “begin from their own point.” 

Yet not every conversation is at that starting point.

• It often takes a series of conversations to get there.
• It takes listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit
• It takes good questions that open new conversational lines.
• It takes some skill in noticing life themes and linking them to spiritual needs. 

Evangelism Scripts such as the Four Spiritual Laws, Bridge, or others are handy once a person has gotten to the starting point of the scripts. 

Being familiar with an evangelism script can help you comfortably explain the gospel when the moment presents itself in a natural manner.

Getting to that point?  There is no script for that.

From Golf to God

This week, I was listening to Michael Spencer’s Coffee Cup Apologetics at Podcast 46.  In these 15 minutes (listen on line at Podcast 46) Spencer discusses issues with scripted evangelism.

He refers to a great article called Gospel Connections in Suburbia. 

It deals with how to bridge a conversation from the subject at hand to the subject of the gospel. 

Can  you go from golf to God? 

There is a list of 8 topics that are great conversational topics and an example of a conversational bridge is given for each (I encourage you to read the whole entry).

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

Spencer’s podcast picks this up and points out that to make such transitions, one requires three skills

1. Relational Conversations — Casual life conversations with friends
2. Ability to see connections between the mundane and the spiritual
3. Make the transition from the mundane to spiritual in a natural way.

Part of doing this is developing the skills of

1. Making use of good questions
2. Making use of good observations.

Start to Notice

In your own conversations, start to ponder how the mundane can be bridged towards the spiritual.  I’m not talking about ketchup on fries representing the blood of Jesus.  Rather, listen to the heart cry in the culture.

• What is being looked for? 
• Why are people passionate about politics and what does that say about order in the world? 
• Why are people willing to sacrifice their marriage for a moment of personal pleasure? 
• Can you hear the spiritual need behind the conversation?
• What is the question behind the question?

Let me ask you this?

Taking a cue from the original blog post: Do you have some useful conversational bridges?  I invite you to elaborate in the comments.

In doing research for this series on gospel scripts, I found another outline called FAITH.  It seems pretty good and could be a simple tool to share your faith.

Scripts are not automatic

The purpose of a script is to provide you an outline to share your faith when the Lord provides the opportunity.  You have the flexibility to adjust it to your conversational context.  As the conversation moves along, you can add details and back off on other points.    The give and take of a conversation.Scripts are not meant to be followed in a legalistic format.  There is no cause and effect as in “get the script right and they will believe, get the script wrong and you messed up their eternity.”  God is charge of the whole evangelism process.The point of a script is to be very familiar with ONE so that you can confidently explain your faith when God provides the opportunity.  It’s got a few choice scriptures, and you can likely pick some of your other favorites that make the same point.

FAITH Script to explain the Gospel

In your personal opinion, what do you think it takes for a person to get to heaven and have eternal life?

Allow room for discussion on this question to help you discern what God is doing in the life of the other person.

F Is for Forgiveness

Everyone has sinned and needs God’s forgiveness.

Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

God’s forgiveness is provided by the work of Christ. 

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

A Is for Available

God’s forgiveness is available for all.

John 3:16 “God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

God’s forgiveness is available but not automatic.

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.”

I Is for Impossible

According to the Bible, it is impossible to get to heaven on our own.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “By grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.”

So how can a sinful person have eternal life and enter heaven?

T Is for Turn

If you were going down the road and someone asked you to turn, what would he or she be asking you to do? (Change direction)

Turn means repent. Turn away from sin and self.

Luke 13:3 “Unless you repent, you will all perish as well!”

Turn to Jesus alone as your Savior and Lord.

John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

H Is for Heaven

Heaven is a place where we will live with God forever.

John 14:3 “If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.”

Eternal life begins now with Jesus.

John 10:10 “I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

H can also stand for how.

How can a person have God’s forgiveness, eternal life, and heaven?

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

By trusting Jesus as your Savior and Lord.

 

 

The “Do vs Done” Gospel Evangelism Script is one of those scripts that is very well known and has a long history.  It is very simple to think through, and gets at one focus of the gospel message. 

However, it’s so common that actually finding the evangelism script on the Internet was difficult.  I guess “everyone” knows it. 

I tried several keywords to locate it, but it never rose to the surface.  Many entries make reference to this gospel script, yet there is no real explanation of how to use it. 

Do vs. Done

I actually had to turn to print.  I found this in Becoming a Contagious Christian, Hybels and Mittleberg.  

Religion is spelled D-O, and is all about trying to DO enough to please God.

The trouble is we don’t know if we ever do enough, and the Bible tells us we never can do enough (Romans 3.23).

But Christianity is spelt D-O-N-E.

Jesus has done what we could never do. He lived the perfect life and died on the cross to pay for all the wrong stuff
we have done.

But it’s not enough just to know this; we have to receive what he has done; we have to ask Jesus to forgive us and to be the leader of our lives.

Then you could ask them what they think, whether they understand the difference, and if they see the need for Jesus.

Of course, the six sentences above are basic. It focuses on one aspect of the atonement.

The point is not to memorize it, but to become so comfortable with it that you can fill in the gaps, linger on conversational points, use scripture to fill out parts that are meaningful in the conversation that you are having. 

The above is an outline to help you remember where you are in the conversational flow.

By the way, this script works in Spanish as well, Hace vs. Hecho.

Let me ask you this?

Have you used this script?  What kinds of questions do people bring up in response to it?  Tell us your stories in the comments.

James Choung has written a few books on explaining the Christian Faith. On of the issues that he tackles is updating or improving the Bridge Illustration.  The whole article is here at The Big Story | Tell It Slant .

“Choung’s ‘napkin theology’ and its ‘four-worlds’ diagram promise to be for evangelism in the twenty-first century what the ‘Four Spiritual Laws’ were for the twentieth century.”
— Leonard Sweet, author of The Church of the Perfect Storm, podcaster of the weekly “Napkin Scribbles” podcast

Check out these videos to see the telling of the story.  There are two here.

It comes with it’s own training document and a complete write-up of this diagram.

Here is what I like about the illustration:

• It’s much less individual in it’s focus. 
• It adds in that we follow Christ to join in God’s redemptive story.
• It talks about worldviews
• It’s simple and can be reproduced on a napkin.
• It incorporates some of the social aspects of the gospel.

After sharing this video on his blog, Choung received lots of feedback and suggestions and created version 2, which continues from the prior video

Let me ask you this?

What do you think of Choung’s improvement?  What do you make of how he explains sin, righteousness, eternity, kingdom?  Join the conversation below and comment.

The next series of posts will look at a few of the scripts

My default setting is the Bridge Illustration. 

This is the one that I use the most, and that when I was a youth pastor, reviewed with my teenagers at least once every three months.  No one left our youth group without knowing this script inside and out.

I like it for various reasons:

• Simple
• Visual (for those visual learners).
• Free
• I can make it my own and customize on the fly.
• I can use questions to keep it conversational.

Theological notes:

David Fitch has a good series of posts and discussion about some of the theological questions about the Bridge as a gospel script.  The comments raise great issues, and point to some other scripts. (See also Part 2 and Part 3). 

I think an excellent addition to the bridge is to stress some of the benefits of following Christ:

• The reality of our global brokenness from God’s good creation: war, famine.  Not just individual brokenness.
• Inclusion into the community of faith (adoption).
• Christ’s forgiveness also helps us deal with our corporate sin
• Calling to Participate in God’s plan for the new creation.

Practical tips:

All you really need is a writing surface and a instrument.  I’ve used markers on a whiteboard, pens on a napkin, my kids’s crayons on the back of a paper placement in a diner.

Step 1

When you sense that it’s time to share, ask for permission unless it seems very natural in the current conversation that you are having.  “Can I share a drawing with you that explains what we are talking about?” 

Step2

Draw two lines horizontally, making two columns. Write God on the right side line and draw a little stick figure on the left.  I space about 2 or 3 inches between them. 

Step3

Explain  about the separation between the person and God. 

Most times when I share this illustration, the person I’m speaking with is well aware of the Separation — that’s why they are look for God to start with. 

You can draw two vertical lines from the inside of the horizontal lines to show a cliff of separation.

A good verse to share here is Romans 3:23, and I might write the word sin or separation at the bottom of the gap.  Another might be Hebrews 9:27 about the coming judgment for our sin.

Step 4

I explain that people try to reach God through all sorts of means: drugs, philosophy, good deeds.  I ask the person I’m talking with the share with me what things they have tried to do to reach God.

Step 5

Draw a cross that closes the gap while sharing how Christ died for us.  A good scripture would be Romans 5:8.  That gift is free, sharing from Ephesians 2:8-9.  We can believe and receive (John 1.12).  This is showing God’s solution to the problem of our separation

Step 6

I ask the person I’m speaking with, “Where would you put yourself on this drawing?”

That helps me to discern where that person is spiritually, and helps to suggest the next part of the conversation.  Perhaps there is something to debate, discussion, or an objection to resolve.  Perhaps a person wants more time to consider what is being heard. 

Resources:

Here is a free bridge illustration download I found on the web that provides lots of additional scripture verses that one could use.

Bridge Illustration Video 7:00 minutes of Mark Mittleberg  (I’d make my own, but Mark is so much better and it’s already done).

 

If you want live coaching on using gospel scripts, see our 1-1 mentoring program. We’ll be glad to provide distance training, or live in person  Contact us for more info.