Evangelism is not a single moment. It is a journey shaped by God’s initiative and our cooperation. In this article, I share seven insights that helped me replace an unhealthy view of evangelism with a calm, relational approach. These discoveries can help you share your faith without fear and walk with people as they take their next steps toward Christ.
Thanksgiving can create natural space for evangelistic conversations. Whether you are serving your community, hosting people who needed a place to go, or gathering with family, you can listen for spiritual thirst and share how Christ has been good to you. Here are four coaching steps to help you recognize and respond to those God-given moments.
Do you have a friend who has a concept of God who will require them to pay for their actions after they die?
Many people encounter obstacles in their personal evangelism.
I know I have.
Here are some insights from my own personal journals of the obstacles in personal evangelism I have to overcome.
You can learn to recognize divine appointments when you learn to obey the nudge of the Holy Spirit and listen for spiritual thirst
Spiritual thirst is evidence that God the Father is drawing a person to Jesus. Finding spiritual thirst is the core habit of personal evangelism I teach. What does it look like? See it in the story of the Ethiopian
What does spiritual thirst look like in a conversation? How might you recognize it? Here is an example of spiritual thirst from one of my trips to Panama.
His prayer 25 years ago failed. My friend had obediently prayed with the well meaning evangelist. My friend repeated the phrases the evangelist said, one after the next, confessing his sin, inviting Jesus into his heart. But nothing happened. There was no spiritual transaction, no renewal in his heart, no conviction of sin, and no awareness of …
Personal evangelism in the context of relationship happens in my life.
Here is a story of a relationship I invested in, and how it created a context for personal evangelism.
I was not hostile to Jesus, just indifferent. Before I met Jesus personally, I didn't know much about Him. I was not hostile to Him. I was not opposed to him. I was pretty indifferent. My spiritual thrist was indifference
That's because our family only attended church on Christmas Eve and Easter.
I tried to put the facts together every now and then, but the reality is, I had no clue.
I was not hostile to faith. I was just indifferent.
That was my level of spiritual thirst.
What is your evangelism style? Do you prefer to warn the stranger of their sin by open air evangelism? Do you prefer to wait until some one asks you for the reason you believe? Or maybe you prefer to invite people to your church where they can find a community of believers to help them …
I volunteered the other day and I had lunch with another volunteer. As we talked about my mother’s recent death, she startled me with the following question. I’ve always wondered, how do religious people deal with death? She wasn’t opposed to religion. She didn’t have a defined set of beliefs of her own. Spiritual Conversations occur …
Many of us meet people who carry unseen shame or loneliness. In John 4, Jesus models how to notice spiritual thirst and offer living water to those searching for hope. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman: Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a …
In today’s devotional prayer, take your bible and read Ecclesiastes 2. The teacher is a man who experienced tremendous spiritual thirst and chapter two gives us the various ways he tried to fill that emptiness in his heart.
Every person comes to Jesus for a different reason. I started my search for Jesus because of a search for unconditional love a purpose greater than my own self. I had no clue that I was a sinner, or that I needed a Savior. Sin is not always the starting point While it is true …
Jesus also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in …
You’ve probably seen it: An opening in a conversation when a non Christian expresses their spiritual insight, or opens up about some restlessness in their heart. Then well-meaning Christians become a one-way torrent of gospel information about what a person needs to believe and why other religions are wrong. Or maybe you’ve seen this: Your …
This week, we launched a new small group aimed for people who don’t go to church. For our small group, 13 people showed up for the first meeting, 7 of whom I had never met before. This was the 1st of 6 meetings, and I was not leading the group. From the conversations prior to …
Over the years, I’ve developed an ability to hear spiritual thirst in a conversation. Spiritual thirst is what allows me to have normal conversations about my faith and the spiritual journey of the other person. It’s their thirst that propels them to find solutions in Christ. The concept of spiritual thirst has become a foundational …
Jesus tells us another parable about the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” Matthew 13:44 In contrast to the parable …
Jesus give us a parable, found in Matthew 13, about the kingdom of God. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45-46) Looking for the fine pearl The merchant was …
We were stuck in spiritual blindness before Jesus set us free.
If it has been a long time since that moment, perhaps we've forgotten what that was like.
Today's prayer of gratitude is remembering our salvation and deliverance from darkness to light.
A young man came to me one evening during the camp meal and he asks, “Do the non-elect go to hell?” I was startled. This question was out of context, out of the blue, seeming to come from left field.
When I was in college, I led a small group Bible study. A freshman group member had a degenerative spinal condition that caused her severe pain after excessive walking. Since she was a resident on campus without a car, walking was the only means to get to and from classes in the various buildings scattered …
