Witnessing

I would really enjoy hearing how you share the gospel with others around you.

Discuss! :)

I haven't done mich witnessing but have found a few strategies. They are basically teh same. Go through the commandments with themand then teach them about why they need Christ.

Way of the Master!!!!!!!! :)

EDIT: Has anyone seen that?

You've always got to remember to give the bad news before the good news–or the good news isn't good to the hearer. If a doctor tells his patient to take a pill for a deadly disease, the patient will probably not listen to him, since he does not think he has the deadly disease. But when the doctor proves to him that he does, the patient takes it willingly. The same is true with us. If we don't know that we are heading to hell because of our sins, then we won't care whether there is a Savior or not. But when we realize our desperate condition, we will cling to Christ, by His power, and through faith. So, you always need to make sure you tell others of their sin before you tell them about the Savior, or they won't care what you are telling them.

Several girls at our church just finished going through the Way of the Master basic course! It is so amazing!

So, does anyone have some tips they'd like to share on this topic? We all need help and advice in this area, I'm sure. :)

Thanks, Leah! I enjoyed reading it! Do you mind if I would print out a few to hand out? :)

Thanks! :)
I'd like that, but I'm not suppose to give my email out without permission. ;-)

Thanks :)

It's totally fine! Don't worry about it! :)

Most of the Way of the Master episodes I've seen have been on TV and I didn't really pay attention to what season/episode they were… And we own a whole season, but I looked all over and can't figure out what season it is. Maybe it's season 1? But I watched several. :)

This wasn't me, but…
A few days ago, my dad got this call from the pastor at a neighboring church a couple minutes away:
"Hey, a lady with a couple of young kids just dropped in and asked if she could talk to a pastor…but I have a wedding rehearsal. Would you mind coming over here?"
Dad (and Mom) hopped in the car and drove off. Later, when they returned they told us the story:
The lady had been a Christian when she was young, but had strayed from the faith. Now, she was sure she needed religion of some sort to give her life some meaning. Mom told her, "You don't need religion. You don't even need the church. You need Jesus!" The lady started crying with joy and replied, "Yes! Yes! That's what I need! I need Jesus! I KNEW he was real! I knew it!" And she got converted! Right then and there!

So… I'm curious about how the opportunity to witness arises? I have been able to share the Gospel with several children, because starting conversations with children is pretty easy. But have any of you on here shared the Gospel with adults? Do you, like, just approach random people? Where do you witness? Because most of the people, children and adults, that I spend time with are Christians already. I would like some advice because I know that we are called to witness and spread the Gospel, but the How and Who and When and Where are the hard parts for me!

That's wonderful!

Mom in particular was really excited.

Amen!

Right now I am trying to witness to a Catholic on quizlet. Please be praying for me.

My brother and another young man in our Church is doing open air preaching this evening – please pray for them.

I think this is a very interesting thread.
There are so many ways to share the word and different people need different ways how people tell them about the good news of the gospel. I had always problems with talking to strangers and therefore to use the ways of witnessing in the above ways.
I´m not sure if witnessing is the right word for the things i outline in this post( English is foreign Language to me) but it´s how i tell people about Jesus.

Have you ever questioned people how their faith begun ( i mean already beliving people) most people (who weren´t born in a Christian family) I met had at some point in life a relationship to a Christian. Some were attracted to their character or the way they talked about a loving God who want´s to be their friend. Some people tell that the church they found was the first place where they were accepted like they are. Our church has the vision: We want the people of our region to meet Jesus as we loving them like Jesus.
And i think that is the big challenge, building up relationships like Jesus did it. Seeing and adressing the needs. And later on telling them how much God loves them and how much they mean to him.
when Jesus stopped the stoning of the woman he first stopped it and told her later to change her life, same with the lame man (the story with the open roof) or the ten leprous men.

I think it is very important to put ourselfs in the position of the people. When someone want´s to persuade me, which way do i prefer, who is allowed to tell me what to do…
I really hate it when people come with flyers to tell me that i should buy this great thing and they try to start a conversation. Back off, i don´t want to talk to you if you just want to sell something.
And it is helpfull to think about what prejudices people have and why they avoid churches.
When people think that being a Christian means that you are not allowed to do everything that is fun, is it then really the best way to start telling them, that they are sinfull? Or might it be better to tell them, that Jesus can help you througt hard situations, that he understands and want´s to help. That we all have things we regret and Jesus forgives us.
Or when people think that (because catholic preachers could abuse children in the past and were disguised by the church) most Christians talk about rightgousness and act bad. How can we adress that? Is it true, are we masking our still sinful lives in church? And how can we explain that we are still sinful, but the grace is so much stronger and it´s our aim to live like Jesus.

Another point for me is, that God has already worked on most people. He prepares the people and speaks to them through different ways. The desire to whorship is in all of us and we can help people to detect these little signs of God in their lives. But therefore we need to listen carefully and not just talk talk talk. Listen what they think about God, listen to the topics in their lives, listen to their needs in their current situation, think about how Jesus can help them in their needs and tell them, something like Matthew 5:28-30. They need good news.

One last thing is, that we can only invite people to start believing, we can´t make them. They have to become active and they need to be searching for something in their heart.

So I really think that we should cultivate reationships to Non-Christians, like the people at school or work, at music school or sport clubs… (And we should pray for them, that they start believing and for their current needs)

At my work there is a cleaning lady usually she comes shortly before i leave and often we start some sort of small talk. One day we talked about the religious education and that her catholic family makes her feel bad, because she doesn´t take her children to church. But she has a very busy life, two jobs, three children, the middle one has to go to speech therapy… And when she is sitting in church she has always to cushion the temperament of her kids who can´t sit still as desired. She says she can´t worship that way. I tried to tell her that this is ok, that it´s good if she reads bible storys with the kids and talk about their believe and i invited her to our church, where she can send her kids to kids service and all of them can enjoy the service without disturbing elderly people.

Another example: A relative of mine has been betrayed and got a divorce. And it hurt her very much she can´t forgive him. But now her son will marry soon and she doesn´t know how to face seeing him. I think this is a typical situation where we are lost without Jesus helping us and it is a great opportunity to help her getting to know Jesus. I think most people feel, that not forgiving is not good and that mostly the person who hates suffers the most. And my mother regularly tells her that hate destroys ourselfes and that Jesus wants to help her to forgive. But she needs to want it.

Sorry I haven't seen this sooner! Thanks for your input. :D I do pray to have opportunities to witness and I hope I will always be ready to give a defense to those who ask a reason for the hope that is in me! That is scary that you were stopped in a store… I get nervous about talking to people about Jesus because I am afraid of how they will respond. I think it is just Satan telling me those things to keep me from spreading the gospel.
I think the best way to share the gospel is to first meet the physical needs of people and build relationship… it's just that I don't really have opportunities to build relationships with non-believers.

Wonderful input, guys! Glad to hear your advice. :)

But there is one thing I'd like to bring up; I think that the very first thing you should bring up when witnessing to an unbeliever is their sin. Few people care about God's love and grace if they do not think they need love or grace. But when you show them the law of God, pointing out how they have broken it innumerable times and deserve to go to hell, they realize their need for forgiveness. The only way to bring a sinner to repentance is to show them that they need to repent; the only way to make a sinner desire the grace of God is to show them that they desperately need it.

So, while telling them about the love of God is certainly a good thing, it should not come before the justice of God, or your efforts will probably be worthless. Just thought I should share that. :)

Very true… if someone does not believe they have done wrong, why should they humble themselves and ask for forgiveness?

I guess this question can go under this topic :)

Is anyone planning on doing the "survey" that's mentioned in the Sword Study with people in public?

Wonderful input, guys! Glad to hear your advice. :) But there is one thing I'd like to bring up; I think that the very first thing you should bring up when witnessing to an unbeliever is their sin. Few people care about God's love and grace if they do not think they need love or grace. But when you show them the law of God, pointing out how they have broken it innumerable times and deserve to go to hell, they realize their need for forgiveness. The only way to bring a sinner to repentance is to show them that they need to repent; the only way to make a sinner desire the grace of God is to show them that they desperately need it. So, while telling them about the love of God is certainly a good thing, it should not come before the justice of God, or your efforts will probably be worthless. Just thought I should share that. :)

I disagree cause most of the time when you bring up someone's sin to them they imediantly recoil And they get very offended.

Well, actually that is very rarely the case. They might disagree with you at first, but when you show them clearly, they usually see their sinfulness for themselves. It is very rare for someone to get offended by it. Just see Way of the Master!

And either way, it doesn't matter if they get offended or not. If they are offended by what God says, that's their problem, not yours. I don't think we should do just what will make unbelievers comfortable, but what will show them the truth. And truth is uncomfortable.

but it seems kind of rude if the very first thing is to tell them they're sinners…. like, if u are talking to someone u don't know and u just walk up and tell them that they're sinners bound for hell, I don't think they would stay to hear the rest. IDK, i don't have too much experience witnessing to adults, though i really want to be able to.
I agree with what ur saying, but how would you initiate it - presenting the Gospel? What would u say? Do you do what that guy (I forgot his name, the one who talked at Bible Bee nationals who uses the ten commandments) does, or do u use tracts?
This is an area i need to grow in, and mostly i think i just need a good bit of boldness from God, cuz i tend to worry about what other people will think, instead of thinking about the condition of their soul…

Have you heard of the good person test? That's a good approach as how to tell people they're "sinners".

And either way, it doesn't matter if they get offended or not. If they are offended by what God says, that's their problem, not yours. I don't think we should do just what will make unbelievers comfortable, but what will show them the truth. And truth is uncomfortable.

That's easy to say if the person you are talking to a. Isn't around you much b. already dosn't care for you much or c. Is at a low point in their life and really just wants to hear the truth no matter how bad it is.

Think of it like this, I'm on a swim team with about 35 kids that all really need Jesus. I spend about 2 1/2 to anywhere around 6 (depending on the time of year) hours a day with them.
A. I want them to like me cause it's pretty miserable spending 6 hours of your day with kids that hate ur guts. But I will NOT compromise my moral standards just to fit in.
B. I'm am the only homeschooler on the team so that makes a little harder
And C. I want to build relationships with them because (as I said before) they need a good influence in their live. I'm NOT saying that I want to be best friends with any of them. As Sarah (I think it was Sarah :P :)) said before, it is always better witnessing when you have some sort of friendship with them.
I think you could see how it might be very offensive to someone if you started a witnessing (so to speak) conversation with them and one of the first thing you did was try and convict them that they are 'so sinful'. It is a critical part of our faith but it would be very offensive to anyone for you to come out and be like 'your very sinful.'

Yes, you don't just walk up to a person, and say "You're a sinner". You have to lay a foundation first!

A book I highly recommend on the subject of witnessing is "One Thing you can't do in Heaven" by Mark Cahill.
http://www.christianbook.com/one-thing-you-cant-in-heaven/mark-cahill/9780964366589/pd/4366584

I'm sorry if you don't entirely understand what I meant. I didn't mean that you just walk up to a random person and say, "Hey, you're a wicked sinner headed for hell! Do you want to talk to me about it?" Obviously, this is not what I meant.

What I meant was, you walk up to a random person and say something that will get their attention. The easiest thing to do is to hand them a tract and say, "Hey, did you get one of these? It's a Christian tract." And then you can start a conversation with them.

In that conversation, the first thing you should do is to show to them that they are a sinner. Notice, I did not say to tell them that they are a sinner; you SHOW them. As mentioned above, the "Good Person Test" is a good way to do this. This test is given by asking the person, "So, would you consider yourself to be a good person?" Most everybody will immediately say yes. If they do, you dive into the Ten Commandments to show them that, by God's standard, they are nowhere close to "good."

After you get them to acknowledge that God sees them as a sinner, you tell them that God, by His very nature, has to send sinners to hell. If you get them to acknowledge that–the bad news–you can get on to the good news. The bad news always has to come first, or the good news is not good.

As for building a relationship with a person to make it easier to share the gospel with them, I'll just take a quote from Ray Comfort (the leader of Living Waters, who was at the Bible Bee Nationals): "I can build a relationship with somebody in two minutes." You don't have to become their best buddy to bring up the gospel to them. If we truly want to spread the gospel, we will do so with everyone, not just with those we are able to form a relationship with.

So, I hope you see why I said what I did. And I hope you also see why I think that the best way to share the good news is to share the bad news first. :)

I think I heard someone also say "Ive got good news and bad news…which do you want to hear first?" :)

Thanks for all this great input! It is very helpful… i see what ur saying and now i remember - it was Ray Comfort who spoke at Bible Bee. :) Hopefully this will help me be able to witness better and, yeah, i want to be able to share the Gospel with anyone, not just those who "like" me. I guess practicing witnessing will help me become more comfortable, cuz talking to people about Jesus is often way out of my comfort zone, though I kinda think it should be easier to talk to someone about something that is sooo important to me.
One more question… how do you know when ur supposed to bring up the Gospel? do you wait for God to give u a clear opportunity? or, IDK, just whoever u come in contact with that day?

Yes, Ray Comfort spoke at Nationals. remembers the funny story about dad, brother and Ray Comfort :D

Well, the best time to bring up the Gospel (the good news) is right after you've gotten the person to acknowledge the bad news. If they won't acknowledge the bad news, you can share the good news if you want, but it likely won't be very effective if they refuse to believe that they are a sinner.

I enjoyed hearing him speak! :)
What's the funny story? :D

When he was speaking he said that he always carried tracts in his pocket. And if someone came up and asked him and he didn't have tracts in his pocket he would give them a thousand dollars. So at the dessert reception and my dad and brother went up to him from behind and dad reached into his front pocket and pulled the tracts out. Just at that second Daniel went up to him and asked if he had tracts with him. So he pulled some more out from his other pocket. It was quite funny to watch…and to see the look on my dad and Daniel's face when he pulled out more tracts :D

LOL!! That is so funny!! :D

Yep, it was. It was better watching it happen though then just reading what happened :D

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D :D
Do you remember the story he told of when we was swimming, and someone asked him if he had any…LOL! :D He pulled soaked, dripping tracts from his pocket! :D

EDIT: So Mr. Comfort didn't realized that your Dad was pulling the tracts out of his pocket?

Yes, I do remember that :D That was so funny :D

Well, he was talking to some people when my dad and brother did that but he felt my dad's hand in his front pocket. Everyone around was laughing really hard :D

And his GIANT print Bible! :D :D

LOL! Too funny!

I know!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

LOL!! that is too funny… I wish i could've seen it! =D

I think it would be great to actually know him personally, and have him to your house!!!!! :D

Ummm…we don't agree with him doctrinally in most areas

blinks Really? I know that I agree with your family doctrinally in most areas, but I don't know precisely what Ray Comfort believes… I assumed he believed similarly to us, but what exactly does he believe?

^^^what SBG said.

I'm sorry if you don't entirely understand what I meant. I didn't mean that you just walk up to a random person and say, "Hey, you're a wicked sinner headed for hell! Do you want to talk to me about it?" Obviously, this is not what I meant. What I meant was, you walk up to a random person and say something that will get their attention. The easiest thing to do is to hand them a tract and say, "Hey, did you get one of these? It's a Christian tract." And then you can start a conversation with them. In that conversation, the first thing you should do is to show to them that they are a sinner. Notice, I did not say to tell them that they are a sinner; you SHOW them. As mentioned above, the "Good Person Test" is a good way to do this. This test is given by asking the person, "So, would you consider yourself to be a good person?" Most everybody will immediately say yes. If they do, you dive into the Ten Commandments to show them that, by God's standard, they are nowhere close to "good." After you get them to acknowledge that God sees them as a sinner, you tell them that God, by His very nature, has to send sinners to hell. If you get them to acknowledge that--the bad news--you can get on to the good news. The bad news always has to come first, or the good news is not good. As for building a relationship with a person to make it easier to share the gospel with them, I'll just take a quote from Ray Comfort (the leader of Living Waters, who was at the Bible Bee Nationals): "I can build a relationship with somebody in two minutes." You don't have to become their best buddy to bring up the gospel to them. If we truly want to spread the gospel, we will do so with everyone, not just with those we are able to form a relationship with. So, I hope you see why I said what I did. And I hope you also see why I think that the best way to share the good news is to share the bad news first. :)

I see your point. Like I said it is a critical part of our faith but I still think it may be offensive if brought up to soon.

Believe me, it really isn't. If you handle it with love, there is no reason for the person you are talking to to be offended. :)

I agree everything must be convayed with love. :)