Church Toolbox - Tools to Build and Grow Your Church

Warm up (mixer): What is one of the best things that has happened to you in the past five

After these instructions, we are going to take 30 minutes to do an exercise. Remember the quality time you spent last week reflecting on the various circumstances, processes, influences, and events which have led to your becoming the Christian you are

20 Take turns sharing your stories with each other. Listen actively. Ask questions. Offer

encouragement. Affirm each other. After each story. the listeners share a brief bit of the

“Good News” they heard in the story. You may think your story is ordinary and

uninteresting. Not so- God doesn’t author junk! You may well sense a holiness as you

Sharing Our Stories: Be prepared for some "emotional" issues here, as some people might become quite "weepy" during this session. Assure them that this is quite all right.

Helpful Hints: Use the "Keeping Faith With Your Friends" handout for some suggestions on various pointers and reminders the participants might find helpful.

Praying Together: Towards the conclusion of this evening's session we want people to share, confidentially, some of the names on their "Operation Andrew" list, and to tell who these people are and what they mean to them. Then, using the prayer lists we developed last week, take some time praying for these various people, and for one another.

1. Remember that a conversion is usually a process. Think of yourself as influencing another person towards faith in Jesus Christ. Think of yourself as one link in the chain of conversion sometimes you will be one of the first links in the chain, sometimes one of the last. You don't always have to be the final link in order to be an effective friend and witness!

2. Begin with those who are closest to you: family, friends, and business associates. It is always easier to understand and to be understood by those with whom we already have credibility, than with total strangers. In this way, we will be able to have an influence on others not only by what we say, but also by who we are.

3. Pray continually. Genuine conversion is always the work of God's Spirit at work in someone's life. Pray that you will always know who God is leading you to, that God will graciously enable your own words and the other person's understanding, and that you will recognize the opportunities God provides. Pray for the courage to speak.

4. Be yourself. Don't take on a different personality or tone of voice in a faith-sharing conversation. Sharing Jesus does not mean that you are preaching: you are simply introducing one Friend to another. Let your conversation be a natural part of who you are.

5. Ask leading questions that will take the conversation deeper. Ask your friend what he or she thinks about God, about what they think is wrong with the world and human nature, how they find the resources to deal with crises or manage their stress, or what they see as their purpose in life. Talk about the sources and origin of their convictions.

6. Listen for openings and possible contact points with the Gospel. Remember that people develop an interest in Christian faith for a variety of reasons. Some are looking for truth, for meaning in life, or a way to cope with personal pain; still others, because they fear death. All such issues, when sensitively explored, can open the door to faith.

7. Ask for permission to speak about your faith. No one likes to be cornered, or forced into a conversation they really don't want to have. When the time seems right, you might say something like, "I would love to have chance to share with you what my Christian faith means to me; would you be interested in that?"

8. Don't start the conversation by trying to convince someone of their sin. The Christian perspective on guilt and sin is one of the most misunderstood topics in the world. Since most people have more than enough guilt to deal with already, talk instead about the specific issues they are facing. Besides, conviction of sin is God's job, not yours.

9. Invite your friend to a social event. If someone is not ready for an invitation to church, invite them to a party or barbecue where meeting your other Christian friends will go a long way toward easing their fears. Or if it seems appropriate, invite them to a course or special church event at which the Gospel will be presented.

10. Remember to stress the relational aspect of Christian faith. Christianity is about a relationship before it is about dogma or creeds. It is about turning to follow Jesus, about enjoying friendship with God. Don't let the conversation turn into a theological debate for which neither of you are equipped. Far more people are loved into God's kingdom than are argued in. If the conversation begins to turn into an argument, draw it to a close until a more opportune moment arises.

The work of evangelism is not the exclusive preserve of those who have been gifted and called as evangelists. All of us are to show mercy, give money, pray, etc. All are also to be evangelists. Some are naturally very good in evangelism. But most of us sense that our primary gifts lie in other areas.

Nevertheless, it is important to recognize that all of us have roles in sharing the Good News of what God has done in Jesus and to the reality of God’s Reign. We can share that Good News by witnessing to what God has done in our own lives. A major underlying theme of the New Testament is that all followers of Jesus are witnesses to what they have seen, heard, and experienced. Others are then able to draw their own conclusions from the testimony. The most effective witness is one who is able to describe accurately and confidently what has happened from their point of view.

Without a high degree of motivation and desire, the question of how to witness is not even an issue. All of you have committed to the entire five weeks, so we can all assume a certain amount of motivation exists. As with so many things in life, showing up is a major part of success. After all, God is really the one who will convict, forgive, heal, inspire, save, fill, etc. Three major considerations in developing a healthy motivation to evangelism are astonishment, confidence, and faithfulness.

Astonishment at God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ is an absolute key in motivating us to evangelism. Astonishment jumps out in passage after passage throughout the NT: the Annunciation, the shepherds, Jesus’ parents, the crowds who observed Jesus, the disciples at the tomb. How some of us can take the most astonishing story of all time and make it boring, is what is truly astonishing!

Confidence in the Gospel itself is another critical key to healthy motivation. If we do not have

confidence in the Gospel’s message to change lives, then nothing much will ever happen through us. Surely we know how God has changed our lives and we have seen God change the lives of others we know personally. He can and will change the lives of others if they let Him.

We need to have thought deeply and know how our professed beliefs make significant differences in our lives. If we are hoping to enrich the lives of our friends, we must believe the Gospel is truly Good News.

The fear that sharing our faith implies a perceived moral defect is a residue of Christendom thinking. Good Christian, good citizen, and good person are not synonymous. It takes Jesus for both the moral and the immoral to be reconciled, i.e. saved, and live in God’s presence. There is only one way to know the joy of God’s presence and His fullness, Jesus!

Faithfulness to Jesus whom we profess to be following, means first and foremost, being an evangelist. He came to seek out and save the lost. So must we. He left us with a mission to go to all nations. So, we must. It really boils down to two questions: Do we have a faith worth sharing? Do we have a friend worth sharing it with?

Suppose in thinking in terms of getting to know God, everyone is on a continuum of 1 to 100. No one being created in His image, is zero, and no one knows God fully. Real evangelism is helping a person move along the scale to a higher number. If a person is at 17, our job is to help them move to 18, then 19, etc. Level 67 makes no sense to a person at 17. We must begin where people are, and help them mature. This can be a long process. It doesn’t have to be, but it usually is.

The key to improvement and developing confidence is preparation and practice. Athletes, comics, singers, preachers, you name the activity, all of them prepare and practice, whether they are beginners or professionals. We can all become effective witnesses. All of us should want to.

Effective witnesses must know the Biblical story and their own story. God’s story is first of His proactive involvement in this world beginning with creation and reaching its peak in Jesus. It is succinctly outlined in the creeds and Eucharistic prayers. Mostly it is the story of God’s unstoppable love. He seeks to rescue us even when we do not want to be rescued! We need to know this story and spend time daily reading and reflecting on it.

Our story tells of our own faith development and experience of God’s grace. You have something to share or you wouldn’t be in the 5th hour of an Evangelism class! What has cause you to come? Who are the key people or events in your development? Who are the role models and encouragers? What about seemingly chance encounters, casual conversations, apparently insignificant choices and decisions which have later turned out to be pivotal events?

How did you eventually make the decision to follow Jesus? Can you describe the process? Did you rehearse the Baptismal covenant enough times for it to finally take hold of your life? What does this choice and direction mean to you? What were you like before? How have you changed?

No matter what shape and outline a person’s story takes, it is worth sharing. People will be interested in hearing your story, and many will delight in it. Isn’t it worth the try to move from meaningless, superficial chatter to meaningful, deep, rich, life-changing conversations? Try it!

[1] Harold Percy, Good News People, Anglican Book Centre, Toronto, Canada, 1996, unless otherwise noted.