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Becoming A Witness
Here are four simple
steps to becoming a more effective witness for Jesus in your
neighborhood, at work, in your community and beyond!
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Build a
relationship.
There are people who
walk up to complete strangers and witness, but for most people it
is much easier to begin by building a relationship. Be open to
meeting new people, especially people who are not currently
involved in a faith community. Get to know them the same way you
would get to know any new person – learn about who they are and
let them get to know more about you. Slowly over time build a
friendship and develop a level of trust that allows you to talk
about subjects of greater and greater importance until you are
able to begin to open the door slowly for conversations of faith.
-
Share your story.
For many
people their biggest fear about witnessing is they say they don’t
know the Bible well enough or they don’t feel like they will be
able to answer all the questions another person might ask. Don’t
let that stop you! Once you build the relationship, then simply
share your story. Share with your friend how Jesus is making a
difference in your life. You may want to start small, but be sure
to work up to telling the story of how you first came to trust in
Jesus as your Lord, your forgiver and your leader. (If you’ve not
yet made that decision, Tom or Amy would love to talk with you
today about that decision – please give one of us a call!)
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Share God’s story.
Once you’ve shared your story, share God’s story in a way that
feels comfortable to you. Don’t feel like you have to use fancy
words or quote a lot of scripture. Sharing God’s story in a simple
way using your own words will work just fine. Be sure to explain
that God is a personal God who loves us and knows us by name, in
fact that God loves them so much that God sent his son to die on
the cross for us so that we might experience forgiveness, might no
longer be separated from God and might have the promise of eternal
life.
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And then, when the
time is right – invite!
This whole process might take hours, days, weeks, or months –
sometimes it even takes longer – but when you sense the person is
open and ready, ask if he or she might be ready to invite Jesus to
be the forgiver and leader of his or her life. If the person says
no, give assurance that it is okay, that you will continue to pray
and not pressure, but for them to let you know if they decide they
are ready. At a later date you can gently inquire again if they
are any closer to a decision.
If the person says that he or she is ready to live in relationship
with Jesus, lead him or her in praying a simple new believer’s
prayer. One easy way is to suggest the topic of prayer and let
them talk to God simply in their own words. Here is a sample:
New Believer’s
Prayer:
Forgiveness
Prompt the person to admit their sin and need for the forgiveness
Jesus made possible on the cross
Leadership
Prompt the person to ask Christ to be the leader of their life and
to ask
The Holy Spirit to come into them to be their guide.
Thanks
Assure the person that they are forgiven and God has already
begun to change them. They now belong to God and God is
now the leader of their life. Invite them to show their faith by
giving thanks for what God is already doing in their life.
Be sure
to celebrate together this important step in your friend’s life!
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