How To Share Your Faith (Without Being Weird) Part 1.
Matt Massey |
September 25, 2023
How to Share Your Faith (Without Being Weird): Week 1
Recently I had the privilege of speaking about how we as Christians can share our faith without being weird.
This is a topic I'm passionate about because I believe every Jesus follower has the responsibility to share the hope we've found in Him. But evangelism often makes us feel nervous or awkward. We've seen it done badly—confrontational, impersonal, forced. So we've avoid it altogether. However, staying silent isn't an option if we truly believe Jesus changes lives eternally.
My goal is to equip you with a simple 3-step model for sharing Christ relationally. We’ll also look at why evangelism matters and common unhelpful approaches to avoid.
Why Evangelism Matters
Let’s address the elephant in the room — talking about our faith makes most of us uneasy! Even as a pastor, I admit my fears about sharing the gospel. But we cannot stay quiet.
As Christians, we have the greatest news the world has ever heard — the cure for humankind's deepest needs found in Jesus! His death and resurrection provide freedom from sin, meaning for life, and the hope of eternity with God. How could we not share such good news?
Jesus himself said he came "to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10), commissioning us to do the same. Evangelism isn't just about converting others; it's beneficial for our spiritual growth too. As we share our faith, we gain a fuller understanding of Christ and His love for us.
Problematic Approaches
Let’s look at three common but unhelpful ways Christians try to share their faith:
1. Confrontational - This "bullhorn" approach preaches at strangers in a judgmental way, focusing on sin and condemnation. Understandably, it puts people off.
2. Impersonal - Handing out tracts or going door-to-door delivering canned speeches comes across as contrived. We need a real relationship.
3. Forced - Trying to awkwardly steer every conversation to the gospel doesn't work. People can tell we have an agenda.
While motivated by good intentions, these methods often do more harm than good. We need a more natural, relational way to share about Jesus.
3 Steps to Sharing Your Faith
1. Listen to their story. Ask questions and get to know someone. Show interest in their life and perspectives. Jesus loved spending time with people and meeting felt needs—so should we. Listening builds trust and care.
2. Share your story. Once someone feels heard, they'll become curious about you. Share your spiritual journey authentically, including your struggles and how Jesus has changed your life. Vulnerability breeds vulnerability. Don't pretend to have it all together.
3. Tell THE story. After developing mutual understanding, ask if you can share the gospel. Avoid Christianese and share the Creation, Fall, Redemption, Invitation message in everyday language. Make it conversational, not a lecture. The goal is to paint a picture of who Jesus is and what He did for them.
My Hope & Prayer
As we go out into our everyday lives, I hope that we will engage others with humility, understanding, and grace. We don't bring a message of condemnation but of hope.
My prayer is that our church will be equipped to share the greatest story ever told — that Jesus loves each person deeply and gave His life to save them. May the truth of Christ reside in us and flow freely through us to a world in desperate need of His love.
Read more about how to share the gospel here.
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