What’s Your Style?
In the book Becoming a Contagious Christian by Mark Mittelberg and Lee Strobel are six evangelistic styles: (1) direct (Peter in Acts 2); (2) intellectual or apologetical (Paul in Acts 17); (3) testimonial (blind man in John 9); (4) interpersonal or friendship (Luke 5:27–29); (5) invitational (Andrew told Peter, “We have found the Messiah”); and (6) service- or life-based.
God wants to use your unique personality to share the gospel. My wife’s spiritual gifts are different than mine. She is very caring and relational. She demonstrates the love of Christ by her warm, sweet heart and desire to help people. She is not as vocal as I am in sharing the gospel but shares God’s love to people when the occasion arises.
Regardless of what style you relate to the most, everyone needs to be able to articulate the gospel. If you knew someone who was dying of cancer in the hospital and there was no pastor around to call upon, what would you say to that person who was soon facing eternity? You need to know the gospel message and share it by using your own style and personality.
James Kennedy, founder of the Evangelism Explosion ministry, once said, “I like my way of doing evangelism better than your way of not doing it.”
Many Methods
We learn from Jesus that He used a variety of methods with different people to share the gospel. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:22 (ESV), “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”
Try to adapt the gospel message to the person you are sharing with because everyone is different. In fishing for fish, a good fisherman uses a variety of bait such as worms, lures, salmon eggs, and more because some fish may want worms instead of eggs. The goal is to catch fish. Some people use Ray Comfort’s method of evangelism; others use the Bridge, Evangelism Explosion, the Internet, or social media to share Christ. Be willing to learn different methods to share your faith.
Nicodemus and the Woman at the Well
Jesus spoke differently to the woman at the well (an immoral Samaritan woman) than He did to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. In John 4:7 (ESV), Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink?” Jesus transitioned from the known (physical water) to the unknown (living water). She had been seeking fulfillment by going from husband to husband. Jesus did not condemn her. He began where she was and dialogued with her. With Nicodemus, Jesus referenced His impending death on the cross using scriptures from Numbers 21:4–9. In John 19, we see Nicodemus assisting in the burial of Christ.
Reaching Intellectuals
When Paul spoke to the intellectuals of his time, he began with common ground. In Acts 17:16–31, he spoke to the Athenians by stating that they were very religious, and then he mentioned their inscription, “To an unknown God.” Paul moved from general revelation to special revelation.
GOSPEL RESOURCES
Tracts
Evangelist George Whitfield and the great Hudson Taylor were both saved through gospel tracts. On one recent occasion, a young lady named Ashlee who had been on drugs and was about to give up on herself read a gospel tract that was left at the door of her apartment by Christians from India at my local church. Ashlee committed her life to Christ and was soon baptized at my church. She said, “I can’t live without Jesus now.”
If you’re not good at memorizing a gospel outline, don’t use that as an excuse not to share. You can easily access gospel tracts online that will walk a person through the gospel. If you have a tract, ask this of the person you are conversing with: “If you have a few minutes, I’d love to see what you think about the main points of this booklet.” Invite them to coffee or lunch and highlight the main points. Pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie said his first experience in sharing his faith was when he went to the beach and simply read a tract to a lady sitting on the sand. To his amazement, she received Christ.
Some Popular Tracts
Some very popular tracts are “The Four Spiritual Laws” and “Would You Like to Know God Personally?” Over two billion “Four Spiritual Laws” tracts have been distributed worldwide since they were first printed in the 1950s. I had the privilege of sharing this tract with hundreds of college students each year while I was on staff with Cru. If you are not familiar with the “Four Spiritual Laws,” here’s a brief outline. It begins with this statement: “Just as there are physical laws that govern the physical universe, so are there spiritual laws that govern your relationship with God.”
Following that are four main points:
Law 1: God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.
Law 2: Man is sinful and separated from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God’s love and plan for his life.
Law 3: Jesus Christ Is God’s only provision for man’s sin. Through Him you can know and experience God’s love and plan for your life.
Law 4: We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God’s love and plan for our lives.
Cru’s tract. “Would You Like to Know God Personally?” can be downloaded from your mobile device at sites such as GodTools (http://godtoolsapp.com).
Other good tracts include “Steps to Peace with God” by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association; “The Bridge Illustration” by the Navigators; and “Do You Know?” by Evangelism Explosion International.
The Romans Road
Some people share Christ using scriptures from the book of Romans (Romans 3:23; 5:8; 6:23; 8:1; 10:9). You can download Romans Road from the app store on your mobile device.
Share Jesus Without Fear by William Fay and Ralph Hodge
This book shares a natural, nonthreatening way to share the gospel. The authors use five simple questions followed by seven Bible verses for a person to read aloud (Romans 3:23; 6:23; John 3:3; 14:6; Romans 10:9–11; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Revelation 3:20).
Evangelism Explosion International
When I was pastor of evangelism at a large church, I taught the Evangelism Explosion method to many believers. It has five main points relating to the gospel.
GRACE—Salvation is a free gift that cannot be earned (Romans 6:23).
MAN is a sinner (Romans 3:10, 23); he cannot save himself (Isaiah 64:6).
GOD is love (1 John 4:8) but is also holy (Habakkuk. 1:13) and must punish sin.
CHRIST—Who He is: God (John 1:1–3, 14); what He did: He is our substitute (2 Corinthians 5:21).
FAITH—Temporal faith versus saving faith (John 1:12; Romans 10:9–10, 13). www.evangelismexplosion.org features great resources for teachers and students.
The Way of the Master
The Way of the Master by Ray Comfort uses the Mosaic Law to show how a person has broken God’s laws and show them their sin and need for repentance. Ask the person you are witnessing to, “If God were to judge you by the standard of the ten commandments, do you think you would be found innocent or guilty, and would you be going to heaven or hell?” This is followed up by a presentation of the gospel. Go to www.wayofthemaster.com to learn more.
One-Verse Evangelism
One-Verse Evangelism is a simple, interactive way to share Christ’s love conversationally and visually. It is very easy to learn. It is based on Romans 6:23 (NKJV) “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” You can find this at https://www.navigators.org/resource/one-verse-evangelism/.
Three Circles Gospel Presentation
This is a simple tool that helps Christians share the gospel using three simple circles that represent (1) God’s design, (2) our brokenness, and (3) the gospel. At the end of a gospel presentation, the Christian asks, “Is there anything that would prevent you from repenting and believing the gospel today?” You can learn more about this unique gospel presentation by going to www.namb.net/evangelism/3circles/.
The book Turning Everyday Conversations into Gospel Conversations by Jimmy Scroggins and Steve Wright explains a three-circle method and how they relentlessly train believers to share the gospel.
Reaching Jewish People for Christ
The Apostle Paul wrote that the gospel is to go to “the Jew first” (Romans 1:16 ESV). God has not done away with His people, Israel. Romans 11 speaks of a future remnant of Jewish people who will turn to Jesus as their Messiah. The book of Revelation reveals that God is going to commission 144,000 Jewish evangelists to preach the gospel to the entire world during the final few years of human history. Author Joel Rosenberg says there are currently about a million Jews worldwide who believe in Jesus as their Messiah.
I recently shared Christ at a 24-Hour Fitness gym to a young Jewish man in his early 20s named Roy. He knew very little about the Bible. I sent him an article called “Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?” and encouraged him to read the Gospel of Matthew. Whenever I talk to a person who is Jewish, I tell them I love the Jewish people. I quote Genesis 12:2–3 where God told Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
I tell them that I’m praying for their country and for the peace of Jerusalem. This usually gives me an opportunity to share the gospel with them.
Here are a few of the many great ministries to the Jewish people:
- Chosen People Ministries seeks to reach Jewish people for Christ. Their top-selling book is Isaiah 53 Explained by Mitch Glaser (www.ChosenPeople.com).
- Jewish Voice’s aim is to share the gospel of Yeshua (Jesus) to the Jew first and also to Gentiles (www.jewishvoice.org).
- One for Israel uses cutting-edge media evangelism in Hebrew, Arabic, and English to reach their people for Christ (www.oneforisrael.org).
- The Joshua Fund (www.joshuafund.com) and Jews for Jesus (www.jewsforjesus.org) are ministries that proclaim the gospel of Messiah to the Jewish people.
- Bridgesforpeace.com is a ministry where Christians support Israel and build relationships between Christians and Jews in Israel and around the world.
Pray that the eyes of the Jewish people will be opened to the gospel and that there will be a revival among the Jews to come to Christ. Give Jews a copy of the New Testament and share your personal testimony— how Jesus changed your life and why you believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah.
Reaching Muslims for Christ
Many Muslims have a zeal for God, but the gospel, who Jesus really is, and the concept of grace are foreign to them. Muslims respect Jesus as a great prophet, and the Quran has verses on Jesus as a prophet, but they do not know that Jesus claimed to be God—the “I AM” statements Jesus made in John 14:6, John 10:30, and John 8:58 that demonstrate that He is God.
In The Camel: How Muslims Are Coming to Faith in Christ, author Kevin Greeson shares how thousands of Muslims in the Middle East are coming to Christ. The book shows specific verses in the Quran that speak positively of Jesus and the Bible to help Muslims read and understand the gospel.
Many Muslims today are coming to Christ through dreams. While our son Matt was serving the Lord with Church Resources Ministries (CRM), he met an Iranian named Ali who was Muslim. Matt began praying that Ali would have a dream about Jesus. A few months later, Matt and Ali watched the movie The Passion of the Christ. That night Ali had a dream about Jesus and told Matt, “You’re not going to believe what happened to me last night. Last night, Jesus appeared to me in my dreams, and He showed me the wounds in His hands and feet. I felt His peace, and I knew the story was true. I believe 100 percent that Jesus died and rose again for my sins.” Yes, many Muslims are coming to Christ through dreams. YouTube and Instagram portray many testimonies of Muslims coming to Christ. Go to www.ifoundthetruth.com, which is a great website on how Muslims all over the world are encountering Jesus. You can watch their stories now on YouTube.
Tips on Sharing with Hindus and Buddhists
With Hindus:
There are one billion Hindus in the world. In the book, Disciple Making Among Hindus by Timothy Shultz, he provides the following tips to reach Hindus for Christ.
- Hindus view truth through the lens of experience and relationships are very important, especially family and friends. Build authentic and sustainable relationships with Hindus over time. Look for a “person of peace who will invite you into their network of relationships such as family and friends.” George David, a pioneer missionary in North India said: “We need to learn the art of narrating the stories of Jesus in a simple . . . manner.”
Hindus believe that all people are trapped in a cycle of reincarnation and karma, and the way to break this cycle is in one of three ways: (1) to purify one’s soul, they must obey all the laws and obligations of the Hindu scriptures called Vedas; (2) they teach the total rejection and denial of your individual self; (3) they teach that you must commit yourself totally to the worship of a particular god or goddess, and that deity will release them from reincarnation or the karma cycle. Share with a Hindu that in Christ’s resurrection, Jesus broke the power of karma and rebirth, or sin and death, because He returned to life in the same body in which He died.
I once asked a Hindu if he did something bad, what would he have to do to make up for the bad deed. He replied, “I would need to do 50 good deeds to make up for the one bad deed.” Here’s some helpful advice for sharing Christ with a Hindu:
- Ask and listen to what they believe about God, sin, salvation. You could ask the following:
- What do you like about Hinduism? What is the most difficult thing for you to accept or practice in Hinduism?
- What do you think happens after you die?
- Who do you think Jesus is? Have you ever read what the Bible says about Jesus?
- Explain what it means to be born again because a Hindu believes in reincarnation. Jesus taught a totally different definition to Nicodemus in John 3. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.”
- Share Jesus’s forgiveness. Bakht Singh, an Indian evangelist who converted from Hinduism to Christ, said, “I have never yet failed to get a hearing [with a Hindu] if I talk to them about forgiveness of sins and peace and rest in your heart.” Matthew 11:28 (ESV) says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
- Focus on a personal relationship with God. The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–32 illustrates how the son rebelled against his father, but the father longed to be reunited with his son. Sin disrupts our relationship with God, but when we confess our sin and guilt, we can receive forgiveness because Jesus paid the full price for our sins. If we ask the Lord for forgiveness, He will completely forgive us and give us eternal life with Him.
- All the avatars or incarnations of Vishnu are mythical in nature, but history shows that Jesus lived, was crucified, and rose from the dead. Jesus claimed to be “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
- Gandhi said, “I shall say to the Hindus that your lives are incomplete unless you reverently study the teachings of Jesus” (Hingorani, 23). Encourage your Hindu friend to read the Gospel of John and share your personal testimony with them.
Rob Adams in his seminar on reaching Hindus recommends sharing stories in the Gospels about Jesus and suggests showing your Hindu friends the Jesus Film, The Chosen series, and also Share the Story (www.biblicalstorying.com) to reach Hindus with the gospel.
When sharing with a Buddhist, keep in mind that their worldview is totally different. A Buddhist does not believe in a personal God. Instead of using terms such as born again, focus on the idea of freedom from guilt, forgiveness, and the gift of eternal life. Talk about the person of Christ and His resurrection from the dead. Share your personal testimony. Offer to give them a Gospel of John to read. There are several online resources for how to share Christ with a Buddhist. Christiananswers.net is an excellent website on how to witness to a Buddhist.
Wrap Up
As you share the gospel, you can ask the person a few questions to find out where they are on their spiritual journey. You might say, “Does this make sense to you?” If they are ready to receive Christ, it’s helpful to review with them what a commitment to Christ means. Do they understand that they have sinned and want forgiveness for their sins? Do they believe that Jesus is God and rose from the dead? Do they now want to put their faith in the Lord as their Savior and Lord? If they would like to receive Christ into their life, ask them to pray audibly with you, or they can pray in their own words. It’s important to follow up with them and get them connected to a local church.
If they are not ready, you can ask, “Why do you feel you are not ready to receive Christ?” They may say, “I don’t know enough.” They may still not understand the gospel. When I was 12 years old, a Presbyterian pastor visited our house and shared the gospel with my twin sister and me. I prayed the prayer, but I didn’t understand what he was sharing. It wasn’t until seven years later that I actually committed my life to Christ.
When I think a person understands the gospel, I review the prayer with them and say something like this: “When you invite the Lord into your life, He promised to come to indwell you, to forgive you of your sins, and to give you eternal life as a free gift. He will be in you the rest of your life.” Review with them the promises of God such as John 1:12, Revelation 3:20, and John 3:16. Follow-up is important.
- Invite them to your church and be willing to disciple them.
- Introduce them to other believers in Christ.
- Be a friend, and model what a Christian looks like.
- Give them a New Believers Bible.
- Encourage them to get baptized out of obedience to Christ.
- Encourage them to get into a home Bible study at your church.