3 Tips for Sharing the Gospel

The Plot - Part 1
—

This Sunday, Pastor Tim kicked off our new collection of talks called “The Plot” about how Jesus handled the most difficult week of His life. He shared how the religious leaders of the time were far more concerned about protecting their power than being faithful to God. So much so that rather than welcoming the long awaited Messiah—they crucified Him!

This talk served as a good reminder of what we should look for in spiritual leaders. Spiritual leaders should:

• Have a personal relationship with God
• Living in a way that is consistent with the faith they profess
• Be able to point people to God

While these things need to be true of a spiritual leader—they are also three great questions to ask yourself even if you wouldn’t consider yourself a spiritual leader. Are you fostering your relationship with God? Are you living in a manner consistent with what you profess? Are you able to point people to God?

We recently had a meeting with our ministry team staff members where we talked about how to effectively share the Gospel because this is something that all Christians are called to do. We want to be able to do it well and be able to train others in our church to do the same.

Because of how important it is and since I know this can be an intimidating part of our faith for many people, I want to share 3 tips to effectively share the gospel with someone:

You can’t lead someone if you don’t know where you are going and you can’t share what you don’t know. Simply put, the Gospel is the message of the good news of Jesus Christ. It is composed of three parts: a problem, a solution, and a response.

• The problem is sin
• The solution is Jesus
• The response God is looking for is faith

If you want to dig deeper or gain a better understanding of the Gospel I would recommend reading Pastor Tim’s book: When God Walked Alone.
—

People don’t care what you know until they know that you care. Stepping into someone’s world, walking alongside them, loving them, walking the walk, showing them you care—doing all of these things will not only be obeying God in the way you are treating them and honoring them as the imago dei but also will cultivate their heart to be more fertile and receptive when you share Christ.

You absolutely can, and sometimes should, share the gospel with people you don’t have a relationship with; however, I find that it is much easier and much more effective in the context of a relationship.
—

Oftentimes, I like to use an illustration known as “The Bridge to Life” when sharing the Gospel with someone. I find it gives people a concrete visual that helps them understand the abstract message. The main idea depicts what Jesus did on the cross as “bridging the gap of sin” between us and God.
[Find the full illustration here]

Once you learn this or another illustration, it will be another tool in your tool belt that you can use in any situation; from drawing the bridge on a napkin at Starbucks in order to share the gospel with someone for the first time to teaching others how to best share the good news! 

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, pray. Ask God who He would have you share the Gospel with. Pray for opportunities to earn the right to be heard and for the boldness to speak when the opportunities come. Recognize that we are not inviting God to join us on our mission but rather when we pray in this way and seek to bring the good news to the world, we are joining Him on His mission.

—Romans 1:16