“A LIFE THAT INVITES”

(**On Day 5 of each week, we will learn about one of the practices of Jesus. These practices give us practical, daily ways to experience life with Jesus. If you need to review the reason for the practices, check out Week 1 – Day 5 – Coffee Mugs.**)

When I was 10 years old, I invited two of my friends to walk with Jesus. I was living in Togo, West Africa, where my parents were missionaries. 

Their names were Mohammed and Jacques. We played soccer together every day. I started a Bible study, told them about Jesus, and lead them in a prayer to follow Him.

This sounds impressive. But I am embarrassed to say that for the next 15 years, I was lousy at inviting people to walk with Jesus. 

We were made for a life that invites.

Over the past few years, I began to ask God for boldness and love to share my faith. He answered. As I began to invite people to Jesus, I discovered a deep joy I had not experienced before. When we step out in faith to tell people about Jesus, our soul comes alive.

We were made for a life that invites.

NOT FOR ME

Of all the practices of Jesus, evangelism is the most uncomfortable.

A 2018 Barna survey discovered that 47% of practicing Christian millennials believe that “it’s wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith.” 

Half of Christians born between 1984 and 1998 aren’t simply uncomfortable sharing their faith. They believe it’s wrong.

IS IT WRONG TO SHARE OUR FAITH?

Obviously, I’m writing a chapter on evangelism so I believe it’s important. But let’s take a look at two Biblical reasons for sharing our faith:

First, our God is a missionary God. It has always been God’s plan to dwell with his people. (see Days 1-4 of Week 2)

As we learned yesterday, Jesus commissioned his disciples to go everywhere and tell everyone about him. 

Half of Christians born between 1984 and 1998 aren’t simply uncomfortable sharing their faith. They believe it’s wrong.

Second, Jesus is the hope for humanity. (See Day 1 and Day 2 of this week). Without Jesus, every person is living a meaningless life and headed toward a hopeless death.

Do we really believe that every coworker, family member, or friend will live forever in either heaven or hell? Do we understand that each person without God will find multiplied sorrows in this life?

If the answer is yes, it should compel us to share the gospel.

FOUR EXCUSES WE USE FOR NOT SHARING OUR FAITH

Excuse #1: “I don’t know enough“. Many people are afraid they will be asked a difficult question or presented with facts that challenge their own beliefs.

Response: It is OK to say, “I don’t know.” This answer demonstrates humility and compassion. 

Christianity has been under attack for 2,000 years. As a result, some of the greatest minds in history have written extensively on how to answer the most difficult questions of our faith. If you don’t know the answer to a challenge, ask a leader in your life to recommend a resource that will help you study to discover the answer. 

As followers of Jesus, we should grow in our ability to give answers about our faith (see 1 Peter 3:15-16). But as we do, we should consider the old saying, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. The quality of our love is far more important than the breadth of our knowledge. 

It is OK to say, “I don’t know.”

Excuse #2: “I’m afraid”. We fear many things about evangelism – saying something wrong, offending, giving a poor impression of faith, losing our reputation, or damaging a friendship.

Even the first disciples experienced fear. In Acts 4, they gathered together and prayed for courage to preach.

Response: Yesterday, we discovered that the Holy Spirit gives us the power to carry out God’s mission. 

Timothy, who was a protege of the apostle Paul, struggled with fear and hesitation. Paul, encouraging him, wrote God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7 ESV)

As the Holy Spirit empowers us, we will experience the power, love, and sound mind we need to invite people to Jesus.

I have discovered that the gift of Spirit-given courage is rarely supplied in advance. Often, I have experienced fear before a conversation about God. Like the disciples, I prayed for courage and began to speak. As I stepped in obedience, God supplied the courage.

The gift of Spirit-given courage is rarely supplied in advance.

Excuse #3: “I’m not gifted to be an evangelist”. Often we believe that the work of evangelism should be done by the superstars of faith: The gifted pastors, speakers, and leaders.

Response: Evangelism is not an activity to hire out to professionals. God’s design is that every follower of Jesus would play a part. God has placed us in our schools, apartment complexes, neighborhoods, offices, restaurants, and gyms because he wants us to reach people for Jesus.

Although some evangelism happens in a pulpit or mission field, the most effective evangelism happens one-on-one with people we already know.

We naturally share the things we love. We let everyone know when we discover a hot new restaurant, an amazing deal on Amazon, or a hilarious follow on Instagram. This is evangelism. “I found something that made my life better, and I want you to experience it too.” 

The best way to share your faith is to tell your friends and family how Jesus changed your life. The most powerful argument about Jesus is not reason or logic. It’s your story told through your personality. If you are saved, you’re a walking miracle. God has brought you from death to life. As you experience the goodness of God, share it with your friends who don’t know Jesus.

We let everyone know when we discover a hot new restaurant, an amazing deal on Amazon, or a hilarious follow on Instagram. This is evangelism.

Excuse #4: “I preach the gospel with my life, not my words”. This excuse is taken from the popular Christian saying, “Preach the gospel, use words if necessary.” 

Response: This would be a great saying if it wasn’t unbiblical, unhelpful, and misleading.

Of course, our lives should demonstrate that we serve God. But your friends and family will probably not come to Jesus because you are a nice person. 

Your kindness will earn their respect, but it is rarely enough to win them to Christ.

Paul writes, And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Romans 10:14 NLT) People will not get saved unless they hear the message from someone.

HOW TO PRACTICE EVANGELISM

Evangelism is scary. But it does not have to be complicated. Randy Pope, the founding pastor of Perimeter Church in Atlanta, Georgia, shares an easy tool for sharing our faith called “G-B-I”.

Your kindness will earn their respect, but it is rarely enough to win them to Christ.

G: Greet – Before we share our faith with someone new, we should “greet” them. We introduce ourselves to them and find out their name and their story.

Many followers of Jesus claim to practice “Friendship Evangelism”. This concept means that we build a strong relationship with someone before sharing our faith. This is a wonderful concept. 

The problem is that most of us are great at “Friendship” and lousy at “Evangelism”. We hang out, play golf, grab drinks, and spend lots of time and energy. But we never get around to sharing our faith.

In a study on evangelism, Bob McNabb writes that those who share the gospel within the first few times of meeting someone shared 52 times annually, compared to 15 times for those who waited. According to McNabb, “Those who shared the gospel within the first few times of meeting someone led more than 400 percent more people to Christ on average each year than those who waited to establish an ongoing relationship.” (“Spiritual Multiplication in the Real World”, chapter 6)

I encourage you to begin sharing your faith within the first five times you talk with someone. Build a friendship as you share your faith. 

Most of us are great at “Friendship” and lousy at “Evangelism”.

B: Befriend – How do you befriend someone? By being friendly to them. Ask questions. Express interest in their lives. Where are they from? What are their passions? 

I: Invite – Pope suggests that you invite them to one of three things:

1. Invite them to read, watch, or listen to something. Give them an easily digestible resource. Ask them to check it out, and be ready to have a follow-up conversation when they do. (Check out “A Life That Invites Resources” for a list of resources to give someone interested in Jesus.)
2. Invite them to attend something. This could be a church gathering, small group, or event.
3. Invite them to consider the claims of Jesus. This could be done by inviting them to an outreach Bible study, a conversation with you, or by going through small group material together.

OUR GOAL IS LOVE

God saves, we don’t. Our goal is not how many souls we win, but how obedient we are to share the message of Jesus in love.

We are called to love our community by prayerfully considering the wisest methods to invite people to Jesus.

Let’s not be the missing link.

I have heard it said that whenever someone comes to Christ, there is a chain of people in their lives that helped them get to Jesus. You or I may be the first, twelfth, or last link in the chain. What an honor to be a middle link. But let’s not be the missing link.

NEXT STEPS

1: Read Luke 24:1-35 (we’ll get back to Mark next week). This passage will teach us how Jesus lived a life that invites.
2: Spend 10 minutes in Solitude, reflecting on what you learned. Pray using the P-R-A-Y method.
3: Pray and write down 1 or 2 people in your life who don’t know Jesus. Ask God for boldness and courage, and make plans to share your testimony with each one of them in the next 2 weeks.
4: Text one friend one thing that you learned

Congrats! You’ve made it through Week 4 of the North Star journey. Next week, we’ll start with Week 5 – Day 1 – “I AM: New In Christ”.