Discipleship Project, Week 5, Day 4
DAY 4
PRACTICAL HELP IN SHARING YOUR FAITH.
1. A Personal Prayer list. Pray for God to work in the hearts of people to draw them to Jesus and make them kingdom laborers. This is a great place for all of us to start. Just pray and watch.
2. The Power Of A Personal Invitation. As simple as this sounds there is great power in a personal invitation to attend a Sunday morning service or a special outreach event like ALPHA, MOPS or Christmas Eve. Sometimes people come to church after not attending since childhood. When asked, “What made you decide to come to church at this time?” They answer, “No one ever invited me before.” Or, “I would have come earlier but no one asked.” Surveys have shown that most people come to church because of personal invitations from someone they know. As a result many come to Christ as Lord and Savior. Don’t neglect or dismiss the power of a personal invitation.
3. Welcome! On almost any Sunday people who need to receive Christ may be at our church. Many of them are uncomfortable already. It’s a poor witness to them if they just stand around awkwardly, alone, with no one to welcome them or talk to them. it sends the wrong message altogether if they walk up to a little knot of people and are barely acknowledged as the groups goes on talking about the same thing they were talking about without involving the newcomer. People need to see a reflection of God’s love in our warmth and welcome. Sometimes on the same Sunday someone will say; “this is such a warm and friendly church” and someone else will say “we found this church to be cold and unfriendly.” Why? Because it is really just the 2-4 people who are closest to them that give them their impression of the church. That’s why everyone is so important. Learn to ask questions, to communicate to people that you want to know them better. The truth is most people aren’t cold, they are scared. If you are willing to pay the price to reach out to people, God will honor your efforts.
4. Your Story of faith in Jesus. Your testimony is the story of how you came to trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. There are good examples in the Bible of one person telling others what God has done for them and how they came to believe in Jesus. The apostle Paul often gave his testimony. He generally divided it into three parts. 1.) Before he came to Christ (Acts 22:1-5). 2.) How he came to Christ (Acts 22:6-11) 3.) After he came to Christ (Acts 22:12-21). Developing a similar three point outline for your testimony can give you a powerful tool to use in helping others to find Christ. Pray and watch for opportunities to say: “Someday I’d like to tell you how I came to faith in Christ and what it has meant to me.” Then use the “red light, yellow light, green light” approach.
5. The Bible’s Story, AKA “the gospel”. Know it and how to share it. It’s important to clearly present the truth that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead as Savior and Lord. It’s also important to make clear that we receive forgiveness and eternal life not by works but by faith in Christ alone. This message has power. God uses it to call people to himself.
6. Other Tools: Books, mp3s, articles. In today’s world and culture coming to Christ is often a process. We need a lot of different approaches and the patience to discuss issues of life and faith with people over time. As we love them sincerely, live our faith, pray for their hearts and patiently share the gospel , we can draw on a variety of tools and helps. Some people respond well to books. The Reason for God, by Tim Keller is great for a non-Christian with lots of intellectual arguments. The Prodigal God, also by Tim Keller is an excellent resource for simply sharing the heart of the gospel and of God. An author named Paul Miller has developed an effective Bible study that focuses on the person of Jesus. It’s designed to be used with a non-Christian friend offering them an opportunity to explore the person of Jesus and faith in him. This study can be found at: http://www.seejesus.net/studies/poj/welcome.php
Our church website continually develops more resources to assist us in disciple-making. You can go to
www.cccdaytona.org to download sermon mp3s that are particularly appropriate for your friend. You can also check out our resources section and may often find articles or mp3s you should share and discuss with a friend.
For today’s Bible reading read Philippians 1:3-18 . Look for and note the evidence in Paul’s life for the importance of preaching Christ. By the way, “preach” doesn’t have to mean to shout! It simply means to proclaim, to make known. Write down any notes, observations, or insights in your notebook to share in class. Pray through the Lord’s Prayer outline, including the five people on your evangelistic prayer list. Review your memory verses.
Larry is the senior pastor at 
