309 East Broadway Avenue   Maryville, TN 37804

Phone: (865) 982-6192    FAX: (865) 982-6142   e-mail: office@broadwayumc.net
 

 
 
 

Twenty-five Ways to Share Your Faith

Here are twenty-five suggestions for effective evangelism and faith sharing

1) Pray: There is no more effective means of spreading the faith.

2) Be a joyful, generous and forgiving person: Next to prayer, this is the most effective thing you can do. And if you are not a joyful, generous and forgiving person, you actually will turn people away from Christianity. Look for opportunities to exercise mercy and kindness.

3) Have a personal story to tell: We are drawn to the Gospel more by conversion stories and examples than by intellectual arguments. Think of people you know who have given up drinking, or been touched by grace in special ways. Being able to tell a story of conversion or growth in holiness is more effective than intellectual arguments. What is your story?

4) Be an engaged citizen: Faith impacts the family, the neighborhood, business, politics, and culture. If you are someone who is bringing a faith perspective to these areas, it gives a positive witness. You don't need to be controlling of these entities. Rather, you give a witness by simply voicing Gospel values in a positive and rational way. Asking questions is often more effective than proposing solutions. Instead of going into the executive boardroom and saying, "We can't do this business because it goes against my Church's teaching." Try saying, "Have we considered the ethical ramifications of doing this type of business, when we have historically earned such a positive reputation in the market?"

5) Listen to non-believers and persons that are not happy with their present denominational choice: How do you expect anyone to listen to you if you don't extend the same courtesy. Be humble enough to listen and learn from others. Seek common ground. Maybe a time will come for prophetic critique with a person, but do it with gentleness and respect based on a history of mutual dialogue built up by listening. Building this relationship over time is more important than winning a single religious argument.

6) Admit when you don't know an answer: It is probably inevitable that someone will ask you a question about your faith, and you will not know what your church teaches on the issue, nor have you thought about the issue yourself. It is dishonest to act as though you know the answer when you don't, and you may even tell someone something that you later find out is wrong. At the other extreme, some people avoid religious discussion because they know they don't know everything. Both extremes are not good witness. When someone asks a question about your faith and you do not know the answer, there is absolutely nothing wrong with saying, "That's a great question, and I haven't really thought about it. Nor do I know what the church teaches, but I'll look it up." The key is to look it up and get back to the person.

7) Know where to go when you don't have the answer: The Discipline  and the Bible are great resources (even for naysayers). The Discipline has footnotes to all Scriptural references. Furthermore, there is probably an entire book written on just about 90 percent of the questions one would encounter in daily life, from where things are in the Bible to how to answer the common questions of an atheist. You don't have to read every book at once, but learn where to find some of these resources when you need them. You also might consider speaking to your pastor, or Sunday School class leader.

8) Admit when you have the exact same question as the non-believer: Many people have a hard time with this one. None of us is perfect, and other than Jesus we all are groping toward truth, rather than possessing all truth. There's not a Christian who ever lived who did not grow in faith and grow in their understanding of faith. Furthermore, the Church as a whole is in a constant process of renewal and reform. There is nothing wrong with saying you have some questions about your faith. Indeed, this can help the seeker see that it's OK to have questions, and they don't need to have it all together before they embrace Christ, or join the Church.

9) Have a sense of humor: Some have known to see humor in some of Jesus' debates with the Pharisees and scribes. People are attracted to humor, and as long as humor is not mean spirited or promoting sin, it can draw people to faith.

10) It's ok to give silent witness sometimes: Hang a cross in your car. Place a Bible among your reference books at work. Wear a cross, or other religious jewelry around your neck. You don't need to say a thing, and if you are doing numbers 1, 2 and 8, these things will speak for themselves.

11) Door-to-door evangelism is Biblical: Given today’s social client, we probably do not do this as much as other denominations, but there has always been some corner of the globe where Christians are actually standing on a street corners or going door-to-door evangelizing. Lately, the French have revitalized this process. If you want to start something like this, it would be a good idea to document a script and process and run it by your pastor before implementing it. Even Paul cleared his preaching with Peter, James and John before going to the Gentiles. Involve others. Jesus sent the disciples out two-by-two. The goal of such an exercise is not so much to bring in massive converts as to do two things: 1) meet other people made in the image of God, and 2) heighten awareness of the faith in the society.

12) Make use of media: Start your own blog, Facebook, or Twitter pages. Have some tracts around the house to hand to door-to-door evangelists from other denominations when they stop by. Leave a holy card on a restaurant table. Publish an article, contact the local radio and television stations about events, programs and fellowship opportunities at your church. Promote your church website and share your weekly church newsletters with others.

13) Support Church Outreach and Missions projects: Give of your time, talent, and treasure, especially performing the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Bible suggests ten percent of your income, and we believe that this is what we should all aim to give. Just as important as giving a financial donation, It is definitely more fruitful to get involved by giving some of your time and talent.

14) Give occasional donations to missionary societies: Give to organizations where you see direct social service results. Also, we should also give to groups that publish Bibles, or run foreign missions. This is actually a precept of the Church.

15) Be patient: You may plant a seed that another person will harvest.

16) Don't assume that people aren't saved: Recognize that the Church, herself, teaches that there is a hierarchy of truth, and that salvation occurs outside of its institutional boundaries. An atheist embracing Islam is a little closer to salvation than an atheist turned off to religion by close-minded denominationalism and religious intolerance. If we had a God's eye view of things, we would see that there are people united to the Church who do not call themselves by a specific denomination. We would also see that from God's perspective, there are some Christians going to hell. It is not our goal to make the whole world Christian. Rather, our goal is to facilitate salvation for ourselves and others.

17) Live a Sacramental Life: This really goes with number (1) prayer. However, it is important to emphasize that prayer reaches its fullest communal expression in the sacraments. The sacraments are encounters with the risen Lord and unite us with one another. Participation in a deep sacramental life is both personal prayer and public witness.

18) Avoid Sin: This sort of goes with point number (2) to be a generous person. Yet, sometimes the kindest people also give a bad witness by participating in evil habits. None of us is perfect, but we need to seek God's grace to overcome our worst habits. Do whatever it takes to break addictions to spouse or family abuse, violence, pornography, drug addictions, theft, racism and sexism, or other gross violations of the golden rule and the Gospel. If you do not immediately succeed, do not hide your sin. Instead, confess your sin sacramentally, ask forgiveness from those you hurt, pray for grace, and ask for help from those who want you to succeed - such as counselors, priests, teachers, doctors, supportive family members, or twelve step groups.

19) Emphasize the Good News of the Gospel: Do not focus exclusively on warning others how to avoid hell. We don't know anyone who embraced Christianity because of a threat of hell in the next life. Rather, focus on the joy in the here and now of living the Gospel, and the bliss promised in heaven. When pointing to negative consequences of sin, focus as much on the here and now negative repercussions of sin as you do on the threat of eternal hell.

20) Avoid the irrational: Much of religious truth goes beyond natural comprehension. Yet, our faith teaches that faith and reason can never be in conflict. Some people mistakenly believe that what makes a proposition a religious truth is that the proposition is irrational (self contradictory, completely meaningless, or completely without evidence). We are opposed to this, and if you find yourself advocating things that are irrational, no matter how strongly you feel you are right, you are probably wrong.

21) Avoid excessive rationalism: Some things go beyond the ability of the human mind to fully comprehend, such as infinity, love, beauty, and truth. These are concepts that everyone apprehends, but nobody fully comprehends. Religious truth, while never irrational, is sometimes non-rational. The mysteries of faith can be apprehended, but not fully comprehended. If you are explaining something like the nature  of God to someone and make it sound like you fully comprehend everything there is to know about God, you are probably committing idolatry and speaking of a false God. Christianity must be open to things that can not be explained and during these times, should embrace and trust their faith in God.

22) Invite someone to Church: This is probably the best single way to bring someone to Christianity from the outside. All it takes is a simple invitation.

23) Always be ready to discuss your faith: This is such simple advise, and so few people think of it. Being ready to discuss your faith doesn't mean that you steer every conversation toward religion. It simply means that you are active and engaged enough in your own spiritual development that you do not fear the topic. Experience has shown that some sort of spiritual or theological discussion comes up in each life at least once a week. It isn't that you go around pushing a religious agenda. People may ask a question or somehow initiate the discussion themselves. It is simply a matter of being open to the discussion when it arises. I have noticed that some Christians change the subject - often with a joke intended to change the subject. Don't be like that. You miss opportunities for personal growth and evangelization by doing this.

24) Be all things to all people: This was Paul's advice, and by it, we believe he meant that we should just be normal human beings and not try to be weirdo religious fanatics. This may seem contrary to the point about door-to-door evangelization, which strikes many as fanatical. But excluding this tactic, the rest of the advice presented so far would not place you in the complete weirdo category. Go out for a beer on occasion. Go to a ball game. Read a good novel. Enjoy the arts. Study science. Form some healthy habits like exercise. Use some "common sense" and while doing your subtle part to further the Gospel, avoid anything too showy.

25) Pray: Did we mention this is the most important thing you can do?

 

   

 

Please CLICK HERE to send comments and suggestions relative to this website