CHAPTER 3
HOW DO I START WITNESSING?
A. THE APPROACH
Look
for opportunities to share the gospel. Be alert to God's leading. He will
open you a door to share the gospel.
1. The First Thing To Do Is Establish Rapport.
a. Gain Favorable Attention.
b. Recognize the positive people skills you have and develop them to the fullest.
1). Be Friendly.
Proverbs 18:24 - "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."
Smile at people.
Be cordial.
2). Be Pleasant.
Speak to people.
Call people by name.
3). Be Gracious.
Proverbs 15:1 - "A soft answer turneth away wraft: but grievous (harsh) words stir up anger."
Be considerate with the feelings of others.
Be generous with praise.
4). Be Real.
Be genuinely interested in people.
Philippians 2:3 - "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves."
They are approachable or touchable.
Mark 10:13-14 - "And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto Me, ans forbid them not: for such is the kingdom of God."
Be alert to serve.
5). Be Likeable
Likeable People Tend to Have Certain Characteristics:
They smile easily and often.
It takes seventy-two muscles to frown, only fourteen to smile.
Proverbs 15:13 - "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance (face): but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken."
They have a good sense of humor.
They are fun, enjoyable to be with.
They are themselves, without pretense.
They are self-confident, but not arrogant.
They engage you in conversation about yourself quickly.
They admits they don't know all the answers.
They laugh at themselves.
They are good listeners.
They know their limitations.
c. Build Personal Relationships By Asking Questions And Listening.
Ask questions about:
1). His Family.
2). His Interest.
3). His Hobbies.
4). His Occupation.
5). His Religious Background.
Listening Model:
1). Pay Attention.
Listen and overcome distractions. This will help the person to open-up and you will develop new levels of trust.
2). Acknowledge.
Pause before you speak. Use verbal pauses. When others finish speaking, simply say, "Oh," "Um," or "I used to believe the same way." This little step proves you're listening.
3). Clarify.
To respond effectively, you must first clarify what others mean by probing like a detective or a doctor.
4). Respond.
Poor listeners leap from "attend" to "respond," without acknowledging and clarifying
2. You are Earning the Right to be
Heard by applying these principles.
Until
you earn the right to be heard, people will not fully listen to what you
have to say.
You
are asking questions that move to the core of his life. Asked
questions, then be quiet and listen.
3. Demonstrate Christian Love by Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Once you have earned the right, people become very interested in what you have to say, including the gospel. If you know of no good reason not to, then attempt to present the gospel. You will be surprised at the favorable response you will get from giving out a gospel tract..
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The Approach - A Tract
Tracts are an easy way to begin witnessing to a
stranger. Having gone to a wrong address, I apologized for
disturbing the woman and offered her a tract. She looked at it and
remarked, "That's funny, someone else gave me one of these a
week ago." "Fine," I said. "Tell me, did you
read it? .... Yes," she replied. "Wonderful," I
continued, "have you thought much about it?" Her answer
was, "That's all I have been able to think about all
week." How thrilling to lead this woman, prepared of God, so
very easily to Christ. The faithful witness who gave her the first
tract will rejoice when he gets to heaven and learns about the
great part he played in her salvation.
(Dr. C. Sumner Wemp - Fishing For Men - New Life Tract Society -page 32). |
B. THE METHOD
The best way to make the transition from talking about secular things, to discussing spiritual things is by using a good gospel tract.
"Am
I Going To Heaven?"
The
Facts Tract offers a unique opportunity in a witnessing experience. It is
easy to use and it is proven effective as a conversation opener, because
of its title, "Am I Going To Heaven?"
Simply
give out the tract and say, "Let
me give you something good to read. I think you will find it interesting."
When
people receive a gospel tract, they almost always make a comment about it.
Many say something like:
"I hope so"
"What
is this?"
"Not
me, I wish"
"Not
me, I'll never make it to Heaven."
Do you know what just happen, when the person makes a comment after receiving the tract?
You
now have an opportunity to present the plan of salvation. You are now
ready to see the power of God in action.
Romans
1:16 - "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is
the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth:
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
Now, ask
the two Exploratory Questions and - wait for their answer before you
share the rest of the Facts Presentation.
C. THE EXPLORATORY QUESTIONS:
1. The Certainty Question:
"If
you died today, do you know for sure you are going to Heaven?"
2. The Why Question:
"Let
me ask you another question.
a. The questions are a diagnostic tool.
b. You are finding out two things:
1). Does he have eternal life?
2). What is he trusting to get to Heaven?
D.
THE FOUR POSSIBLE ANSWERS - TO THE EXPLORATORY QUESTIONS:
1. Correct Answer to Both Questions.
Probably
a Christian.
Share other aspects of the Christian life and tell about your Church. Is
he active in a good local Church? Is he growing in his Christian life?
2. Incorrect Answer to Both Questions.
Probably
not a Christian.
Share the entire Gospel Facts presentation.
3. Correct Answer to the First Question. Incorrect Answer to
the Second Question.
Probably
not a Christian, if he is trusting in works to get him to
Heaven.
Share the entire Gospel Facts presentation. Principles #1 and #2 are
needed to show that we can't work our way to God.
4. Incorrect Answer to the First Question. Correct Answer
to the Second Question.
Probably
a Christian who lacks assurance of salvation.
Share the entire Gospel Facts presentation. Principles #4 and #5 are
needed for assurance of eternal life.
E.
THREE WAYS TO ANSWER - THE CERTAINTY QUESTION:
1. "Yes"
Don't
assume they have eternal life. Ask the "why" question and
listen to their answer.
2. "No"
Ask
the "why" question and listen to their answer.
3. "I Hope So"
This
is the answer most will give you. Ask the "why" question
and listen to their answer.
F.
TWO WAYS TO ANSWER - THE WHY QUESTION:
1. The Wrong Answer:
What
"I" have done = Salvation
by works.
If
you can relate to a wrong answer say, "I used to believe the
same thing about going to Heaven, until someone showed me what the
Bible said about it."
Ask
the permission question and wait for their response to the question.
2. The Right Answer:
What
"Christ" has done
= Salvation by grace.
It is all about grace. God's amazing grace.
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THINK ABOUT IT Why should God let you into heaven? If your answer includes words such as try, my best, church, believe in God, Sunday school, teach, or give, chances are that you still haven't come to grips with the simple truth that salvation is by faith alone. Let me ask the question another way. What are you trusting in to get you into heaven? Is it Christ plus something? Or can you say with confidence that your hope and your trust are in Christ and Christ alone? (Dr. Charles Stanley - Eternal Security, Can You Be Sure? - Thomas Nelson Publishers - page 28). |
G.
THE PERMISSION QUESTION:
If
the person is not sure of going to Heaven when he dies, ask the
permission question. A "yes" to this question gives you the
opportunity to see the power of God in action!
1. The Permission Question:
"Would
you like to know what the Bible says about going to Heaven?"
2. There are Three Answers to the Permission Question:
a. "Yes" - Share the
gospel Facts presentation.
b. "No" - Be patient and don't force the gospel on
anyone.
c. "Not Now" - Be patient and ready to share
at another time and place.
H. THE FACTS TRACT - Am I Going To Heaven?
A
gospel tract is the most effective tool you have for witnessing. Always
make sure you have plenty of tracts with you. You will witness more often
if your witnessing tool is available. It is
a door opener.
Familiarize
yourself with the layout of the tract. The five principles that you
will share are printed on the tract. The Bible verses are there too!
There is not a lot of memorization. Simply share the tract, one
principle at a time.
HELPFUL
THINGS TO REMEMBER USING THE FACTS TRACT:
1. Position yourself beside the person
to allow them to see the tract.
2. Fold the tract to allow seeing one page at a time.
3. Use your finger to help the person follow as you explain the
message on the tract.
4. Keep eye contact. This establishes honesty on your part.
5. Ask questions to get the person involved and interested in the
gospel.
6. Have the person read the Bible verses from the tract.
7. Use illustrations as you share the gospel. They are very
valuable in making your points clear and understandable. It will help
you keep your message interesting.
8. Share the entire Facts presentation.
9. Focus on the positive.
10. Be Discerning. Do Not Force the gospel on anyone, anywhere,
at anytime.
11. Do not embarrass people. Deal with the individual alone whenever
possible.
12. Don't Quarrel. Be kind, gentle, and gracious.
13. Do not be sidetracked by false issues. Stick to the
subject!
14. Once the person understands the point you are making, move on to
the next point.
15. Lead the person to put their trust in Christ alone for
salvation.
16. Be positive if the person doesn't receive Christ.
17. Win Them or Warn Them.
18. Always leave the tract with the person for them to read again
later.
Our
responsibility is to witness. Leave the results to God.
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Evangelism
is a learning experience. Each time we share Christ with someone we
are that much wiser how to do it. Instead of looking at it as a
learning experience, we sometimes classify each incident as a success
or a failure. The differentiation we feel is very clear - successes
are those times when we lead others to Christ and failures are those times
when we don't.
The
problem is self-created and unbiblical. First of all, God is
responsible for results. A verse believers ought to have firmly
planted in their minds as they evangelize is the one I keep going back to:
John 6:44 - "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent
Me draws him."
Referring
to the results in spiritual ministry, Paul the apostle testified, "Who
then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you
believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I have planted. Apollos
watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who
plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the
increase" (1 Corinthians 3:5-7). God is clearly in control. With this in mind, He uses us in different ways with different people. We may be the one who gets a non-Christian thinking about spiritual things, the one who continues her thinking, the one who leads her to Christ, or the one who helps at any point along that line. Jesus' comforting words in evangelism were, "one sow and another reaps." (John 4:37) -
(Dr. R. Larry Moyer -PERSONAL EVANGELISM - pages
85 - 86). |
Surveys
tell us that most people do not trust Christ after the first encounter
with the gospel. It sometimes takes a person four or five times to hear the
gospel before they trust in Christ as their personal Savior.
So,
if anyone walks away from you after you share the Facts presentation,
remember, "The word of God never returns void." You just
planted a seed for Christ.
It may have been the second, or third time the person heard the gospel. Your obedience to share may bring the person to a turning point. That would be great. You have obeyed the command of Christ.
It may be the fourth time and the person believes in Christ!
No
one knows how many times it will take hearing the gospel before a person
will understand and trust Christ. But, if you will be faithful in
your witness - you will be amazed of the ones the Lord brings in your path
that are ready to be saved!
The
Bible tells us that all of Heaven rejoices when a person is saved. Go
ahead and share the gospel and get ready to get happy. There is no greater
joy than to be used of God in leading someone to Christ.
Our
responsibility is to inform and invite others to trust in Christ alone for
eternal life. Leave the results to God. You do your part and God will
give you fruit.
Trust
Him and see!
RELATED STUDIES FROM INTERNET
PERSONAL
EVANGELISM
- Dr. R. Larry Moyer
Kregel Publication
www.evantell.org/books/howto.pdf
Chapter
2 - How
To Turn A Conversation To Spiritual Things
HANDBOOK
OF PERSONAL EVANGELISM
- Dr. A. Ray Stanford
Chapter
5 - The
Opening And The Close
www.gotell.gracenet.org/ars5.htm
Chapter
21 - Helpful
Hints
www.gotell.gracenet.org/ars21.htm
UPDATED - 08-29-03