Editor: Ricky Kirk, a pastor from Ohio, blogs at Panta ta Ethne, where this post recently appeared. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Our church as recently been studying/exploring evangelism as we prepare for an upcoming revival and Easter weekend. I am modifying material from several sources and approaching evangelism as something more than the Romans Road or the rote memorization and sharing of a few particular verses. I am also challenging our church to have a greater understanding of God’s overarching story of the Bible, so we have covered God, creation, man, fall, Christ, and consummation as well as OT promises made and NT promises kept.
Part of our learning is utilizing Bible storying and incorporating biblical stories with our personal testimonies, thus giving the Word of God, which has authority and power, greater emphasis and our testimonies a secondary emphasis. This is pushing me and others to present the gospel in ways that truly connect with others where they are at, rather than recite a few verses to them, or what is more common, telling our story with out really telling His story.
For example, I had the opportunity this week to share the gospel in a rather unique setting. I am a ‘partner’ for a registered sex offender in a sex offender treatment program. I attend meetings with him and provide encouragement, support, and accountability with him. One thing led to another and the Holy Spirit opened a door and I was allowed to go through it.
To make a long story short, a spiritual issue was being addressed and when the opportunity presented itself I began sharing the gospel and began with the story of David and Bathsheba. I explained that David is called a man after God’s own heart, and he loved and worship God in such a way that he wrote many songs to God called Psalms. I then storied the account of David not serving on the battlefield, his lust, his sin with Bathsheba, the conspiracy to commit murder and the consequences of his sin. This led to his discussion with Nathan and David’s conviction and confession of sin before God (Psalm 51). I then moved to sharing how David’s guilt and shame were removed by the forgiveness of God, and likewise we see this demonstrated through the sacrificial death of Jesus. In His death He bore the wrath of God against sin and removes the guilt and shame of sin for those who receive Him.
That is the summary, and I am sure there was more that I shared, but honestly can’t remember everything. The Holy Spirit just took over and I shared as succinctly as I could in a way that spoke to the context of the group. I might have just used the Roman Road presentation, or something similar, but storying David and his sexual sin with this group resonated with them. The particular gentleman I was sharing with connected with the story which connected to the gospel.
I don’t know where that will lead him, I didn’t ‘close the deal’ and lead him (or any others) in a sinner’s prayer (in fact I didn’t begin nor end my presentation with a prayer), and I didn’t ask him to personally receive Jesus Christ as His personal Lord and Savior. What I did was allow the Holy Spirit to lead and share a biblical story that connected not only to his context but built a bridge to the gospel and presented to him (and the group) the gospel of Jesus Christ. Obedience and honoring God was most important, not ‘closing a deal’. I pray the Holy Spirit continues to speak to this man and that he will respond to God’s offer of salvation.
As we share the gospel, may we remember that while our personal testimonies might be real, personal, and meaningful, they are not the Word of God. By having an understanding of the overall biblical storyline, we find there is a wealth of stories that can be used to speak to a person where they are and if we use the Word of God (more than just a tract or a particular tool) as the Holy Spirit leads to make much of Jesus we will find sharing the gospel brings such joy to our lives.
I would love to your experiences sharing the gospel. Share away!
“Obedience and honoring God was most important, not ‘closing a deal’.” I like that. Really interesting.
At some point, people have to be told that Jesus died for their sins and rose to offer new life. But I like how you were laying the foundation here.
Thanks for sharing this.
Ricky,
We are moving toward a storying style of teaching for our small group discipleship. I have also used storying in our Thursday night Bible study and elsewhere and I have been so excited to see how well people can connect with the Scripture as they hear it this way. In our presumably more literate culture here in the west, we seem to have forgotten the power of a story. Thanks for reminding us.
There are a couple stories I’d like to tell, but I’ll share the most “outrageous”. We’d just finished a mission trip week in Nassau and were leaving on Saturday morning. The group leader (there were 40 of us .. mostly HS kids) asked me to stay outside and see that all the baggage was handled, while he took the kids through.
After the luggage was all handled, I went in and went through customs etc, and walked down the concourse. I passed an empty gate and heard a man say “but love is love”, and another say “but if the love isn’t from God, it doesn’t count”. I stopped, backed up two steps, and saw a man in a suit, apparently witnessing to a baggage handler.
I walked over and said “Do you mind if I listen in?”. Both said they didn’t mind. After about two minutes of verbal fencing, I said “Can I say something?” They nodded and I said “You KNOW this is all baloney, don’t you?”. They both looked puzzled and I said “The only thing that matters is, if you die right now, where you gonna go?” The guy said he didn’t know, and I said “If you don’t, then I DO. And I don’t think you want to go there”. I shared 5 or 6 verses which set forth sin, death, judgment, righteousness through faith, etc. I asked “Any reason you don’t want to be a Christian right now?” He asked two questions, which I answered, and the third time he said he’d like to. So I told him what to tell God, we had a brief prayer in which I told him “God ahead .. talk to God”.
After, I told the guy in the suit “He’s your responsibility now .. please take care of him”. The suit was overjoyed and said he would; I ran to our gate and got a tract from one of our kid .. that we’d used that week .. went back and gave it to the baggage guy and said “read this .. it’s what you just did .. ” and then I went and got on the plane.
The fact that 40 of our people had walked past those guys and not noticed anything, and the fact that God snagged me for the task, really affirmed the truth that forms one of the basic premises of “Experiencing God”, which really came to life when I thought back on the experience.
Rick,
As one who interacts on a regular basis with men who are sexually-broken in a number of ways, I want to thank you for being wiling to address biblically the reality of the weight of guilt and shame that often leads sexual offenders away from the church. By walking with him and also witnessing in a truthful, compassionate way, you communicated to all of them that God can forgive them as He forgives all of us. For men who have felt removed from the Gospel, this can make all the difference: when someone who truly believes also believes that grace, forgiveness and mercy . . . and salvation . . . are not exclusive.
I hope more pastors will develop your level of sensitivity.
Thom — http://www.signsofastruggleblog.com/
@dave ~ You are absolutely correct. One of the points I keep stressing with my congregation is the very fact that we really never get to the gospel in our witnessing. If we are not pointing people to Jesus, it is not evangelism. Asking someone to church, or to Sunday School, or an ‘event’ might be a good start, might build a bridge, but it is not sharing the gospel. As I was sharing with this guy, I was sure to connect his situation with David and build a bridge to an understanding of Jesus. Jesus is the gospel! May we all remember that as we share…
@jeff ~ I also think storying removes the fear and burden of trying to remember every single verse, word for word. With that said, I believe we should memorize scripture, verse and words! But too often believers will say they can’t remember enough to witness. If we can tell biblical stories, connecting them with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will be more effective in our communicating. I was an art major in college and we had an art history prof who required us to memorize specifics of each work of art (title, medium, size, date, artist, etc.) and it was a pain! There was another one who didn’t require that specificity, in fact, she told us if we remember something about it that was good enough, it was in the book after all and we can always look it up!
If we can tell biblical stories, in our own words, and have the Bible with us, we should be pointing others to the stories it contains, and always pointing them to Jesus. I am really hoping to work more on my storying and lead our congregation to do the same. Glad to know others are also doing the same.
@bob ~ great example! I appreciate your willingness and boldness. Too often believers are afraid to ‘insert’ themselves in a conversation. If more of us would have the discernment and boldness to do that, we would be afforded greater opportunities to share. And it is a great reminder that God is always at work around us, we just need to listen, watch and be ready to join Him where He is at work!
@thom ~ this is a new experience for me (within the past 2 years or so). It is difficult at times, but I have recognized that many who are in this situation are neglected and never ministered too, especially with many states implementing lifetime sex-offender registration laws. It will no doubt be an issue the church will need to be prepared to deal with. Unfortunately, most don’t even have it on the radar. Let me also add that I am not negating the crime that has been committed, nor the trauma and suffering of victims. Sex addiction/assault/crimes are tragic and heart wrenching. But I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring forgiveness, redemption, repentance, reconciliation, and over time restoration. I pray that God continues to give me a sensitivity to those who are hurting and need Jesus.
God grant us all that we might become sensitive to the needs of others for the Gospel message and salvation. Likewise grant that we might be burdened with prayer for our fellow citizens and for the cause of Christ, specifically, for the glory of God in Christ Jesus. I ask the Lord to visit us, for the heavns to drop down (Isa.45:8), that is, for such a sense of the presence of Heaven to be so evidnt that people’s hearts are melted and transformed. In short, I pray for a Third Great Awakening that shall win the whole earth by Gospel persuasion and every soul on earth beginning with this generation and continuing for a total of 1000 generations..even reaching to a million other planets scattered throughout the universe in order to have enough souls to fulfill the promises to the Patriarchs and, more specifically to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ of a seed as innumberable as the stars of Heaven, the sand of the sea, and the dust of the earth and of a number in heaven thqt no man could number though counted for all eternity. As far as I am concerned there are already enough in Hell and while there are more yet to go there, my desire is as Spurgeon was once supposed to have said, “O Lord, elect some more.”