The Great Commission

Being involved in the Upward ministry, I have an awesome opportunity to share my faith with others almost on a daily basis. The questions I have been struggling with lately are, "How do I approach the topic? How do I share my testimony ? How do I invite this person to church without sounding pushy? What if I open my mouth and something really stupid comes out?

By nature, I am not an "evangelist". Evangelist (In Greek) means "good-news" bearer--and some of us were created to be gifted, naturally talented evangelists, and the rest of us have to work REALLY hard at it.


But as a Christian, I am commanded by God to share my faith with others.


Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded (Matthew 28:19-20)


Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation (Mark 16:15)


The Bible does not say "If you feel like it, share your faith" or "If it's not too uncomfortable for you, share your faith".


So it is an obedience thing. And it is my desire to follow Jesus.


I do share my faith on this blog but somehow writing it online is different than face-to-face interactions.


After some thought, prayer, and a little research, I came to the conclusion that my problem is simply "me". I am relying on my own abilities to accomplish this, and not trusting God to lead me and give me the words at the right time. When you accept Christ, the Holy Spirit dwells in you. What a gift to have the power of the Holy Spirit inside of me! Have I been calling on the Holy Spirit to help me share my faith? No.

So here is my plan:

1. Pray and ask God to lead me in my interactions with people.
2. Know that the Holy Spirit will enable me to say the right things when they need to be said.
3. Act on the nudges I get from God. Share my faith-- invite that friend to church.
4. Leave the results of those actions to God-- it is in His hands!

I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. (Philemon 1:6

I would love to hear stories of how you have shared your faith with others. How did someone share their faith with you? How did sharing your faith help you in your own understanding of Christ?