You Can Reach the World around You for Jesus Christ!
"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and seek
the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry
from which you were hewn; Look to Abraham, your father, and to
Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I
blessed him and made him many" ( Isaiah
51:1-2).
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.... This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" (John 15: 5 & 8).
Thanks for your interest in this site! We hope it to be an encouragement to as many as possible. We hope to be adding more information here as time goes on to encourage you. God is passionate about blessing the world through each and every child of His, just as He did through our forefather Abraham. The Great Commission was given by Christ to all believers, not just to those are in professional ministry, such as pastors and vocational missionaries. The exciting thing is that it is God who is doing, and has ordained the work, so it can't fail!
Here are some things we have learned and found fruitful:
1. Your mission field is right where you live, work, and play.
2. If you aren't around the lost in your naturally occurring relationships, start slowly to find places where you can just be with them—the more naturally occurring the better—even if it is a just a common interest. Often people with whom you share a season in life are a good place to start.
3. Invest your time in prayer for them. Be willing to make time to spend with them. Just being around. Hanging out in normal everyday conversations for a while—sometimes even years. (This doesn't mean you are wasting time or not being intentional about helping them find Jesus!)
4. Take the pressure off yourself to share the Gospel right away. This is often counter productive. When the time is right, you will often sense it, with the Spirit's help. It may take some boldness at this time, but it should not come across forced or overly unnatural. Remember that often in today's society the need is to see "incarnation" first (Christ's presence in you), then proclamation (the actual words of the Gospel later). Without this, your words may lack credibility.
5. We should be clear about what we believe, and work to communicate it clearly (1 Thessalonians 1:5, Collosians 4:6). But we must always remember that a person has to make a choice to come closer to Jesus, or receive Jesus as Savior. We can't do it for them, or make them, or manipulate them with our answers or responses to their thoughts about life and spirituality. This in no way diminishes the spiritual significance, before God, of the time you have spent loving them, respecting them, and talking with them. How we treat them will trumpet the Gospel, and make it far more credible.
6. Our actions are the biggest credibility builders as far as our work is concerned. Remember, Jesus said that they would know that we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). Nothing about great and persuasive arguments there. Love, praise God, is something we all can do no matter what we know, or how intelligent we are, or how talented we are.
7. There are times when things happen quickly. If so go with it! Praise God!
8. Prayer, prayer, and more prayer; time, time, and more time; love, love, and more love is normal. Some will take more, others less. Leave that to God.
9. Feel free to e-mail us with questions about situations with your lost acquaintance, family member, or friend. We may even be able to talk over the phone.
10. See yourself as a missionary! Your work is significant, vital, eternal, and ordained and called by God!
11. Keep checking for helpful information and updates!
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.... This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples" (John 15: 5 & 8).
Thanks for your interest in this site! We hope it to be an encouragement to as many as possible. We hope to be adding more information here as time goes on to encourage you. God is passionate about blessing the world through each and every child of His, just as He did through our forefather Abraham. The Great Commission was given by Christ to all believers, not just to those are in professional ministry, such as pastors and vocational missionaries. The exciting thing is that it is God who is doing, and has ordained the work, so it can't fail!
Here are some things we have learned and found fruitful:
1. Your mission field is right where you live, work, and play.
2. If you aren't around the lost in your naturally occurring relationships, start slowly to find places where you can just be with them—the more naturally occurring the better—even if it is a just a common interest. Often people with whom you share a season in life are a good place to start.
3. Invest your time in prayer for them. Be willing to make time to spend with them. Just being around. Hanging out in normal everyday conversations for a while—sometimes even years. (This doesn't mean you are wasting time or not being intentional about helping them find Jesus!)
4. Take the pressure off yourself to share the Gospel right away. This is often counter productive. When the time is right, you will often sense it, with the Spirit's help. It may take some boldness at this time, but it should not come across forced or overly unnatural. Remember that often in today's society the need is to see "incarnation" first (Christ's presence in you), then proclamation (the actual words of the Gospel later). Without this, your words may lack credibility.
5. We should be clear about what we believe, and work to communicate it clearly (1 Thessalonians 1:5, Collosians 4:6). But we must always remember that a person has to make a choice to come closer to Jesus, or receive Jesus as Savior. We can't do it for them, or make them, or manipulate them with our answers or responses to their thoughts about life and spirituality. This in no way diminishes the spiritual significance, before God, of the time you have spent loving them, respecting them, and talking with them. How we treat them will trumpet the Gospel, and make it far more credible.
6. Our actions are the biggest credibility builders as far as our work is concerned. Remember, Jesus said that they would know that we are His disciples by our love for one another (John 13:35). Nothing about great and persuasive arguments there. Love, praise God, is something we all can do no matter what we know, or how intelligent we are, or how talented we are.
7. There are times when things happen quickly. If so go with it! Praise God!
8. Prayer, prayer, and more prayer; time, time, and more time; love, love, and more love is normal. Some will take more, others less. Leave that to God.
9. Feel free to e-mail us with questions about situations with your lost acquaintance, family member, or friend. We may even be able to talk over the phone.
10. See yourself as a missionary! Your work is significant, vital, eternal, and ordained and called by God!
11. Keep checking for helpful information and updates!
