A Messenger!

We are now the ambassadors of Christ! We are just messengers to share our story, but the Holy Spirit opens the hearts of listeners to believe in the Lord. So to make our story even more effective, we need help from other believers to write and tell it:

• Read your story at your Christian group, ask for feedback, and make corrections or updates accordingly. 
• Rehearse until it flows naturally. 
• Include areas of your life that speak to your friends' situations and challenges.
• Ask God to bring new people into your life and put a passion in your heart to care for their salvation. 
• Ask a Christian friend to accompany you and pray while sharing your story. Your Christian friend may also share and reemphasize parts of your story. The testimony of two can be more effective! 
• Demonstrate your faith in real life by staying positive despite a crisis.
• Find ways and opportunities to help and be a blessing to others. For example, leave home for work a bit earlier, giving ample time to help someone needing a ride or help to replace a flat tire.
• Treat listeners with respect and dignity even if they criticize or make fun of you. They may still think about what you said.
• Demonstrates forgiveness by forgiving people easily. 
• Avoid cliché words like "The Word." Instead, say, "The Bible."
• Avoid telling jokes that may belittle you and minimize the power of your story.

When with friends, we may wonder how to change a discussion so we may share our stories. Since our stories relate to almost everything people discuss, we can find ways to open a dialog. For example, we may say, "John, there was a time that I was very engaged in those matters because I cared very much, although I couldn't help in any way. But since that incident in my life, I have a different view about everything!" Then when someone asks, "What incident?" we can tell our stories. But if nobody asks a question, we may ask, "Do you want to know what happened to me?" If there is no interest, we can wait for another opportunity. 

Examples of Opportunities to Share Our Stories:

Invite one of your non-Chrsitian friends to lunch as your guest and share the positive things you noticed about them. Then, the next time they invite you to lunch, you will have a chance to share your story. You may start with, for example, "Ray, you are a good friend, and I want to share something important from my life. May I borrow 3 minutes of your time?" Then, after his consent, share your story.

Another example is to plan a party and invite your co-workers. Also, invite some of your born-again Christian friends. Then, when the time is right, ask one of your born-again friends to share their story. As an introduction, you may say, "John, some of my friends may not know what happened to you that changed your life. Please share it with us."

Another example is walking every week and praying for your neighbors. Then, if you see them, greet them warmly and say, “Hello, our good neighbor!” Then, depending on the response, you may open a conversation and share about your new life. For example, you may say, "Today, I decided to walk in the neighborhood and pray for our neighbors. Is there anything specific you want me to pray for?"

God wants us to be prepared and ready to serve because he calls those who are ready. So let's be prepared to share our stories and help people become saved!

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