Thoughts On Sharing Faith

Submitted by Jarvis Howe

I never cease to be amazed at the way God often puts me in positions to have meaningful conversations with others about something that has been on my heart recently. Last week I helped with vacation bible school by running a segment called “Kidvid cinema.” In Kidvid cinema, the children watched a short video about kids who have some connection to that day’s theme or idea. On Friday, the video was about twin 4-year-old girls who reached out to their uncle, who was not a believer in Christ. They approached the situation with love. They told their uncle about Jesus and prayed for him. They did not condemn him nor did they make him feel like an outcast for not believing. After a year of prayer and discussion their uncle was baptized into Christ. It is a great story, and made for an excellent final day of discussion with the kids about what they could do to bring the love of Jesus to people in their lives. I particularly enjoyed that day of VBS but probably would have soon forgotten about it, but I feel like God used VBS to prime my mind for thinking about those situations in the real world.

Over the weekend I had a conversation with someone about sharing Jesus with unbelievers. I witnessed an unbeliever, Tom, share a facebook post that was critical of Christianity and read all (36) of the comments that followed. The comments were mostly supportive from his like-minded friends and there was a wide variety of comments from his Christian friends. There were several Christians who commented, taking a variety of approaches. Some showed concern but questioned his thought process, some attempted to engage him in conversation about his beliefs and said they would be praying for him, and others quoted scripture and wondered what could cause him to think some of the thoughts he was sharing. The individual I had the conversation with, Patty, was in the third group. We had a great conversation about sharing faith. I felt that Patty, while her intentions may have been good, maybe didn’t move Tom any closer to believing in God. As a counselor, I strongly believe in meeting people where they’re at, both spiritually and on whatever issue we are addressing in counseling.

Many Christians are concerned with how to fulfill the Great Commission Jesus gives us in Matthew 28. I used to think that there must be some cookie-cutter formula you could use with everyone, as if some combination of well-spoken words, scripture quotations, and prayer could win over any nonbeliever. And although I’ve come to find out that just isn’t true, I’ve also found a way to alleviate my anxiety when talking with others about God: meeting them where they are. Some people are ready to have a conversation about Christianity and what it really means to follow Christ. With these people, it may be beneficial to share some scripture or talk about your personal faith walk. With some people, like Tom, who are nowhere close to living a life devoted to Christ, perhaps a different approach is in order. Not every Tom is the same. Just as every Christian has a different faith story, every Tom has a story about how they came to a decision that God isn’t real. Seeking to understand a nonbeliever and how they came to that conclusion and letting him or her share their viewpoints without judgement or criticism can open the door for future conversations, hopefully edging them a little closer to being willing to consider that not only is there a God, but that he wants to have a personal relationship with them. Sometimes the hardest thing to do can be to listen to understand. So many times when we are talking with someone else, especially if the talk is more of a debate, we aren’t even listening to what the other person is saying. We are formulating what we are going to say next and waiting until the other person pauses so we can start in again. We are essentially talking at the other person instead of with them. Asking questions that encourage the other person to share their true thoughts and feelings about life, God, and everything else, and then empathizing with that person can have a much deeper impact than sharing a bible verse, at least initially. But don’t get me wrong, sharing one’s faith boldly and passionately certainly has a place and time, but sometimes a listening ear and an understanding heart can be the best approach when having those deep faith conversations with others. You are modeling God’s compassion and God’s love. Just as God’s ear is always open for us, we should be ready to show love in the same way to others.