Witnessing Hints
”Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”
Telling people about Jesus is something every believer is required to do. Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” If someone doesn’t have a burden for the lost then they aren’t a real believer. There is an enormous amount of people that would end up in the lake of fire if they died right now because they never came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Let’s look at some evangelistic ideas so we can go out there and win souls.
Start with Prayer
Before doing the works of the Lord we should start off in prayer. Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you as in who to witness to and what to say. I’ve heard it said that you can accomplish more in an hour after fervently praying than you could in a day without taking the time to pray. God knows the hearts of all men and knows what to say to each individual that He guides you to.
Study the Word
Pick up your Bible and study how Jesus and the twelve apostles witnessed. They are our primary example. Study the Old Testament prophecies and see how they were fulfilled when Jesus came. This is good backup when people need more evidence for their faith.
Start with the Natural and go to the Spiritual
An example of this would be found in John 4:7-10 A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water”
Jesus switched from the natural water to living water and makes reference to the ‘gift of God.” If you read the rest of the story you will see eventually Jesus convicts her of the sin of not staying with the same husband and she eventually acknowledge Him as the Messiah. In any conversation you are having with a nonbeliever you should always look for a way to divert the natural to the Spiritual.
Some are Won by Fear, Some by Love
Remember when witnessing that people are different. Each person needs to hear about both the love of God and the fear we need to have toward God. It often works best to start with fear unless God leads you to do otherwise. If you preach all love they may not get a deep rooted conviction and may soon fall away. There is nothing wrong with preaching fear as long as you keep it in context.
The Law of the LORD is Perfect Converting the Soul (Psalm 19:7)
Paul said, “I would not have known sin except through the law.” (Romans 7:7) If you ask someone if he is going to heaven, line him up with the Ten Commandments. Ask him if he has ever lied, stolen, lusted (which Jesus said is the same as committing adultery in his heart), coveted, dishonored parents, and so on. If they confess any of these tell them that God doesn’t let liars, thieves, adulterers, etc. into Heaven and that the only way to make it is through the blood of Jesus. We are going to offer a free course on using the law and witnessing to help explain this further.
Tracts
Some people say that tracts are useless and a waste of paper. This is not necessarily true. First, you need to find tracts that catches peoples interest. One website that has these kind of tracts is www.livingwaters.com (there is a lot of other good ministry resources there). You can place tracts in places where people will find them such as stores, bathrooms, doctor’s offices, restaurants, and so on. There are many things tracts can do. The person who reads it could become a believer. Maybe the person who finds it will bring it up to someone else and even if the person isn’t ready to receive the Gospel, the other person might be. Another possibility is that the tract could open up a conversation with another believer whom may use the opportunity to witness.
Start an Evangelist Team in Your Area
Get some other believers in your area together, like people that go to your church or even advertise in the newspaper. Have a weekly Bible study or however the Lord leads you. Teach people witnessing techniques and then go out and do some witnessing. Each group should have at least two people in it, since Jesus always sent His disciples out in twos. Look for major events in your area such as concerts, festivals, and other attractions and bring your evangelizing team there. But you also have to be careful because some people are only out at attractions to have fun and don’t want to listen to what you have to say. There are so many opportunities for this kind of evangelizing.
Become All Things Unto All Men
Take on other peoples’ interests as long as it doesn’t involve sin. Learn to be able to discuss several different topics. This also will help you learn to bring the natural to a spiritual conversation. It’s also always good to find a common ground when witnessing to someone. This helps give you more time to get an opportunity to bring the natural to the spiritual.
