Sharing Your Faith
Sharing your faith in Jesus is one of the most exciting adventures you can ever experience. It is the greatest gift you can give another person. This step-by-step guide will show you how to confidently partner with the Holy Spirit to lead someone into a personal relationship with Jesus.
The Bible tells us, as followers of Jesus, that God “orders our steps.” This means that everywhere you go today – and every person you encounter – is directed by Christ. When we pray the high-risk prayer: “God, give me an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus,” He will answer! Our job is to be aware and prepared when the opportunity comes.
When Jesus opens a door for you to share with someone, here are three steps to guide your conversation:
1. Inquire
You have never locked eyes with someone that does not matter to God. Ask questions and listen. Get to know who they really are and what is important to them. One of the best questions you can ever ask someone is, “How are you doing?” and mean it. (Examples: What’s your church background? Family and childhood? Interests or passions?)
2. Identify
Everyone has the same need to be rescued as they suffer through life without Jesus. Many times, someone may believe themselves "spiritual" or even a "Christian," but they do not have a story of their own where they began a relationship with Christ. During your conversations, identify with similar life circumstances that you can relate to and pray for the opportunity to inspire them with your story. (Examples: similar struggles, challenging upbringing, difficult seasons of life.)
3. Inspire
Share your story of how Jesus has changed your life by saying something like, "This is what Jesus has done for me... this is my story." No one can argue with your story and what Jesus has done for you. Before and after stories are inspiring. On pages 2 & 3, we will walk you through how to prepare to tell your story.
Once you share your story with someone, you will have the opportunity to walk them through the inspiring rescue story of Jesus' life, death, burial, and resurrection. You can offer, "I'd be happy to tell you what it means to become a Christian. Would you be interested in knowing what it means to follow Jesus?"
On pages 5 & 6, there is an example of how to explain how to begin a relationship with Jesus, including a simple drawing to illustrate. After you share your story and the meaning of following Jesus, ask them if they would like to become a follower of Jesus, pray the prayer on page 6 with them and see the next steps on the back cover.
Build Your Story!
You have a “before and after story” and you want to be able to tell your story clearly and concisely. To help you build your story, you will write down the answers to questions like:
- What was your life like before you began a relationship with Jesus?
- How has your life changed because of your relationship with Jesus?
All of us have different stories, so you may want to include different elements. For example:
- You may have committed your life to Christ when you were a child, so your “before” story may not seem significantly different from your “after” story. In that case, you may want to include significant moments in your life where your daily reliance on Jesus was essential as you have navigated through the seasons of your life.
- You may want to include life experiences that will connect with the person you are talking to about Jesus.
Every story is unique, but what we all share is that we have experienced a moment when we realized that our sin has separated us from God, and we are suffering through life apart from Him. We turned to Jesus to forgive our sin and restore our relationship with God, which gives stability and sanity as we live out our daily lives with Him. Everything else we experience builds on this moment when we surrendered our lives to Christ.
How To Begin A Relationship With Jesus
The greatest day of your life is when you commit yourself to Jesus! The Bible tells us that Jesus has the power to “make all things new.”
Jesus desires for you to experience new purpose, new joy, new peace and new life greater than you can imagine.
Why Do I Need Jesus?
We begin life separated from God because of sin, which is falling short of God’s perfect standard. Sin leads to death and eternal isolation from God.
There is nothing we can do to bridge the gap between us and God—not religion or being good. Only Jesus can rescue us by bridging the gap.
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” - Romans 3:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 6:23
What Did Jesus Do for Me?
But there’s good news—God loves us too much to leave us hopeless in our sin, so He sent His only Son, Jesus, to this earth.
Jesus lived a perfect life and willfully chose death on a cross to pay the price for our sin. Three days later He rose from the grave, defeating death to bridge the gap between God and us!
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” - Romans 5:8
How Do I Cross the Bridge Jesus Made?
The Bible says we need to believe that Jesus died for our sin and rose from the grave. Also, we must choose to surrender to Jesus, fully committing our lives to follow Him.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done…” - Ephesians 2:8–9
Committing your life to Jesus starts with the ABC’s:
Admit you need Jesus.
Believe that Jesus died and rose from the grave for you.
Commit to follow Jesus the rest of your life.
”…if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.“ - Romans 10:9
Make Jesus Your Bridge Today!
Pray: God, I believe You love me and want a relationship with me. I admit I’ve sinned, separating me from You. I believe You sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sins and He rose again to be the bridge to You. Today, I turn from my sins and surrender my life entirely to You and ask You to save me. Amen!