In the most recent issue, there was an article on using Thanksgiving for evangelism. It gave tips on everything from who to invite to what to make. I’m curious, did any of you take a step of faith and decide to host a party after reading it?
If weren’t planning on it, there’s still time! Check out the November issue to get lots of ideas and also read this article for even more. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to share Jesus with your friends!
Yesterday, in French class, we had sub since our teacher had to leave during class. She left us some work to do, but everyone was mainly just talking. One boy sitting near me got up to go get his workbook. He had on a shirt that basically said he was against all religion. As he was walking back, someone asked him about his shirt. He replied that he was against all religions because, as a Christian, he had a relationship not a religion. The boys were understandably confused so he sat down and explained more.
For the following thirty minutes, until the bell rang, he shared the Gospel with them. The whole time I sat there watching them and listening, so impressed and amazed he had the courage to do that. Not many people would. In fact, when I told the girl sitting next to me (who I knew was a Christian) we should pray that they would open their hearts to his words she just shrugged and said she didn’t like getting into debates over religion.
Another girl entered the discussion only long enough to say she didn’t believe in God since He had never done anything for her. I almost said something to her, but held back. I wasn’t sure what to say and I was afraid she’d be able to throw everything I could say back in my face. So I just prayed for the three boys who were hearing the Gospel.
I think we all fall into one of those three categories when it comes to sharing our faith: courageous and fearless of what others think, apathetic, or shy. What’s sad is that most of us probably don’t fall into the first category, including myself. I think what’s also sad is how impressed I was that this guy was sharing his faith so openly. Shouldn’t that be an everyday occurrence? Not something that is shocking because it’s never done?
Watching that boy share his faith really inspired me. Listening to him made me excited, excited that those boys got to hear the Gospel. When I go back to school on Monday, and every other day, I want to try to live out my faith more. I don’t want to have a spirit of timidity, but one of “power and love” like it says in 2 Timothy. Will you join me?
If you want to reach out to your friends, here is a list of other blog posts on the topic of evangelism: A Light for Jesus, Thanksgiving Evangelism, The Aroma of Christ, Using Harry Potter for Evangelism, Can God Use You?, and How Will They Remember Me?
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books and the subsequent movies have captivated readers and viewers for years. The final movie was released in the United States on July 15th and the first showing made forty-three million dollars. The wizard-themed series is one of the most popular book series in modern literature and has both Christian and non-Christian fans. With such wide popularity, the chances are pretty high that you have a lot of non-Christian friends who are a fan of the series, so how can you use this movie to reach out to them?
Movies are great conversation starters and can lead to profound topics. Harry Potter is an especially good movie to use for such conversations as it deals with such a wide array of important topics like death, love, good vs. evil, friendship, morals, character, sacrifice, etc.. Here are some questions you could consider using:
Do you think the many sacrifices Harry’s friends made were worth it? Would you sacrifice your life for your friends?
Do you think that good always triumphs over evil? What do you define as “good” and “evil?” Do you consider yourself to be a good person?
In the movie, there’s not much of an afterlife mentioned for characters who die. What do you think about that? If you were to die tonight, what would happen to you?
Those are just a few examples…the possibilities are endless. If you don’t like/approve of the series, you can still use it to start conversations. Explain why you don’t agree with the topics addressed in the movie.
Harry Potter isn’t the only movie you can use in this way. When talking with non-believers, look for ways to use movies, books, and TV shows to explain your beliefs.
Have you used this technique for evangelism? How did it turn out? Do you have any tips? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
During my family’s five-year stay in Italy, I often wondered how much of an impact I had really made for Christ. I had made several attempts to share the Gospel with my Italian friends over the years and I always did my best to live out my faith around them, but I doubted if they even noticed. Italy is a Catholic country which, oddly, makes ministry ten times harder as they often Italians think they are saved just because their family is Catholic. Thus, with their thinking they were already good to go since they were members of the Church and my language barriers, my message just never seemed to penetrate their hearts.
However, on the one of the very last days of our time in Italy, one of my dear Italian friends came over for one last goodbye. With her, she brought a few small parting gifts and a letter, which she told me to read later on by myself. The letter was full of sweet things like how much she would miss me, but one thing really stood out to me. She wrote that she was inspired by my faith and my dedication to it and the way I lived it out everyday. That brought tears to my eyes. She had been listening after all.
This reminded me again of how sovereign our Lord is. He used my feeble attempts to share with my friends and broke through my many language mistakes to reveal Himself to my friends. Even when it feels like no one is listening or no one can even tell you’re different, they really are watching. Jesus will always shine through you if you let Him. Let me encourage you to live out your faith every single day and invest your time in others, even if it seems useless. God will work through you when you least expect it; don’t let your years as missionary kids slip away from you. Take advantage of your time now and shine for Jesus!
“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…” -2 Corinthians 2:15
In the June issue, “What’s God Up To?” featured Allison T., an MK from Costa Rica, whose family is in the process of adopting a little girl from Juarez, Mexico. Here’s more from Allison on what God is up to in her life…
Another fantastic episode in my MK journey was a few weeks ago, when I got to participate in a youth group event at an orphanage here in San Jose. My youth group was focusing on living Christian lives instead of just learning how to live. At the orphanage, we did a VBS program used in Latin America called Remi. It was exciting to see not only my friends having so much fun spreading God’s love, but to watch these neglected kids notice and want the joy of Jesus in us.
Some of the kid’s stories were incredible. One of the little girls must have been no older than 3, but was raped as a baby. She had to have very expensive surgeries and the parents just decided she was not worth it. Another little girl started crying when she saw my finger nails. She told me she had never had her nails painted because no one cared for her enough as an individual to bother with making her “pretty” as she said. She was 8 and, in my eyes, beautiful. If only she could see that. I watched a little boy with Down Syndrome get pushed around by the older boys. I scooped him up and hugged him and he smiled. I set him down and he ran to hug the boys who had tried to hurt him. Such astonishment in there faces showed as he asked them to pick him up.
Please pray for me and family. For our adoption process, language study, schooling, and language study.
Check out the June issue here to read more about Allison.
Thanksgiving is a great evangelistic tool! Whether you have lots of friends from your country or just a few take a step of faith and invite them over for a little Thanksgiving party. They’ll love the English practice (or you can do it in their language if you speak it well enough) and you can get into some great discussions. Here are some tips to make it a Thanksgiving they’ll never forget:
Food Make some of your favorite Thanksgiving day foods. Go through each food and explain it to them. Don’t worry if they don’t like it; they’ll still enjoy learning about it and trying it.
Games There are lots of fun games you could play with Thanksgiving words. Try teaching them some words and then play bingo with them. Use candy corn for bingo-markers. Or play pictionary, but instead of using generic words, draw what you’re thankful for this year. The possibilities are endless; get creative!
History Briefly explain the story of where the holiday originated. This could lead to some great discussion!
It might sound kind of scary, but be courageous and take a leap of faith. Just remember to talk slowly (if it’s in English) and have fun! Most importantly, seek God and He’ll bless your efforts!
Taking a break from the prayer series, here is Anna E. on how she’s been a light for Jesus at her school:
“At my school we have a club called Student Venture. This club is the student ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. The club is like a youth group. We hang out, have movie nights, beach days, pool parties, etc. Its a blast! Because of this, its really easy to invite friends to come and they enjoy it and keep coming back! Its really awesome! Also through Student Venture my friends and I organized a sophomore back to school “party” that was actually an outreach. We had a great group of girls that were actually really attentive and responsive to what we shared, and out of that we started a bible study with the girls that were interested. It was a really cool experience!”
Go to page 3 in the September issue to learn more Anna’s school experiences at a public American high school!
