Sharing your testimony - Wollongong Baptist Church Web viewBear in mind these general tips for writing your testimony: ... What is the possible result for the non-believer when the

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Sharing your testimony

Good stories about our good God

One of the best ways that we can share the gospel with others is through sharing our personal testimonies. Testimonies are simply stories about how God has been at work in our lives. These testimonies aren’t just about how we first came to know Christ, but also about how we’ve continued to walk in him — how he’s helped us put to death our anger; how he’s comforted us in our grief; how he’s confronted us in our desire to control others; how he’s delighted us with small and unexpected expressions of his grace etc. Our goal in all of these testimonies is to tell God’s story through our story.

Evangelism Part 2 Page 3

Recap

What did you learn from last week’s study?

Did you have any evangelistic opportunities this week?

WEEK 5

1. Think about some testimonies you’ve heard. What made them good or bad? You may wish to think about:

the content; the structure; the presentation skills; the (apparent) attitude or personality of the speaker

2. Read 2 Corinthians 4:1–7; 5:11–21. How might these verses help us tell God’s story through our story? What should we tell? How? Why?


The gospel is the good news that through

Christ’s work (on the Cross), God has made a

solution to our predicament (of sin, judgment and death)

for all who repent and believe in Jesus.

How to structure our story

It is universally recognised that good stories have the following basic components:

I. An introduction - where the ‘characters’ in the story are presented, perhaps with a little exposition

II. A crisis or conflict – something happens which creates tensionIII. A resolution and conclusion

3. Read Acts 22:1-22. Can you discern the introduction / crisis / resolution structure in Paul’s testimony?

Mapping your testimony onto these three components of good stories gives us an easy structure for sharing God’s story through our story.

Note: If you were converted later in life and have a distinct memory of life before you met Jesus, then you may want to tell the story of your conversion. If you were raised in a Christian home and you believe your early conversion was genuine, then it may be easier to tell a story of your continued growth in Christ and God’s ongoing work in your life. Either way, the simple story structure helps guide us.


The following questions are merely guides and suggestions of the areas your story might include. Typically your testimony will include some, but not all, of the following types of information:

Conversion story

Intr

oduc

tion

What did you think was important in life?

How did you think the world should be?

What did you hope and dream for?

What did you think would fulfill and satisfy you?

Crisi

s

How were your desires thwarted (or shown to be twisted)?

Why were your hopes and goals unmet?

Was there a flaw in the world, or in yourself, that you became aware

of?

Was there an unsatisfied inner need that you felt?

Reso

lutio

n

Why were all other solutions to your crisis unsatisfactory?

What circumstances caused you to turn to Christ as the solution?

What is the gospel (briefly) and how does it resolve your crisis?

What did it look like for you to respond to the gospel?

What has it meant for you to now follow Christ?


If your testimony is going to be a ‘growth story’ then it may be helpful to look back over the past twelve months and consider what is one thing that God’s taught you — one area where you’ve grown in godliness? This could either be a good desire and behaviour that God is fostering in you, or a bad desire or behaviour which God is ridding you of.

Growth story

Good desires & behaviours Bad desires and behaviours

Intr

oduc

tion

Do you have a good desire or

behaviour that God has been

teaching you about recently?

(e.g. “I want to be a good

parent”)

What is an example of this

desire or behaviour in your life?

Do you have a bad desire or

behaviour that God has been

teaching you about recently?

(e.g. “I like to get my own way”)

What is an example of this desire

or behaviour in your life?

Crisi

s

How do you fail in your attempt

to do good?

How do you twist a good desire

into something idolatrous?

How does your sinful heart

make a mess of this good

desire?

Where have you seen or

experienced the consequences of

these bad desires and

behaviours?

What is at the root (in your

heart) of these desires?


Reso

lutio

n How does the gospel show you

your failure?

How does Jesus succeed where

you’ve failed?

How does God help you in your

failure?

What is a concrete example of

how, by God’s grace and

strength you’re doing better in

this area?

How does the gospel show you

your failure?

How does Jesus succeed where

you’ve failed?

How does God help you in your

failure?

What is a concrete example of

how, by God’s grace and strength

you’re doing better in this area?

Bear in mind these general tips for writing your testimony:

Use informal ‘every-day’ language

Avoid religious words, phrases and jargon

Include some humour and human interest if you can

Don’t include unnecessary details (names of specific churches or denominations, excessive cataloguing of dates and ages, too many names of individuals etc.)

Use word pictures to describe and highlight important episodes

Avoid mystical claims that skeptics question (“God said to me…”)

Simplify and reduce clutter by combining information


Exercise

For the next 10-15 minutes (as time allows), attempt to write out your own testimony, following this basic pattern. Your goal is to create a short (3-4 minute), fully scripted yet conversational story about God’s work in your life. Remember, the ultimate aim is to tell God’s story (the gospel) through your story.


Break into pairs or threes and practice sharing your testimony. Provide feedback to one another. Consider the following questions about one another’s testimonies:

What was helpful or unhelpful?

Did it feel natural and genuine or forced?

Was there appropriate emotion at different points?

Were there concepts that could’ve been explained more simply?

Was the gospel made clear?

When you have finished, pray for one another, giving thanks for God’s work in one another’s lives, and asking for opportunities to share these things with your non-Christian contacts.


Salty conversations

Discuss

1. Think back to conversations that you’ve had with your non-Christian friends about Jesus. What has led to helpful conversations? What has led to unhelpful conversations?

In Colossians 4:2-6, the apostle Paul writes these words to the church in Colossae.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.


Recap



WEEK 6

Learning how to have “salty conversations” is one of the most important evangelistic skills we can learn.2. Before we examine what we should say, let’s look at what the bible says about how we should speak to people who don’t yet know Jesus. What do the following passages teach us about how we should relate to people? Have you had conversations where it was difficult to obey these verses?

2 Timothy 2:22-26

1 Peter 3:15-16

James 1:19

3. Throughout his ministry, Jesus had many conversations with an extraordinary variety of different people. Split up into small groups and look at the following conversations that Jesus had with different people. What do we learn about having conversations from these passages? Specifically, how does Jesus use questions when he speaks to people?

Mark 10:17-31

Matthew 22:15-22

Luke 20:1-8

John 4:1-26



4. What are the benefits of engaging unbelievers in a dialogue by asking good questions and responding with good questions?

Talking about beliefs

5. If persuading people to follow Christ is our goal in evangelism, this necessarily entails people changing their life’s core beliefs . Having conversations at this deep level can be tricky, and can take lots of time to achieve. The diagram below is a simple representation of how someone’s worldview is structured.

Examples:

Interest = “I like to play touch football”Value = “I think it’s important to enjoy life”Belief = “I believe that this life is all we have”

Interest = “I do anything it takes to earn a promotion”Value = “Success and wealth are my priorities”Belief = “Power will bring me freedom”

Brainstorm - How can we go about moving our conversations from surface level matters to deeper issues of beliefs and truth?


6. Moving a conversation towards the level of beliefs will often involve getting outside of your comfort zone. It can be helpful to have some “conversation bridges” memorised which force the conversation into deeper territory (see appendix A at the end of this study booklet). However, once we are in conversations at the level of beliefs, it may be necessary to:

Clarify someone’s beliefsWhat do you mean by that?Could you explain that idea further?

Explore the basis for someone’s beliefsWhy do you think that?How did you come to that conclusion?What evidence led you to believe that?

Challenge someone’s beliefs Have you ever considered whether…?If you believe …., why do you believe …?Did you know that…?Do you think it is possible that….Do you really believe that…?

Split into pairs and practice having a conversation that involves listening and asking questions, specifically trying to address one another’s beliefs. Take turns in playing the roles of Christian and non-Christian.


Conclusion

7. Think about the 5 people you have been praying for. What questions would be helpful to ask them?

Name Questions you would like to ask

Pray for God’s help in having good conversations in the week ahead.


Planning for evangelism

Discuss

1. Share about a time when you had to go out of your comfort zone. Why did you do it? What was it like? How do you feel about it in hindsight?

A mission-minded lifestyle

2. Read 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. What are Paul’s main points in this passage?


Recap



WEEK 7


3. Paul lists three groups of people whom he hoped to reach for Christ, and for whom he adapted his living situation. What might it have looked like in Paul’s life when he:

“Became like a Jew, to win the Jews.”? (see Acts 16:3, 18:18, 21:20-26)

“Became like one not having the law... so as to win those not having the law”? (see 1 Cor 8:1-6)

“Became weak, to win the weak”? (see 1 Cor 2:1-5, 8:7-13)

4. How should this practically affect the way we interact with non-Christians? Try to give specific examples from your own life.

5. Are there any common ways this passage could be misapplied? Are there limits to how we exercise our freedom as Christians?


6. In these verses Paul demonstrates intentionality and forethought regarding how best to reach particular groups of people with the gospel. How should this passage affect the way we do evangelism? What are the benefits in thinking ahead and being intentional about the way we do evangelism? What are the dangers? Are there any ways of avoiding/minimising these dangers?

Conclusion

7. For each of the five people you’ve been praying for, think through the particular context that you can enter to reach them, and what it will look like to accommodate yourself to their lifestyle (as much as possible) in order to reach them for Christ.

Name Context to enter Ways to accommodate myself

8. Read the article on the next page by Tim Chester. Are there any of these ideas which you could adopt as a home group to help one another meet non-Christians in the community? What other ideas can you come up with?


10 Simple Ways To Be Missional1 By Tim Chester

1. Eat with other peopleWe all eat 3 meals a day. That’s 21 opportunities for church and mission each week without adding anything new to your schedule. And meals are a powerful expression of welcome and community.

2. Work in public placesHold meetings, prepare talks, read in public spaces like cafes, pubs and parks. It will naturally help you engage with the culture as work or plan. For example, whose questions do you want to address in your Bible studies – those of professional exegetes or those of the culture?

3. Be a regularAdopt a local cafe, pub, park and shops so you regularly visit and become known as a local. Imagine if everyone in your gospel community did this!

4. Join in with what’s going onChurches often start their own thing like a coffee shop or homeless program. Instead, join existing initiatives – you don’t have the burden of running it and you get opportunities with co-workers.

5. Leave the house in the eveningsIt’s so easy after a long day on a dark evening to slump in front of the television or surf the internet. Get out! Visit a friend. Take a cake to a neighbour. Attend a local group. Go to the cinema. Hang out in a cafe. Go for a walk with a friend. It doesn’t matter where as long as you go with gospel intentionality.

6. Serve your neighboursWeed a neighbour’s garden. Help someone move. Put up a shelf. Volunteer with a local group. It could be one evening a week or one day a month. Try to do it with other members of your gospel community so it becomes a common project. Then people will see your love for one another and it will be easier to talk about Jesus.

7. Share your passionWhat do you enjoy? Find a local group that shares your passion. Be missional and have fun at the same time!

8. Hang out with your work colleaguesSpend your lunch break with colleagues. Go for a drink after work. Share the journey to work.

9. WalkWalking enables you to engage with your neighbourhood at street level. You notice things you don’t in a car. You are seen and known in the neighbourhood.

10. Prayer walkWalk around your neighbourhood using what you see as fuel for prayer. Pray for people, homes, businesses, community groups and community needs. Ask God to open your eyes to where He is at work and to fill your heart with love for your neighbourhood.

1 This article can be accessed at http://www.vergenetwork.org/2011/10/04/tim-chester-10-simple-ways-to-be-missional/


WEEK 8

http://www.vergenetwork.org/2011/10/04/tim-chester-10-simple-ways-to-be-missional/

http://www.vergenetwork.org/2011/10/04/tim-chester-10-simple-ways-to-be-missional/

An evangelising church

Discuss

1. “Church services are for edifying believers and worshipping God. Evangelism is what happens when we’re not gathered as a church.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why?

2. When the church gathers together, do you think that worship and evangelism are mutually exclusive goals?


Recap



God’s people as evangelistic worshippers

Throughout the Bible there is a consistent picture that as God’s people gather to worship, they are simultaneously aiming to welcome and include the unbelieving nations (see Ps 100:1-5, Ps 105:1-2 etc.).

3. Read 1 Corinthians 14:23-25. What is the broad issue that Paul is addressing in this section of the letter?

4. Is the presence of non-believers in the church’s gathered worship something which the Corinthian church should have expected? Is it something we expect at WBC?

5. According to Paul, why is it important for the church’s gathered worship to be comprehensible to outsiders?

6. What is the possible result for the non-believer when the church’s worship is comprehensible to them?


The local church is the gospel made visible

7. God has designed the church to perform a few key activities when it gathers:

The preaching of God’s Word

Baptism

The Lord’s Supper

Prayer

Singing

Giving financially

Caring for one another

Each of these elements of our corporate gatherings can, and should, proclaim the gospel clearly. As you think about how we practice these elements at WBC, are there ways we could do them to be more comprehensible to non-believers?2

2

This is not about restructuring the church for evangelism (i.e. running a “seeker-sensitive” type of service). Nor are we suggesting that the church should evangelise by simply adding extra programs to the church calendar. Instead, we are suggesting that we allow the things that God has already built into the church to proclaim the gospel themselves.


8. What role can you (and your home group) play in helping our church services to be times of “evangelistic worship”:

Before the formal service begins?

During the formal service?

After the formal service finishes?

9. This kind of communal evangelism is not a substitute for personal evangelism, but rather a complement to it. What are some of the benefits of this kind of communal approach to evangelism?

Conclusion

Pray for opportunities to invite your non-Christian contacts to a church service. Pray too that WBC would have a true culture of evangelism within its services.


Appendix A - Conversation bridges for sharing the gospel

Here's a random question - have you ever thought much about God? I was wondering if you have any spiritual beliefs. If it was possible to have a relationship with God, would you be

interested? Can I tell you how I came to know God personally? Can I show you from the bible how can know God personally?

What would you say Christianity was all about? If someone asked you what the central idea of Christianity was, what

would you say to them? For a person who is a Christian by tradition but not by faith ask: "If one

of your friends asked you how to become a Christian, what would you say?"

Have you had a chance to read the Bible as an adult? I've known you for a while and you know that I'm a Christian but I've

never explained how I became a Christian. I was wondering if I could talk to you about that at some time.

I'm looking to read the bible with someone, would you be interested? If you could ask God to meet a need in your life what would it be? Can I

pray for you? What is your life purpose? Why do you think we are here? What do you think happens after death? Why do you think that? Why is the world so full of suffering? Have you ever felt close to God? Do you ever feel though God helps you? Has God ever shown up in your life? Do you feel far from God or close to Cod? Would you like to be close to

God? Are you a spiritual person? Do you have faith of your own? Are you a religious person? In your religion how do you get your sins

forgiven (or get to heaven or achieve enough merit)? Can I tell you how Christianity is different?


Documents

Sharing your testimony - Wollongong Baptist Church Web viewBear in mind these general tips for writing your testimony: ... What is the possible result for the non-believer when the