When it comes to books, my favorites are biographies. Long before going to the mission field, I devoured as many books written about missionaries as I could find. Missionaries from the 1700 and 1800s became my heroes. Not only did these Godly people have a passion for taking the Good News of Jesus Christ to the lost, but many of them were willing to follow their call into lands that were primitive, unexplored, and dangerous.
I know you’ve heard of Dr. David Livingstone. Born in Scotland in 1813, he gave his life to Christ as a young man. Later, he sailed for Africa, dedicating himself to a country that basically had never heard the Gospel. Imagine if you will how hard it would be to evangelize small villages of people that were literally scattered over hundreds of miles, all of them far from civilization. Today, that same area covers ten different nations in Africa.
Dr. Livingstone was not without his critics. Some accounts of his life from the 1800s are very hard on him. He has been blamed for his wife becoming an alcoholic and for leaving his children without a father while he traipsed all over Africa. However, few would deny that his influence can be seen today. Wikipedia reports that in the year 2000, there were an estimated 380 million Christians in Africa.
In heaven, Dr. Livingstone will no doubt receive many rewards, including millions of souls who will stand and testify that they were saved because he dared give his all and take the Gospel to Africa. It challenges me to do great things for God and to deny myself, pick up my cross, and follow Him.
Growing up, I didn’t realize the valuable lessons I was learning by simply observing the actions of my Mother. My parents didn’t own a home. Over the years they rented various and sundry houses that we lived in.
Mother was pretty ingenious. She would sublet part of our house to families or single people while we lived in the other part. The income she earned was not “extra” – It had to be combined with my Father’s income to barely sustain our family of six!
Things were always tough financially, but Mother insisted on two things; giving a tenth of her income to God, and paying the premiums on the small insurance policies she had on each family member. She thought it would be disgraceful if anyone died and there was not enough money to bury them.
One of the houses we lived in had a second story and Mother rented the upstairs to a large family. They were good people and good tenants, but one month when she went to collect the rent, they didn’t have the money to pay her. She knew about hard times and her heart went out to them. She gave them some extra time, even though she didn’t know how our family was going to make it without the income. And as always, she prayed.
A week or two passed, and one night, while we were all sleeping, the family packed up all their belongings and left owing more than a month’s rent. Mother was devastated, but with the Lord’s help, she stretched the food, and we simply did with what we had. Miraculously we got through it.
Several months passed and once again Mother was struggling with finances. An unexpected need had come up and although she had the money to pay for it, she would only have enough left to pay either her tithe or the insurance premiums. Not both.
She wrestled with the decision. It was important that she pay the insurance or she could lose the policies. She questioned herself, “Maybe the Lord wants me to pay the insurance – after all, it’s due,” but deep inside, she knew better. “Okay Lord,” she said, “I will put You first and let You take care of the insurance.”
Later that day there was a knock on the door and there stood the former tenant who had left with his family in the middle of the night. He said, “I’ve come to pay the rent I owe you. I’m sorry we left without saying anything, but I was so embarrassed, I couldn’t face you!”
Mother was overwhelmed with joy. Not only did she have her tithe set aside, but now she could pay the insurance too. God had miraculously provided for her need after she put Him first. She was curious about why the man had come at that particular time, so she asked, “Why did you come today to pay me?” The man said, “You know, I was going to put it off, but something came over me and I knew I had to drop everything and come right now.”
Mother’s list of priorities had the Lord as number one. In her soft Arkansas drawl she probably would have summed it all up like this; “You know, if we take care of the Lord’s business first, He’ll take care of the rest.”
I was weary and tired as I climbed into bed after a long day of sorting through clothes and household items that would be sold or given away. God had made it clear to my husband Dave and me that He had a call on our lives to serve Him as missionaries in Central America. It meant getting rid of almost everything we owned. I sighed as I thought about how far away Tegucigalpa, Honduras would be from friends and family – especially far away from our three children who had chosen to remain in the U.S. They were young adults at the time, and we had left the decision with them.
As tired as I was, my thoughts took over, and sleep evaded me. “Lord,” I wept and prayed silently, “I've given up almost all I own on this earth, surely you’re not asking me to leave my children behind too?!” I desperately needed God’s peace and I knew it would only come when I had fully yielded my children and their future to Him.
Reaching over to the nightstand, I picked up my Bible as I prayed, "Lord, give me direction." While propping up pillows, I opened it randomly. The page fell open to Matthew 19 and my eyes were drawn to verse 29; “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or CHILDREN or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold and inherit everlasting life.” The word “children” seemed magnified on the page and I knew God was giving me a special word in answer to my prayer.
That night I fully yielded my children to the Lord. Was my heart still broken and hurting? Yes, but I can say in all honesty that over time God proved to me that He could be trusted. I shudder to think what blessings I would have missed if I had said no to God. I’ve learned from this experience that by being obedient to what the Lord was calling me to do, despite my circumstances, He was able to fulfill His promise in Matthew 19:29; “And everyone who has left….. CHILDREN…shall receive a hundredfold.” In time, not only did I get back my children, but I have been blessed with hundreds of spiritual children in return. God is faithful to His promises!
Whatever you’re going through today, you can trust Him to walk with you through the hardest times. You may not be able to see the outcome today, but by trusting and believing in Him, despite your circumstances, you will one day see it. And your obedience will yield you blessings a hundred times over.
The troubles of the day seem overwhelming. Nothing you do seems to work out. Before you know it, you're looking on the negative side of life and discouragement sets in. I was feeling that way recently, but then I learned that a friend had been diagnosed with cancer. That was a wake-up call, and I realized that I need to be thankful in all things. Life is precious and it’s too short to waste on discouragement.
The best way to cure discouragement is to spend some quiet time with God and feed on His Word. Wow! What a difference that makes. He has given us more promises than I can write about here. Even though they were given to us over 2,000 years ago, they're as relevant to today’s society as the day they were written. Look at this promise about everyday life found in Matthew 6:25-26 (The Message):
If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
God’s Word is so explicit. What a wonderful promise that He loves the birds so much that He takes care of everything they need - and He loves us even more. It follows that He will take care of us even more. Be encouraged! God knows everything you need – spend some time with Him and talk to Him about what’s worrying you.
Many Christians who share Christ with others have a difficult time closing their witness by asking, “Would you like to pray with me and give your life to Christ?” They have a hard time doing that for several reasons, but whatever their reason, it is usually based on some type of fear. See if these apply to you:
I fear embarrassing them or myself
I fear they will laugh & talk about me
I fear they will pray just to please me
I fear being too pushy
I fear them saying ‘NO’ & then what would I say?
I fear they will have questions & I won’t have answers
“Fear not” is in the Bible over 350 times someone said. I’m sure you’ll agree that we need to work on being less fearful of people and things and be more fearful of Him who has the power to overcome our fears.
The Bible says in 2 Tim 1:7 NKJV, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” So if fear doesn’t come from God, we know it is from our own flesh or Satan, our enemy: That same Satan who tempted Jesus in the wilderness; trying to sidetrack Him from the mission He came to earth to do. Luke 4:2-13, Luke 12:4-5.
You will be fought in your attempts to share Christ and particularly in praying with someone to receive Him. It literally makes you a target for Satan because you become a threat to him as Jesus was. But greater is God who is in you, than Satan who is in the world. Great is our God who will go before you and dispel all your fears!
Today, we seldom hear sermons about Hell, but it’s a real place and those who die without Christ go there. In Matthew 25:41 NAS, Jesus speaks of Hell as “eternal fire” and He says it is a place prepared for the devil and his angels. When you get a picture of what Hell is really like, it will inspire you to tell as many people as you can about Jesus and lead them to receive Him as their Savior.
E. V. Hill was Pastor of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles for 40 years. His Church was located in what some would call a ghetto and he mobilized his people to take the Gospel to each and every one of their neighbors. He died several years ago, but I once heard him preach a sermon on Hell that he illustrated with a true story I’ll never forget. It motivated me to snatch as many people as possible from the grips of Satan and take them with me to heaven. I hope it will motivate you as well, as I attempt to paraphrase the key points of the story:
Pastor Hill had a good friend named Dr. Jack Hyles who pastored a Church in Indiana. He said Dr. Hyles had about 20,000 people in Sunday School and he baptized around 100 people every week. Everything he did was about winning souls for Jesus.
One time he asked him, “Jack, why are you such a fanatic about getting people saved?” and Dr. Hyles replied, “Well, let me tell you the story; Years ago, early in the morning I was awakened by a piercing scream that came from my sister’s room. I ran upstairs to her bedroom and she was sitting up in bed with a horrible look on her face that I’ll never forget. She continued screaming and I couldn’t get her to stop. I shook her and said ‘wake-up Sis, it’s only a dream, it’s only a dream!’
She finally stopped screaming and said, ‘No Jack, it wasn’t a dream, I’ve been to Hell and you can still feel the heat on my skin. It is the most horrible place you could ever imagine. As I walked toward it there was desolation everywhere and I knew what the people were feeling; that they would never, ever see goodness again. I looked beyond the entrance gate and everywhere I looked there was agony and grief. Everyone’s skin was cracking open from the intense heat and there was such thirst, everywhere there was thirst.’
‘I saw a man guarding the entrance to keep anyone from leaving and I peered through the gate and said to him, “Sir, please just let a little air in, they can hardly breathe the heat is so stifling. He said, “Air, there is no air in Hell.”
‘I said, “Well sir, would you please just give them a drink of water? Even a drop on their lips would help their thirst.” He said, “Water, there’s no water in Hell.”
I cried out to him and said, “Well, then please just let them die!” and he said, “Death, there is no death in hell.” I said, “But how long will it go on?” and he said, “Forever, and ever and ever…”
‘Jack it was then that the Lord spoke to me and said, “Go back and tell everyone you meet what hell is like so they will not want to go there.” And as I turned to leave - Oh Jack! I saw Daddy, our Daddy is in Hell!”
“So, E. V., I can tell you that my sister’s experience had a huge impact on me. You asked me, why do I win souls? It’s so no one will go to hell.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We pray this story has motivated you to look your fears in the face and win souls for Christ. God has you in a special place, around people you can have an eternal impact on. You don’t have to know a lot of Bible to do this. If necessary just share John 3:16 and tell them the story of how you gave your life to Christ. Then ask them, “If you died tonight, why should God let you in His heaven?” If they don’t know why, ask them if they would like to pray with you right then so they can know for sure they’re going to heaven.
If they think they will go to heaven because they’ve been pretty good, share with them Ephesians 2:8-9, so they can see that their good works will not get them there. It is only by the grace of God and faith in Jesus Christ that we can enter heaven.
As you talk to people and pray with them, remember that everyone is a sinner (Romans 3:10), that hell is a real place (Romans 6:23), but that by faith in Christ they can be saved (Romans 5:8 & 10:13).
Don’t forget to ask the Lord to prepare hearts for the seeds you’ll plant and don’t be discouraged if someone tells you ‘No’ - You may have an opportunity to pray with them later. Believe God to go before you and He will open door after door for His Gospel to go forth! And we shall come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves!
A True Story
It bothered me that I hardly knew one of my neighbors and I had not sharedChrist with her. Over five years ago when she was new to the neighborhood, I made an attempt to get acquainted by taking a tray of food to her house as a welcome gift. Our meeting was very brief though and I only learned that her name was A___; she spoke Spanish; and had a son named B__. I wanted to know her better and talk to her about the Lord, but I had no idea it would be five years later before I would see her again.
In today’s society with high crime rates in larger cities, people keep more to themselves than ever before. It’s common for people to come home from a long, hectic day at work, close the garage door behind them and not emerge until the next morning. It’s a far cry from when homes had no air-conditioning and families sat outside in the evening visiting with neighbors while the kids played.
I was beginning to think that maybe A___ had moved out because I never saw her, but one evening several months ago she was leaving her house as I returned home and we chatted briefly. The Lord began stirring my heart and I started praying earnestly for the opportunity to get to know her better and to share Christ with her.
One Saturday morning, following a couple of brief visits, she and B___ came over to visit unexpectedly. I was thrilled to see them. We chatted about her job and what was going on in their lives and then we talked about different things I do in the ministry. A___ was very curious about our work at the homeless shelter and said, “Barb, how do you help the homeless and what do you do at the shelter?”
I realized this was a God-given opportunity to share the Gospel with them so I jumped right in. “Well, a group of Christians go with me and we have beautiful Christian music with the women and children who are homeless; we teach them the Bible and listen as they share their needs, we give them Scripture and we pray with them.”
“After our worship music, I give a message from the Bible and at the end I invite them to pray with me and accept Jesus as their Savior.” I explained, “It’s so beautiful because many of the women and children pray and give their lives to the Lord and they are changed forever!”
They were very intent on what I was saying, but I knew they had questions so I began painting a clearer picture of the Gospel. I shared with them how our sin separates us from God. “So, in order for God to cover our sin” I said, “He sent His perfect Son to die for the sins of the world. That means Jesus died for you and me personally. He died in our place so that we might be forgiven and have a relationship with God. Three days later God raised Him from the dead. It was through Jesus’ death and resurrection that He conquered death and the grave to give eternal life to those who believe in Him.”
“Have either of you accepted the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life that Jesus purchased for you when He died on the cross for your sins?” They both shook their heads and said “No.” I continued, “Well, the Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. Do you know that you’re a sinner and do you believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins?” Without hesitation, they both said “Yes!”
I explained about repentance and turning away from their sins and then I asked, “Would you like to pray with me right now and give your life to Him?” Simultaneously they responded, “Yes!” After they prayed, we talked about the importance of water baptism and attending a local Church. The very next morning, they started going to Church with me and they’re waiting to be baptized. God is so good to have answered my prayers for an opportunity to know A___ better and to share Christ with her. I was praying for A___, but the Lord knew B___’s need as well and sent him along with his mother to hear the gospel so he could give his life to Christ. And that made the blessing even bigger…Thank you Lord!
1.You may have already discovered that sharing Christ with family members, friends, co-workers or anyone with whom you have a close relationship is hard. These relationships can make it difficult to share about Christ if they’ve seen you in a role other than Christian.
2.Through God’s transforming grace, we become new creatures when we give our lives to Christ. If we have a “past” we’re not proud of, our new life can impact people in a powerful way if we let the love of Christ shine through us.
3.Sometimes you’ll have to go to others and clear the air – even if you’re not at fault. If you know someone has an offense against you, why not obey Jesus and say something like “I know there is something between us and I want to ask your forgiveness for hurts I’ve caused you. Will you forgive me?” This will take swallowing your pride, but Jesus will be pleased with you.
4.The person who was offended will have a new respect for you and this could open the door for you to tell them about Jesus and how He changed you. But be prepared to lead them to Christ because they may decide that they want what you have!
5.Sharing Christ with Family & Close Relationships is usually the most difficult of all the ways you will share Christ. First of all it’s easier to share with someone that you may never see again, than those you’re close to. Sometimes family members are skeptical and may need time to see that you have changed. Don’t give up. Let your light shine forth and try again later.
6.There is no special way to share Christ with those close to you except that you can look for opportunities to tell them how Jesus changed you. One way would be in following what Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:23-24. Here He tells us about the importance of making amends with someone who has something against us. Jesus doesn’t say that we’re to make amends if you’ve been wrong, but to make amends if the person “feels” that you were wrong.
7.When Jesus visited his home town of Nazareth in Matthew 13:54-58, it says that the people were skeptical and didn’t believe Him: “And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Is this not the carpenter’s son? …Where then did this man get all these things?’ And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his home town and in his own household.’…..”
8.If you have tried to share Christ with family members, close friends or others and were not successful, you’re in good company with Jesus Himself, but it’s good to keep seeking opportunities. Not all of those who were close to Jesus rejected Him and one of his brothers, James, became a strong believer and the leader of the Jerusalem Church (Acts15:13-22; 1 Cor. 9:5; Gal. 2:9.
They may be: sales clerks, cashiers, health club members or employees, people who call you on the phone for business reasons or even get your number by mistake, and those who come to your door or pick-up your trash, etc., etc. These could be strangers or people you’ve seen or met before, but they would not be people you have a relationship with.
2.Using tracts with Encounter Witnessing:
We almost always use a gospel tract as a means to start conversations about Jesus Christ. When we’re approaching a cashier or sales clerk, we generally wait until we’ve finished our business and then we hand them a tract (face-up, and where they can read the message as we hand it to them).The way I approached Perla and Alberto can be used with almost anyone, “May I give you these? They’re all about Jesus Christ and how He died for our sins.”
3.It’s important that you keep your tracts out of sight.
Only take them out of your pocket or purse when you’re ready to hand it to the person. If people see you coming with something in your hand, they automatically try to figure out what you’re going to give them. This can cause a negative response before you even say a word. Don’t put a person on the defensive by making them wonder what you’re up to.
4.When you hand the person a tract,
almost without fail they will look at it and read at least the first few lines. The first second or two while they’re reading is a great time for you to say, “That’s about Jesus, do you know Him as your Savior?” (This is another great thing to say when you approach someone with a tract).
5.If you’re a novice at witnessing,
you might want to let the tract do your talking by reading the tract with the person after your initial approach. That’s done like this; “Can we go over this together?” Then as you’re standing beside them you begin reading the front cover out loud. Turn each page and read every word, allowing them to look at the tract as you read.
6.If the tract has a prayer at the end,
stop just short of that and say something like, “If you would like to give your life to Jesus Christ, I will pray this prayer with you – would you like to?” If they agree, continue reading, but have them read the prayer out loud with you.” After the prayer, lovingly welcome them into God’s family and either invite them to your Church or direct them to a Church in their area.
7.Use thought-provoking questions when sharing Christ:
One of the questions we ask people is; “If you died and were standing at the gates of Heaven and God asked you, ‘Why should I let you in my heaven?’ What would you tell Him?”
This question confronts the person with three realities: I WILL die. Where will I GO when I die? and WHAT does God require of me to enter His heaven?
Most of the time the people we talk with don’t know the answers and they are very open to hearing the truth based on what the Bible says. Also, most of the time, they give their life to Christ right there.
Encounter Witnessing means trusting the Lord to put people in your path who need to hear about Him. There are also times He will reroute your steps in order for you to encounter someone. We believe the Lord is very deliberate about this; therefore, we must be deliberate in reaching out to those He puts in our way. “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. Proverbs 16:9 NLT”
We have 2 Real-life Stories to share with you that demonstrate Encounter Witnessing. Our hope is that you will learn a few things about how we share Christ, how to approach people, what to say, how to be led of the Holy Spirit in witnessing, recognizing the enemy & dealing with spiritual warfare, etc.
True Story Number 1:
It was Christmas Eve, and I was running errands in preparation for a get-together with family and friends at our home that evening. I was pushed for time since guests were scheduled to arrive in a couple of hours. As I sat waiting for a red light to change, I glanced over to my right and saw a woman walking in the same direction I was going.
She was pushing a baby stroller and a man was with her carrying plastic bags of groceries. They were obviously of Latin descent and you could tell by the way they were dressed that they had very little.
When the light changed I pulled ahead of them, through the intersection and into the corner service station on the right. As I looked back, I grabbed some Spanish Gospel tracts and shoved them in my pocket before getting out of the car. Walking toward them I made eye contact and smiled to let them know I was making a friendly gesture.
“How are you?” I said, “My name is Barb.” Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out two tracts and offered them to them. “May I give these to you?” I asked, “They’re all about Jesus Christ and how He died for our sins.”
They greeted me warmly and took the tracts. They spoke very little English, so we spoke in Spanish. “I saw you walking with the baby and I wondered if you needed help?” I continued. They explained that they lived over a half-hour away – in the opposite direction! They were headed to a McDonalds several miles down the street to wait for a friend. However, the friend didn’t get off work for several hours.
I could feel the struggle between the Holy Spirit’s gentle leading and my thoughts screaming, “You can’t get involved, you have guests coming in two hours!” Yet, deep inside, I knew the Lord wanted me to help them. “Come on,” I said with a big smile, “Get in the car and I’ll take you home.”
They were excited and quickly put everything in the trunk before they piled into my little car. As I drove, they told me about themselves: Perla is a young Mom and her daughter Sofia is one year-old. Her husband’s cousin, Alberto, was carrying the groceries they would need to prepare their Christmas meal that evening (In many Latin communities, Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve with a traditional meal of home-made tamales).
They didn’t seem to notice the fear that was flooding over me as Satan bombarded my thoughts with things like; I don’t know these people! I must have been crazy to pick up total strangers! What was I thinking? They could rob me or hit me over the head or worse yet, kill me, etc., etc. Of course Satan knew what he was doing because the fear was hindering me from being able to concentrate on sharing the Gospel with them.
Arriving at their house, I knew that I had to see them again. There was no doubt in my mind that the main reason God had put them in my path was for me to lead them to Christ. Satan had won the first round, but I knew from experience that God would show me the way to win the next round for Him – and it would take perseverance – and more of my time!
So the next day, instead of spending a quiet day at home celebrating Christmas, we covered the situation in prayer and our son, Terry, and I drove to their house to share the Gospel and give them the opportunity to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. They didn’t have a phone and without calling them we had no guarantee they would be home. So we asked the Lord to make sure they would be there, and He did.
We met Perla’s husband, Geronimo, and also Victor, a friend who lives with them. We saw Alberto, who also lives there and we met his girl friend, Susana, who was visiting. There was no Christmas tree, no presents, no meal, except left-over tamales, because there was no money.
I asked if I could speak to the group and I began, “The Lord Jesus Christ has sent us here to tell you how much He loves you and that He died on the cross for your sins.” As I explained “we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” they listened intently. “But Jesus said that each of us must be born-again if we are to be His children – and I would like to tell you how you can experience that.”
We continued sharing the Gospel and when we finished, we asked them individually if they would like to repent of their sins and receive Jesus Christ into their lives. All five of them said “Yes!” We had come to share the Gospel with two or three people, but God had a greater plan, and on Christmas Day, five people were born-again into His kingdom!
True Story Number 2
Dave watched the man from afar.It was a miracle he could even be there. His health had not permitted him to get out much, but our grandson Drew was visiting and Dave knew that he really wanted to go shoot targets down at the river with his grandpa. You know, just plink around like guys like to do. So, Dave rested up in advance and saved up his energy for an afternoon with Drew at the river.
The man Dave was watching, we’ll call him “Wayne,” had come to the river alone and parked a ways down from them. After awhile, Dave felt led to walk over and say hello. Wayne, responded rather coldly, but Dave lovingly persisted, and soon they were in conversation. Before long, he was telling him all about himself. Under apparent conviction of the Holy Spirit, he talked about his regrets – he blamed himself that his oldest son, professed to be an atheist; and his other son doesn’t want anything to do with God.
He said doctors recently told him he probably had melanoma cancer. A biopsy was scheduled for the next day. He feared that the surgery to remove the cancer would cripple him for life as the tumor was right on top of his spine.
Dave said, “Wayne, if you died and were standing at the gates of Heaven right now and God said to you, ‘Why should I let you in my heaven?’ What would you tell Him?”
“Well,” he said, “I’ve never killed anyone and I’ve never robbed a bank, so I don’t think I’m too bad.” Dave explained, “It only takes one sin to separate us from God, but Jesus Christ died on the cross for all your sins and the sins of the entire world. You see, it is only through accepting Jesus as your Savior that you can enter heaven. How about it Wayne, would you like to give your life to Christ right now and accept what He did for you on the cross at Calvary?”
With tears flooding down his face, Wayne repeated the sinner’s prayer. His countenance changed immediately and the new creature that he had become was apparent in his face; his speech and everything about him was different! Sitting there in a peaceful setting, under a tree with the river rambling by, Dave continued praying with Wayne for his healing and for the salvation of his sons and his wife.
Before Dave and Drew left the river that day, Wayne said, “Dave, it’s no accident you’re here. God sent you.” He was right of course; we serve a great and mighty God Who plans an afternoon for a grandson and a grandpa to spend time together, and in the midst of it all, He sends along a sinner who desperately needs to hear about Jesus.
1.It is speaking to strangers and passing out tracts in high-traffic, public places. The purpose is to confront people with the Gospel, telling them about Jesus Christ, God’s Son and how He died for their sins.
2.The best place to do this type of witnessing is where there are lots of bars and clubs, along with tattoo parlors and stores that sell drug paraphernalia. In other words, the worst part of town! People living in or frequenting these areas are generally not believers. High-traffic and lost people are the perfect combination for street witnessing.
3.There is quite a surprise element in sharing Christ in these areas. People you encounter on the streets in bad areas of town are generally there because they are living in darkness and the last thing they want to see is the light of Jesus Christ. When you approach them, they may act surprised because a Christian is the last person they expect to see there. But this is good because then you’ll get to explain that you are there to tell them about Jesus and how He died on the cross for their sins.
Be prepared
Be sure that you’re “prayed up” and ready for spiritual warfare when you share Christ like this. You’re in Satan’s territory and he doesn’t give up his captives without a fight. The rewards for your work are bountiful though because as you pray and commit yourself to the Lord, He will empower you for this work. Also, there is no fruit sweeter than seeing a sinner come to Christ who’s been living full-time for the devil.
A Real-life Example of Street Witnessing
I once had a group of people with me in Juarez, Mexico and we were doing this type of witnessing in the red light district. Prostitution is legal in Mexico and it was past midnight on a Saturday night as we walked the streets. There were so many people milling around, it was hard to keep our group together.
We had a wonderful response from the people we talked to that night and one man who prayed to receive Christ was a male prostitute that God touched in a profound way. At one point, as we were passing out tracts, we stopped and talked to people who were waiting in a long line outside a night club. Many of them spoke English which made it easy for our group to share Christ with them.
One young lady I talked with clung to me when I handed her a tract and shared Christ with her. Her friends kept laughing and pulling her away and I could tell she was torn between serving God and Satan. She was crying as she left. Looking back at me, she kept saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I have to go with them!”
This was very unsettling for our entire group and we grieved for her. It was as if the Lord gave her a chance to follow Him and turn away from her sin, but she gave in and went with the crowd instead. The one consolation I had was that she kept the gospel tract I gave her and I knew the Lord would use it in her life.
That tract contained the Word of God and the Lord says in Isaiah 55:11 NKJV, “So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
Silent witnessing
Leaving tracts in public places is a form of street witnessing, but it’s totally non-confrontational It can be a powerful tool in reaching people for Christ. Some Christians keep tracts with them at all times and deliberately leave them in unlikely places as they go about their daily business. Others regularly make trips to government buildings, shopping malls, flea markets, etc., strictly for the purpose of placing tracts where people will find them. Either of these methods is an easy way to spread the Gospel and almost anyone can do it.
Many people are not sure what type of tracts to use. There are a lot of different styles and types of tracts available, but a good tract is simply one that someone will pick up and read! Whatever type you choose, it should be attractive, clean and not crumpled. It should be biblically correct with clear steps for a person to follow in giving their life to Christ. If you can find them, tracts that have a salvation prayer that a person can follow are the best.
Chick Publications makes a good case for using cartoon type tracts; a Missionary told them that Communists in China developed a powerful way to reach the multitudes and they stole the technique from us! It seems that years ago their agents watched our children spend hours and hours reading comic books. So they spent millions of dollars printing their propaganda in a cartoon format – and their results were extremely successful!
We have enclosed a cartoon-type tract for your use. If you’re interested in ordering more you can do so at; The American Tract Society (www.atstracts.org). The cost is about $2.50 for a pack of 20 tracts.
Before you go, prepare:
Pray and commit your steps to the Lord and ask others to be praying for you. Pray for safety
Praise Him and thank Him for what He is going to do through you
Remember that you cannot “save” anyone, but ask the Holy Spirit to prepare the hearts of those you will be reaching out to and ask Him to give you His words to speak to them. Jesus saves, we’re just His messengers!
Plan ahead. Have your tracts in an accessible back pack, tote bag or whatever way will make it easy for you to work from. This may take some trial and error for you to work out what is best for you.
If you will be in a bad part of town doing street witnessing, do not go alone, plan to take someone with you. In Mark 5:7 NAS, Jesus sent out the twelve disciples in pairs.
As you go, remember these things:
Pray unceasingly and remember that you’re a threat to Satan because you’re pointing people to Jesus who are otherwise headed for hell. Stand against your enemy in the name of Jesus who defeated him on Calvary through His shed blood
Never put anyone down and don’t be drawn into an argument
Smile and express the love of Christ – you are on His business and you are His ambassador
As you go, have an attitude of praise
Don’t force a tract or your words on anyone. Be gentle and considerate. Titus 3:1-2
Be positive and bold when you speak to people
Don’t be discouraged if you’re rejected. Satan devises ways to discourage us so that we’ll give up and stay away from those he holds captive. Press forward in the name of Jesus!
A Real-life Example of Using Tracts to Share Christ
In 1971, my husband Dave accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He was 35 years old. Looking back at the years that preceded his salvation experience, I can see how the Lord worked in our lives. He allowed good and bad circumstances to shape and move our family toward the time when He would confront Dave with the reality of a Savior that loved him so much that He died for him personally.
After Dave was saved he told me how the Lord had used Gospel tracts to point him to Christ. We owned a business and each day he would check the different jobs we had going. There were no cell phones then, so he frequently stopped at phone booths to call the office and get messages. Very often, too often to be a coincidence, he would find a Gospel tract lying on the tray under the pay phone. He was drawn to the message and in his curiosity to learn more, he would look around to be sure no one was watching, then he’d shove the tract (pamphlet) in his pocket and read it later in his truck. Dave & Barb Leonard, 2003
God dramatically used those little tracts to acquaint Dave with the loving Savior, Jesus Christ. We’re grateful to the faithful Christians who put tracts in places where he’d find them. God used them to plant seeds that in time, would lead Dave to accept Christ.
1.Anything we do for God starts with preparation. God does things altogether different than the world. He wants to prepare you in such a way that you will permit Him to do His work THROUGH you - And that always starts with Him doing His work IN you.
2.To submit means in part to yield to another person. It also means to surrender. My dear child in the Lord, Mona Corwin laughs and says “Whatever topic Barb is teaching on, you can be sure it will include surrendering to God!” And she’s right.
3.Surrender means giving God permission to take out and put into your life what pleases Him…in other words you give up your right to do as you please.
4.Have you ever fully surrendered yourself to Him? Whatever your situation, He beckons you to come just as you are and surrender it all. Only empty vessels can be filled and He will indeed fill you until you are overflowing with His Holy Spirit.
5.Thank goodness the Lord doesn’t wait until we’re perfect to use us. If He did, His work would never get done! If you’re not already sharing Christ with others, we hope you’ll start today. The Lord will continue working in your life as you go about His business!
Do you really believe God? This is a question we sometimes ask each other to be sure that we’re being obedient to the Lord and to His Word. We want to be sure we’re not just believing in God, but truly believing Him in the sense that we take to heart what His Word says and therefore do what it says.
A good example of what we’re talking about is the Great Commission Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:19 (Living Bible). “Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and then teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you; and be sure of this – that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”
Jesus gave this command to his eleven disciples, instructing them to teach others. Their obedience to His command can be seen in the Book of Acts, along with the fruit of many thousands being saved. The original eleven started sharing the gospel where they lived and they taught those they brought to Christ to do the same. From there, they took the gospel to other cities and countries.
However, somewhere along the way, Christians started putting this job into the hands of mission organizations, pastors and evangelists, and God has gloriously used that, but there is nothing in the Bible to indicate that Christians were to stop sharing Christ on an individual basis.
Dave and I never set out to be Evangelists. We simply read in the Bible that Jesus said to tell the world about Him and we took it personally and seriously – we simply believed Him. We began telling family, friends and co-workers what Jesus did for us and that He had a plan for their lives too. We really didn’t know “how to witness” but the Holy Spirit faithfully helped us and sometimes used us in spite of ourselves!
What about you? Are you willing to place your fears and pride at the feet of Jesus and ask Him to help you share Christ with someone that He puts in your path? Are you ready to not only believe in God, but truly believe Him? He’s waiting for you to take the first step and He promises to be with you.
Steps to keep in mind as you share your faith…
Love is the strongest motivator in the world
If a person feels you really love them, they will open up to you and hear what you say
Don’t try to fake love – the world knows the difference
If you feel you’re lacking in love, ask the Lord to pour His love into your heart so you can share His love with others
Love means you tip extra; you show people respect; you never condemn; you go out of your way to help people even if it costs you time and resources
Be willing to let the other person have the last word if they are not willing to hear what you have to say – love doesn’t get mad. Never return evil for evil, but return good for evil.
Invest in inexpensive materials and keep them handy
Good gospel tracts are inexpensive and a great tool for sharing your faith – we discreetly leave them in public places such as bathrooms; we also put them in envelopes when mailing bills; our bank deposits are tucked inside tracts when we go through the auto-teller, etc.
Gospel tracts are also a great ice-breaker when speaking to people about Christ. Hand someone a tract at the fast food place and as you do, look them in the eye, smile and say, “This is about Jesus – do you know Him? (more about this later)
You can check out gospel tracts online at www.atstracts.org – look under “Evangelism.”
We give paperback New Testaments to new believers and others who need them. We prefer they start with Jesus’ teachings beginning in Matthew, and they’re not as likely to do that if we give them full Bibles.
You can get the New International Version New Testament in paperback at www.ibsdirect.com for under $1 each if you buy by the case
A Real-life Example of This Teaching
Have you noticed that keeping up repairs on a house is never ending? Just about the time you think everything is fixed and in good working order, something else breaks down! Since we can no longer do many of the repairs ourselves as we did in our younger years, we recently called a company to check out their prices and set an appointment for an estimate.
I__ and F__ introduced themselves and right away got down to business. We treated them warmly…“Can we offer you a cup of coffee or something cold to drink?”…as we showed them the work we needed done. I__ gave us a cost estimate and after we picked ourselves up off the floor (smile), we told them to go ahead and do the work.
After several hours, they finished the work and we invited the two guys to sit down for a minute while we wrote out a check. A key factor in making people feel at ease is to show them genuine love and respect. It’s amazing how people respond to this.
We gave them tracts and asked them the question, “What if you died tonight and God said, ‘Why should I let you in my heaven?’ What would you tell Him?”
I__ said he thought he’d probably go to heaven because he’d been a pretty good person. We asked if we could show him something, and pulling out a New Testament, we turned to Ephesians 2:8-9 (New King James); “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
We explained that according to the Bible, it’s impossible to be good enough to inherit eternal life, but you don’t have to - Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins…He took your place and if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that He is Lord, the Bible says you will be saved (Rom 10:9). Jesus is God’s gift to the world so that we might have eternal life. It is only through your belief in Him that God will let you into His heaven.”
F__ was listening intently and taking all this in, but he seemed to prefer to sit back and let I__ do all the talking. We continued… “I__, do you believe the Bible and that Jesus died for your sins?” “Yes, I do, I definitely do,” he said. “Then don’t put off giving your life to Christ…the Bible says ‘Today is the day of salvation.’… none of us has a guarantee that we’ll see tomorrow. Would you like to pray right now and know for certain that if you die tonight you will be with Jesus?” “I’d like to do that,” he said.
We turned to F__, smiled and said, “What about you? He answered, “Well, I gave my life to Christ when I was a teenager, but I’m not living for Him the way I should. I need to make things right.” We said, “F__, would you like to pray with us now and rededicate your life to Christ?” “Yes, I would” he said.
The four of us prayed together. I__ repented of his sins and gave his life to Christ and accepted Him as his Savior. F__ repented and made his life right before God. These men looked like a huge load had been lifted off of them – and indeed it had! F__ and I__ left that day with Bibles and literature and plans to find Bible teaching Churches they could attend with their families. Please pray for them to guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Pray that their families will be saved.
A lesson to learn on looking back at this true story: If you are serious about submitting yourself to God to be used by Him, you will always be looking ahead at how you may share Him with others. We were prepared to share Christ with I__ and F__ before we made the phone call to have the house repairs done. We had tracts and New Testaments on hand to share. When the repair men came in, we were looking for the right opportunity to talk to them about the Lord. We try to take every opportunity to turn a worldly situation into a time to tell others about Jesus. Years ago we started with small steps as we shared about Christ. We encourage you to do the same. Take small steps and before you know it, sharing Christ will become second nature!
Barb and her husband Dave are Founders and Directors of The Gospel to the Americas. They have served as missionaries in Honduras, Costa Rica, Mexico and presently work in the Dallas, Texas area.
