Inviting people to a baptism with a different approach

 

Church events like baptisms present great opportunities to invite friends, family members, school or college friends, or even colleagues from work to come along to. Once these people come to church, they will also have to opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many people have come to faith through events like these over the years and they are an effective personal evangelism tool.

Before we get into that, it would be a good idea to consider what a person who has little experience of church might think about what goes on at a baptism.

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. Acts 16: 31-34

What is going on?

I suppose that a person who comes along to a meeting like this, who only has a small amount of church experience, must wonder why the person who invited them along is going to allow themselves to be submerged in a pool of water in front of a sea of faces. 

It doesn’t make sense. Have they become a Bible basher?

Before I came to Christ I had a very low opinion of Christians indeed and thought that they were weak-minded weirdos. If I was invited to a baptism by a close friend, I would have gone along to support them, but at the same time wondering what had happened to them to even think of asking me to a church service that was not either a wedding or a funeral!

It simply wouldn’t have made sense to me because I didn’t believe in the God of the Bible. I had heard of christenings and my mother had told me about mine which I couldn’t even remember of course, because I was just a babe in arms.

Key Point: A testimony of a new believer at a baptism will often speak to the heart of a person who has coming along to observe the event. It is a powerful witness!

At most baptisms the new believer shares a short testimony of their life, how they found Christ and what He means to them. This will often speak to the heart of a person who has come along to observe the event. It is a powerful witness!

I have witnessed people who are normally quiet and would never dream of talking to a group - let alone a church full of people - share in a couple of minutes what Jesus did for them. This can be incredibly powerful and speaks volumes. I often cry at these points in services when I see what the Lord has done.

After this someone can present a short gospel message. As an evangelist I always give an invitation to unbelievers to receive Jesus and have seen many come to Christ as a result. I believe it’s an opportunity not to be missed as they may never come into a church again. I have also been at baptisms where church is packed with many unbelievers present. Sometimes the gospel either wasn’t preached, or after it was, no invitation was given.

Getting people to come along

Very often, when a new believer invites people to a baptism, some close friends and families come along which is wonderful. The great news is that often people come to Christ, their lives are changed and they go onto live a life for God. The question is then, how then can we increase the number of people attending?

A very different approach

A pastor of a rapidly growing church in America came to my house for an evening recently. He answered my many questions about what he did at his church, which had grown from around forty people to over 1600 in a four year period. During the evening we discussed the ways his church reached into the local community.

After a while we got onto the subject of water baptisms and he explained how they get very high numbers of unbelievers to attend. I will break down what they do into sections.

Write a list: Ask the new believer to write a list of people that they would like to invite. A leader goes though it with them.

Who is likely to come along?: The leader asks the who they believe will actually be coming along.

Now for really the different approach

The leader contacts the remaining people on the list by telephone: After discussing the list with the new believer, the leader asks for some information regarding others on the list. Armed with phone numbers they start calling these people.

After introducing themselves and a short preamble on the phone the leader says something like, “No doubt you are aware that your friend John is being baptised at our church next Sunday evening”. Reply, “Yes I do”.  Leader, “Well that’s great, I was talking to John yesterday and I asked him who he would really like to come along. When I did that he mentioned your name”. Reply, “Oh that’s nice”. Leader, “Well, I know that John would really appreciate it if you were to come along to this special event. Would you like to join us for the evening?”

This method has made a huge difference to the numbers attending, as well as the amount of people accepting Jesus as Lord. I like it. What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you for or against tent mission evangelism?

I believe the question above is an important one to ask. If you are for them, does that mean ‘yes, when someone else does them’, or by you getting involved in doing them?

I have been involved in a number of tent missions over the years. Some have been wonderful, where I have seen many decisions for Christ and others where it has been hard work to even get people to come along to the tent, let alone to sit in it while someone preaches! Without a doubt they are great to be part of and working with people on endeavours like this build character besides learning a lot about the people you work with.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: (") ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” Romans 10: 14

The scriptures above both say something that is very important. The emphasis is on the fact that a person either goes or is sent. This type of evangelism means stepping out of our comfort zones and having to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance and direction. After all that is what He wants us to do isn’t it? We never go on our own and neither will we be sent alone. The Holy Spirit will always go with us.

Key Point: We must go to where the people are and share the Gospel in word, action and deeds.

I am only going into a little detail here because there is a lot of work involved. There are many other practical jobs that need to be done on any mission of this type. Without a doubt it needs to be led by someone with good organisational and management skills. Recently I have worked with someone who is outstanding at this. It makes everything run smoothly and I believe these people are as important as the evangelist who preaches the Gospel, because without them it won’t function properly.

The other important aspect of a tent type mission is teamwork. Firstly in order to be effective you will need sufficient team members to accomplish the practical work. The planning and administration can be time consuming. Depending on where you are holding the event you may need to apply to a local authority for permission, set up health and safety policies, inform the local police authorities and all that is besides things like catering if you are providing food for events.

All of this needs to be done before organising the putting up and taking down of the tent.  Decisions must be made on a specific group of people who would perform ministries that would normally take place in a church. These range from those who welcome people as they arrive, to prayer teams, worship groups, and people who preach the messages.

The other important element is a team of people who are willing to “Go” out and meet people. This can take many forms, of course. The main aim is to go and talk to people about Jesus. Here are some examples that I have been involved with and used over the years:

·        Leaflet dropping

·        Street preaching

·        Street entertainment

·        School visits

·        Door to door visitation

·        Events such as barbeques and other related activities

·        Completing questionnaires on the streets and house to house

·        Prayer for the sick

·        Sporting activities

·        Men’s events

·        Women’s events

Other considerations are:

Commitment: This is important because it often means a person taking time off work to be available. This means sacrifice of time as well as money, for the good of reaching those who are away from Christ. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galations 6:9

Prayer: For me this is one of the most vital elements. More often that not there is a huge spiritual battle over the area. Opposition needs to be broken down through the prayers of the saints. Without it the job is made more difficult. “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” Matthew 18: 19

Unity: This may seem obvious, but the whole team needs to be pulling in the same direction and in agreement with the main objectives. When that happens, the Lord always blesses it.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion,  for there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forevermore.” Psalms 133: 1-3

Holding a tent mission means going to an area, setting up and followed by going to where the people are with the message of the Gospel.

I have seen many people come to Christ through them, plus many miracles of God's grace. Probably the biggest impact of them has been on my own life.

I highly recommend it.

 

 

 

 

What do you do when someone says “You won’t get me inside a church!”?

One of my favourite speakers is the evangelist J.John. He says, “In general, people go to church three times throughout their lifetime. Once to be christened, secondly to be married and finally the third time is for their funeral. The point being that on two of the occasions that they do go, they have to be carried in!”

“And the lord said unto the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.'  Luke 14:23

The scripture above is very clear and there is no doubt that it is also a command. Jesus is once again using the word ‘Go’ as He did in Matthew 16: 15 “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.”

So what should we do when we follow the command of Jesus but get the reply “You won’t get me inside a church!”? I believe that the answer is to be more creative and more intentional in our approach towards those that don’t know Jesus as Lord. That means being deliberate about a number of things in order to be successful in this very important area.

Most churches offer meetings that are less formal, particularly for specific groups, such as The Business Men’s Fellowship, Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International, and the Women’s and Men’s Aglow organisations. These are really great for taking a two step approach towards giving a person a chance to hear the Gospel. By two steps I mean inviting a person to a less churchy type of function before them visiting church.

I have been involved in this type of evangelism for many years now and know from experience that inviting someone to a breakfast, dinner or lunch is much easier that asking them to come to a church meeting. I have seen many lives changed through them.

In this kind of meeting, the Gospel is usually shared through the life experience of someone’s testimony. It is not like being preached at, plus they will have had an opportunity to chat to other Christians. I often speak at such functions as well as organising them.

Key Point: Being intentional prayed up. planned and rehearsed will increase your effectiveness at inviting people to church

From experience, I believe that there are three important areas to focus on so that when we invite a person to an event, similar to the ones I have mentioned, that the person invited says ‘Yes’. These areas are:

·        Decide who you are going to invite

·        Pray before you invite them

·        Rehearse how you are going to invite them

Being definite: Experience has shown that being intentional and focused on a number of specific people proves to be more fruitful than randomly inviting many to come along. I spent many years in sales and recruitment where we had saying – “If you throw enough mud at the wall some will eventually stick.” It’s true, but we have to remember how many people get put off by this type of approach. In evangelism training, I teach the vital importance of always keeping the door open for another opportunity. It is also absolutely essential to pray and rehearse your approach.

I have worked with people who witness effortlessly on the streets. It is their gifting to be able to stop someone and within a minute or two they are explaining the Gospel followed by a prayer of repentance. It truly is a gift, because it is evident in the results that follow the way they share with others.

With this in mind, make a list of people that you want to invite to an event. Think and pray about it before you actually speak to them.

Praying: One of my mentors in evangelism is one of the most gifted people in this area, a lady called Marilyn Harry. She always states emphatically that prayer and evangelism go hand in hand. She is absolutely right.

A Fervent prayer about the people on your list will make a difference. Ask God to prepare their hearts to break down barriers as well as creating opportunities to give you uninterrupted time to speak to them - this will yield results.  “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5: 16. I believe that scripture and as Paul said in Timothy 2: 4. “God desires that all men should be saved.”Do we need any more encouragement? When you invite a person along to an event, or share Jesus, you are doing what God desires. What a thrill!

Rehearsing: This point is often overlooked. Some people ask nervously, others ask in a way that is jumbled up and hard to understand, some come across as boring, some talk too much and talk the person out of coming along!

This is why it is necessary to practice what you are going to say and importantly how you are going to say it. This comes down to being intentional once again. Practicing with the intention of improving is the mother of learning.

I often practice rehearsing my messages. My pastor of many years would say that it takes at least twelve hours to prepare a message; this includes (d ,) praying and waiting on God, writing out the notes, practicing it and continuing to pray. Very often I preach the message to the wall in my office as if I am preaching to a thousand people. It makes a difference!

If possible, pray just before you invite and during the time you are speaking. I will often walk up to a person praying quietly under my breath. “Lord, help me here, open the door.” I will also be thinking a prayer like this while I am talking. If you don’t do so already, have a go.

Here are some things you could do:

·        Write down a few notes so that you know what you are going to say

·        Practice it on your own

·        Ask a friend to listen to what you are going to say

·        You could even record yourself. You may be surprised at how you sound.

·        Go and do it knowing you are intentionally prayed up and rehearsed!

 

Is planning personal evangelism effective

On a recent missions visit to Russia I had the great pleasure to visit and preach at the evening and morning meetings at the thriving and rapidly expanding New Life Church in Kirov, Russia. During that Sunday God moved powerfully over the congregation where many souls were saved. Glory to God! The memories of my visit, the love and welcome of the people there will stay with me forever.

I spent two days with Pastor Alexander and his wife discussing in depth about his church, evangelism and related subjects. At one point in our talks I asked him, “Why do you believe that your church has grown so quickly?”

I must admit I expected an answer that would bowl me over. However the answer was very simple and to the point. “Oh, we encourage our members to invite their families, friends and work colleagues to church”. I thought to myself, “We do that at out church”. The truth is that many churches do the same as well.

I wanted to discover if there was anything different about the way that they went about doing this so I asked him exactly what the church did. What he told me may come across as radical to some, or could even make you feel under pressure if your church adopted the same programme.

What was undeniable when I was there was seeing the love and passion in the people as a whole to win souls for Christ. The church had what I believed was an evangelistic lifestyle. This stemmed right from the top to the bottom and Pastor Alexander exemplified this.

The question I want to ask you is, “Shouldn’t all of our churches be like that?”

“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him” John 4: 28-30

Key Point: All churches should have an evangelistic lifestyle so that the lost can find Christ. Otherwise how will they find out about Him?

The scripture above really is a true representation of what we should do as believers in Christ. Thinking about it, the lady didn’t need to be told by Jesus to go and bring people to Him. Rather she was so impacted by what He said that she immediately went off to encourage others to meet him.

So then what is the method that this growing church uses? Is it just simply asking and inviting people along to meetings? Yes it is, but the difference is that go about it in a planned and strategic way.

From what I gathered there are four important key elements to their activities. Are the methods really different from your own church’s evangelistic activities?

Encouragement and training: The first area that the leaders in the church concentrate on is to encourage and train people in simple and effective ways to invite people to church meetings. Pastor Alexander made the point that they don’t train people to preach at people because it can put up barriers and make it difficult to go back to the person in the future.

Added to that, my own thoughts about are that the person who invites people will clearly be showing that their life has changed and from that comes an enthusiasm for people to hear the good news.

List writing: The second element involves writing a list of people including, family, friends work colleagues and acquaintances. On completion of this the list is broken down to months with contacts placed in each month.

Some of these months may involve using the church calendar for periods like Easter and Christmas. In addition there are Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day meetings, outreaches, special events, guest speakers, men’s events, ladies’ events, youth, and children’s meetings.  

Praying: This is very important and links in with the prepared list. The people in the church then pray regarding the people being invited each month. This provides a prayerful focus for the people written on the list. Church leaders and house group members join in with the prayers for the lost. In addition to this the church holds all night prayer meetings five nights a week from 11pm to 6am from Mondays to Fridays every week.

Having thought about this, it in all likelihood this section explains the rapid growth of the church.

Strategic and planned invitations: Finally the fourth part of the plan, involves inviting the people whose names were initially listed, placed into months and prayed for. Prayer makes a way for this as the church members use a proven method of asking people to come along to meetings.

Having looked at this, the three elements of encouragement,  training and making a specific plan of invitation backed up by regular prayer, makes the difference. It was really very refreshing to be in a church where there was an overall passion for the lost. Newly saved will quickly recognise that it is a natural thing to invite people to meetings. They will do the same. My old boss used to say, "Moray, like breeds like, so set an example for people to follow. Don't just tell people what to do. Show them and encourage them to do the same". Pastor Alexander has done exactly that. There a plenty of examples and roll models in scripture that can inspire us to step out in faith. Jesus being the best of all.

I personally learned a lot from being there and will never be the same.

Is planning important?

 

On a recent missions visit to Russia I had the great pleasure to visit and preach at the evening and morning meetings at the thriving and rapidly expanding New Life Church in Kirov, Russia. During that Sunday God moved powerfully over the congregation where many souls were saved. Glory to God!

I spent two days with Pastor Alexander and his wife discussing in depth about his church, evangelism and related subjects. At one point in our talks I asked him, “Why do you believe that your church has grown so quickly?”

I must admit I expected an answer that would bowl me over. However the answer was very simple and to the point. “Oh, we encourage our members to invite their families, friends and work colleagues to church”. I thought to myself, “We do that at out church”. The truth is that many churches do the same as well.

I wanted to discover if there was anything different about the way that they went about doing this so I asked him exactly what the church did. What he told me may come across as radical, or could even make you feel under pressure if your church adopted the same programme.

What was undeniable when I was there was seeing the love and passion in the people as a whole to win souls for Christ. The church had what I believed was an evangelistic lifestyle. This stemmed right from the top to the bottom and Pastor Alexander exemplified this.

The question I want to ask you is, “Shouldn’t all of our churches be like that?”

“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him” John 4: 28-30

Key Point: All churches should have an evangelistic lifestyle so that the lost can find Christ. Otherwise how will they find out about Him?

The scripture above really is a true representation of what we should do as believers in Christ. Thinking about it, the lady didn’t need to be told by Jesus to go and bring people to Him. Rather she was so impacted by what He said that she immediately went off to encourage others to meet him.

So then what is the method that this growing church uses? Is it just simply asking and inviting people along to meetings? Yes it is, but the difference is that go about it in a planned and strategic way.

From what I gathered there are four important key elements to their activities. Are the methods really different from your own church’s evangelistic activities?

Encouragement and training: The first area that the leaders in the church concentrate on is to encourage and train people in simple and effective ways to invite people to church meetings. Pastor Alexander made the point that they don’t train people to preach at people because it can put up barriers and make it difficult to go back to the person in the future.

Added to that, the person who invites people will clearly be showing that their life has changed and from that comes an enthusiasm for people to hear the good news.

List writing: The second element involves writing a list of people including, family, friends work colleagues and acquaintances. On completion of this the list is broken down to months with contacts placed in each month.

Some of these months may involve using the church calendar for periods like Easter and Christmas. In addition there are Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day meetings, outreaches, special events, guest speakers, men’s events, ladies’ events, youth, and children’s meetings. 

Praying: This is very important and links in with the prepared list. The people in the church then pray regarding the people being invited each month. This provides a prayerful focus for the people written on the list. Church leaders and house group members join in with the prayers for the lost. In addition to this the church holds all night prayer meetings five nights a week from 11pm to 6am from Mondays to Fridays every week.

Having thought about this, it in all likelihood this section explains the rapid growth of the church.

Strategic and planned invitations: Finally the fourth part of the plan, involves inviting the people whose names were initially listed, placed into months and prayed for. Prayer makes a way for this as the church members use a proven method of asking people to come along to meetings.

Having looked at this, the three elements of encouragement,  training and making a specific plan of invitation backed up by regular prayer, makes the difference. It was refreshing to be in a church where there was an overall passion for the lost.

I personally learned a lot from being there.

What can God do through you?

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself the question “Why would God want to use me?” To be honest with you, I was completely unable to think of any reason in my own case! It never ceases to amaze me What a privilege it is to be used by the Lord to witness, to pray for someone who is sick, with someone in a desperate situation or to lead someone to Christ. What an undeserved honour!

Amazingly, God chooses to accomplish His divine will through men and women like you and me. He does this in many ways and it is an exciting experience when you make yourself available to God to be a vessel for the Master’s use.

Another consideration in regards to this is His timing, which is perfect. There will occasions when He will use you to speak ‘a word in season’ to someone who is in difficulty, or is away from God, or to pray for a person who is sick. God can also prompt you to give, perhaps of your time or even financially to a ministry that is reaching the lost with the Gospel. Whenever you do what God has led you to do, will always of value.

Sometimes the way that He chooses to work through you may be unusual or it can even seem insignificant. I would even go so far as to say that sometimes we may even be unaware of how He is working through us.

“As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, The Lord needs it.” Luke 19: 29-31

Reading the scripture above must mean that the Lord organised for the man with the colt to be in a certain place, at a specific time, with the colt. In fact the timing of this must have been right down to the second. This man was available to be used by God so that the Lord was able to make His entry into Jerusalem. He isn’t mentioned at all by name, but his obedience and availability is remembered by Christians every year on Palm Sunday.

The question for you today is, what does God want to accomplish through you?

One thing is certain - that He has a plan for your life to give you a hope and a future. Also part of that plan will involve you being ready, willing and available for Him to call upon. No, not someone else, but you!

Key Point: It is often used as a cliché, but the saying is true. “It’s not about your ability but rather it is about your availability.”

These blogs are all about how we can win the lost to Christ in an ever-changing world. There are many things that you can get actively involved in that don’t involve preaching on the streets or doing radical evangelism. You may feel called to that type of witnessing, but there are many other ways that you can help that are proven to be effective. Here are just a few:

What can you do?

Pray: You can pray of course - for your own family, friends and for people that you know are in need in your community. If your church has an evangelistic ministry you could pray for them. They need it because they are on the front line. We are in a battle with an enemy that does not want to lose. We have to be intentional in prayer and do battle with the kingdom of darkness.

"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.” Matthew 11: 12

Witness: You can make yourself available to God to witness for Christ. If you ask the Lord to provide you with opportunities to witness, you will soon find yourself bumping into people who are ready to hear the message. As the saying goes, “When you pray coincidences happen. When you don’t pray, they don’t happen.” God will equip you and empower you do it. Step out in faith and say to God, “Here I am send me!” Sending you could mean speaking to neighbour next door. Oh, and the Holy Spirit will go with you. Wow!

Get involved in compassion ministries: This is a fantastic way of reaching people in need.  Acts of kindness break down all kinds of barriers. Feeding and helping the poor, helping the aged, working with the homeless, refugees, working with groups and individuals who have special needs, all open the door for the Gospel. These are ways to show the love of Jesus in your community. 

Give: You can give to evangelistic teams or organisations that “Go” with the message of salvation. That can be in your own country or overseas. As I write this we are in the process of finalising a missions trip to Russia where I will visit four cities sharing my testimony “A Fall From The Top” and much of the cost of this has so far been met by people with a heart to give. In my mind they are just as important as those people who actually preach and lead people to Christ. Without them the vision for mission wouldn’t happen.

What can God do through you?

The moment of realising who Jesus is

As we witness to people about the Gospel, we must remember that it is about the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It does not concern how much money we can get and any other benefits. Yes of course God can do that, but the reason people need salvation is to save them from a lost eternity in a place of torment created for Satan and not about things or benefits they can receive.

The jailer in Acts 17 didn’t fall on His knees in front of Paul and Silas and say,  “What must I do to get God to give me a new donkey?”He asked “Sirs, what must I do to be saved”?

There will be a moment when a person realises in their heart who Jesus is and why He died for them. That pivotal point comes only by revelation from God. When it happens, they will be changed forever.

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.” Matthew16:16-17

At our local fellowship every month, we have a visit from David, a exceptionally gifted Bible teacher who is able to expound the word of God in such a way that I am always left stunned as he shares from the scriptures. It is a joy to witness one of the five fold ascension gifts of teaching in operation on a regular basis, as well as being able to become more rooted and established in the word of God.

In our session yesterday evening he explained that unless a person receives revelation by the Spirit of God they do not appreciate who Jesus really is.

As I sat there listening, I pondered on his words, that people can know about Jesus, read about Him and even sing about Him, all of which is good – but it is only when a person receives revelation by the Holy Spirit that they are able to move into a real relationship with Him and become a sinner saved by God’s grace.

I have written, taught and preached about this many times over the years, very often using the example above of Peter when the disciples were asked by Jesus, “Who do you say that I am”?

Another example of this was shared in our session when the example of the Centurion at the Cross when Jesus was crucified.

“The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” Luke 23: 47

Reading that scripture must mean that as the centurion watched the events unfold, he must have realised at some point that there was more than just an ordinary man hanging on the cross. When we receive revelation from God it becomes a life changing event.

In my own case from the very moment I realised who Jesus was and most importantly what He had done for me, I asked Him into my heart, made Him Lord of my life and started to tell people about Him much to the embarrassment of my then un-saved wife. Nothing has changed since that time. I still have a passion and a desire to see people come to know Him in the way that I do now.

As we share the message through our testimonies (which must be Jesus- centered) or, by sharing scripture we need to remember that it the Holy Spirit who convicts hearts of sin, opens spiritually blind eyes and breaks down the barriers in peoples hearts.

Key Point: The Holy Spirit convicts hearts and reveals who Jesus really is.

He is able to penetrate the toughest of hearts and the most stubborn minds. He can change the lives of people who are far from God. This happens when the heart and mind of a person truly understands who Jesus really is. As an evangelist I have seen it happen many times and I never tire of it. I love it, and of course it the reason that I want people to know Him.

Therefore, as we witness for Jesus we must intentionally rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us. There are a few essential points that we need to remember:

We need to be prayed up before we witness: This is essential. We must ask God to provide us with opportunities to share and then take them when they arise. Also we must be ready to make opportunities for the Gospel.

Pray as you witness: We need to be quietly praying in our hearts and minds as we share. I often speak to the Holy Spirit in my mind in situations like this. Saying things like “Lord, give me the right words to say” or “Speak through me Lord”. If you are witnessing for Christ the Holy Spirit is right there with you.

Continue to pray for anyone that you have spoken to: Ask God to continue to speak to the person. He can do that in many ways. Sometimes it can take some time for the seed of the word to germinate in a person heart.

It is God who gives the increase, not us. We are vessels that He works through to accomplish His will. Wow!! That is just fantastic! The God of all creation working through you to save people from a lost eternity. Yes, and He wants to work through you and me!