Gospel Conversations

Last week, I had a conversation with a great saint that the Lord has placed in my life. One of my mentors, Dr. Larry Robertson, is the pastor of Hilldale Baptist Church in Clarksville, TN. We spoke about baptisms, salvations and loving our communities like Jesus.  Our conversation was then directed by Pastor Larry to the thought that there seems to be a relationship with talking about Jesus and people surrendering their life to Jesus. He brought up the verse 2 Corinthians 9: 6 (Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully). What if we had 10,000 gospel conversations this next year … will people come to surrender their life to Christ? We believe that the Lord will honor such efforts if we strive to talk more about Jesus.

How to have more Gospel conversations:
1. Gospel Appointments. Schedule a time to hang out with someone with the intention of sharing the gospel with them.  When you schedule the time together let them know your intention of practicing to “share the gospel” with them. This will do two things for you: (1) eliminate stress when you are trying to figure out a transition in the conversation in which to inject the gospel and (2) hold you accountable because the other people now expects you to share the gospel.
2. Hang Out With People That Do Not Know Jesus. If you do not know anyone that is not living a life for and with Jesus then you are hanging out with too many Christians.  Meet people that do not know Jesus and become friends for the goal of helping them surrender their life to Jesus.
3. Start the Conversation. If people know that you are a Christian, then they may expect that you will talk about Jesus. Although “nice” is not a bad thing, we are not called to simply be “nice” but to be Gospel. Find or create opportunities that will allow you to share the Gospel.  It is not their responsibility but yours.
4. Share Your Faith with Everyone. Share the Gospel or drop a faith flag with anyone and everyone that you meet.  You have no idea why you “ran” into them that day. Maybe the Lord orchestrated a meeting so that you could be a light in their life for Him. Ask a waiter or waitress if you can pray with them, let them know that you will pray to Jesus for them and then at some point ask them if they have surrendered their life to Jesus.

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david evans is the Evangelism Team Leader for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.   Feel free to contact david via e-mail devans@tnbaptist.org.  In the meantime, check out “The Reaching App” by searching in your app store or visiting www.TheReachingApp.com.