Six Suggestions To Successfully Share Faith With Friends

Six Suggestions To Successfully Share Faith With Friends

Who are your friends? Think of the buddies or pals you trust and like enough to regularly spend time with. Wouldn’t you tell them about a great new show they’d like? Or about a shortcut to get to a favorite meeting place? Of course you would! So, why don’t we share the truth about our very best friend—Jesus? Fear mainly. But don’t let that reason stop you. Here are six suggestions to successfully share faith with friends.

Witness With Actions

Most believers think sharing our faith requires doing so with words. However, a familiar adage states that an action speaks louder than words. In that vein, living a godly life is one of the best ways to share what you believe.

Non-believers watch what Christians do. And because of what they see, they often reject Christianity because our walk fails to match our talk. Jesus commanded His believers to love their neighbors, which certainly includes friends. If our faith is based on loving others, what actions are we taking to show our love?

Look for concrete actions to take. For example, offer to help others. Do they need assistance moving? Pitch in. Are they going on vacation? Volunteer to bring in their mail or feed their cat. Is someone sick? Bring them a meal or offer to run errands for them. By living a life demonstrating God’s love, you can prepare people to receive the gospel because they’ve witnessed it in action.

Tell The Truth

Speak up at the appropriate time with the truth. Invited to go to play golf on Sunday morning? Don’t just say you’ve got something else planned. Explain that you regularly attend church then, and it is something you don’t want to miss. Asked to cover a shift at work for a buddy during a time your Bible study group meets? Don’t respond that you have a conflict. Tell them what it is. They may not like your response, but they will respect you for taking your faith seriously. This approach impresses upon a friend that your faith has a priority over social activities and over an opportunity to make more money.

Point Out Happy Endings

Everyone likes a story with a feel-good ending, so share stories of answered prayer with friends. You’d discuss a news story where a child was rescued, a brush fire stopped just short of someone’s residence, or an organ transplant came through just at the right time with them. Why not talk about similar happy endings with the twist that the result is attributable to an answer to prayer? Was your cousin in a car wreck and expected to die? Intercessory prayer answered by God allowed the relative to survive. Such stories reveal God’s power as well as your belief in the effectiveness of prayer and can lead to deeper discussion about faith.

Location, Location, Location

Having faith is a different path for non-believers to take. Perhaps the first step for them in the process is changing their location. Invite friends to Christian social activities. A Christian concert these days does not equate to an organ recital. The music is great, and the lyrics will spread the Good News. An added bonus? Non-believers can see Christians can and do have fun. Everyone likes to eat. Ask a friend to go with you to a church picnic or ice cream social. There won’t be a sermon, but someone will say a blessing and attendees will likely discuss faith topics.

It’s All In the Delivery

Ephesians 4:15 talks of believers speaking the truth in love. It means not to be judgmental, arrogant, or preachy when sharing your faith. Wouldn’t YOU reject someone speaking to you like that? Speak with gentleness and respect as instructed in 1 Peter 3:15. Opening with fire and brimstone may not be as productive as saying, “I care about you, so I want you to know this information.”

Share Your Personal Experience

A feeling of inadequacy prevents many from sharing. They don’t hold a theology degree or have the Bible memorized. They are unprepared to  answer all the questions or to engage in a theological argument. But people will listen when you tell them your own story of how you came to God and what He’s done for you. While theological principles may be debatable, what happened in your life is not.

Think about the Samaritan women at the well whose fellow townspeople despised and rejected her. After meeting Jesus, she told everyone about her encounter with Him. And the result? John 4:39 tells us they listened to her personal story, and many believed.

Share Faith With Friends

Believers do not have a choice about sharing. Before ascending to heaving, Jesus directed His followers to go and make disciples of all nations. We must share. The question is how. To counteract the fear of sharing, utilize six suggestions to successfully share faith with friends. Witness with actions, tell the truth about your decisions, share answers to prayer, invite friends to Christian events, speak gently and with respect, and talk about your own personal experiences.