Share Your Faith: Spark Spiritual Interest

Sometime ago I began to look in depth at aspects of sharing our faith.  I believe no greater model for sharing the Gospel exists than the story we have recorded in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John.  

You can click on the link(s) at the bottom to examine my other entries.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the
reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
                                                                       – 1 Peter 3: 1,2,15 NIV

Sparking spiritual interest is not always achieved through conversation, in fact, it probably rarely is.  But it should always lead to conversation.


Here are a few ways to raise interest through your actions.

·       We can arouse spiritual interest by our example

·       By showing kindness and compassion to all, even the evil and wicked

·       By not harboring racial or social prejudices to those who are different

·       By our own example of faith and hope

Here are a few ways to raise interest through your actions.(Acts 13:16-22)

·       We can raise questions or make statements that shift conversations to spiritual matters

·       "What do you think our world is in such a mess?"

·       "Would you be interested in what the Bible says about...?"

·       The discussion should first involve matters of common agreement

·       Start with things upon which you agree, to build rapport and instill confidence

·       This was the practice of apostolic preaching 

1) Connect Socially 
2) Common Interest

Share Your Faith: Common Interest

Sometime ago I began to look in depth at aspects of sharing our faith.  I believe no greater model for sharing the Gospel exists than the story we have recorded in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John.  

You can click on the link(s) at the bottom to examine my other entries.

2) Common Interest

Tracts, billboards, street preaching, church signs, door-to-door evangelism, bumper stickers, and t-shirts all have on thing in common.  They are one-offs.  A one shot chance at impacting someone with the Gospel message.  Let me be clear, I believe each and every one of these things can, and have been, useful; but on the whole these methods are not the most successful means for impacting someone with the Gospel.

In my last post on this topic I wrote about our need to venture outside the walls of our churches and safe Christian sub-culture to impact and connect with non believers socially.  This entry further develops that with what would be a necessary next step in the efforts to connect and share the Gospel.

The natural next step in sharing your faith as observed in John 4, is establishing common interest or, build rapport.

This is not always an easy task.  It can, in fact, come off like empty small talk--something contrived merely as filler conversation--if you are not careful. Common interests can be many things.  A few topics may be; family, sports, hobbies, school, activities, or shared experiences. The key is to be meaningful.  If you have to force it, you don't mean it.

Once a bridge for communication has been established, it will be easier to discuss God's word with someone.  Don't feel that you must immediately begin talking about spiritual matters.  Take time to nurture common interests.  Yet at some point we want to reach the next stage.


1) Connect Socially
3) Spiritual Interest 

H is for Heaven

The final piece of the plan of salvation, one that all Christians will one day experience, is eternal life.  Jesus spoke often of it during His public ministry.  One of my favorite passages is Christ’s verbal exchange with the woman at the well in John chapter four, but here are a couple more of His shorter words concerning heaven.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. – John 10:10

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. – John 14:3

Do we understand everything about heaven?  Of course not.  Nevertheless, the Bible declares to us the reality of this eternal place.  I’m so glad to know that we have an eternal home.

F is for FORGIVENESS

So often Christians desire to share their faith with people, but aren’t really sure what to say.  Sometimes an authentic God-centered lifestyle really is enough to spark conversation about faith, and sometimes it takes words, but at some point it will always lead to discussing what is commonly referred to as the “plan of salvation.”

I’m going to spend the next few posts looking at an acronym for faith I came across while studying several years ago.  Yes, it is cheesy, as all good acronyms typically are, but its principles are superb.  It is essentially your primary talking points when discussing salvation with someone unfamiliar to this concept.

F is for FORGIVENESS.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. – Ephesians 1:7

Each of us needs forgiveness in our lives.  Your failures and moral misgivings are your own.  No one else can vouch for them, well no one amongst your normal social circles.  The fact of the matter is that we are, all of us, in desperate need of reconnection with the Father.  This is only achieved through forgiveness, which in turn only comes through Christ.

The first point of communication then is in helping someone understand their need for God.  Until they realize this, there is no moving forward.

Share Your Faith: Connect Socially

Sharing your faith is one of the most basic principles of Christianity, yet it is largely ignored in terms of serious teaching or discipline.  I'm not suggesting the following is anything overtly intellectual or deep; but it is serious, and for those wishing to share their faith, it is practical.

One of the greatest stories in all of the gospels is recorded in John 4:1-26. This wonderful account details Christ's interaction with a Samaritan woman at a well. I believe that anything we do as Christians can be patterned after the way Christ did things.  There are some great truths we can take away from Christ's interaction with the woman that will help us in communicating the Gospel.

1) Connect Socially

In the Church-world we're getting really good at separating ourselves from the rest of the world; but separation doesn't mean isolation.  We live where we live, around whom we live around.  We work where we work, with whom we work.  I'm not sure why we feel like that simply because we're believers  that we are supposed to suddenly cease all connection with anyone that is not a believer.  It's like the only place that we feel comfortable interacting with non-believers is within the apparent safety of our churches.

When people aren't coming to Christ, it's usually because the Church is not taking Christ to the people who need Him most.  We really have to get rid of this naivety we have about thinking people will just show up and make life-changing decisions simply because we have a Christmas program, potluck, or Super-Bowl Party.  These are all great events, for building relationships, but if you're not actively trying to get non-believers there stop thinking they'll show up on their own.

Finally, withdrawing ourselves from those who have not heard or obeyed the gospel is completely, and entirely, contrary to the will of God.  Stop hiding behind the walls of this weird little Christian sub-culture we've whipped up in the last fifty years.  Get out there, connect with unbelievers, and build actual relationships with them that show Christ's love.

2) Common Interest
3) Spiritual Interest