Though the fourth week of Life FOCUS is long gone, it doesn’t mean that I should not post about it. Indeed, it was a very important week. Now that the students had learned and applied important truths of the faith, it was now time for them to go out and share it with other people. Week four was Evangelism Week.

We kicked it off with some inspirational video messages by Ray Comfort, the one who heads up Way of the Master ministries. With his powerful perspective, creative techniques, and contagious zeal, we were instructed on how to effectively share the gospel. Tuesday and Wednesday were full of sessions.

Come Thursday, we walked around downtown Indianapolis planting seeds by handing out gospel tracks. Among the ten teams of two or three people, we handed out dozens of tracks. Friday afternoon was very similar except an effort was made to actually talk to individuals.

One very helpful thing I learned from the sessions and was able to apply while witnessing was a simple outline Ray Comfort gave: relate, create, convict, reveal. First you have to start the conversation by relating to the person you want to witness to. Smiling, and saying “Good afternoon; beautiful weather, isn‘t it?” as I walked up to someone almost always worked. My team leader ran into a few nasty people, but only a few times did I occasion someone who did not want to talk. Sometimes it is not possible to get passed this stage. I walked up to a Spanish speaking person who said he spoke English, but after receiving unrelated answers to obvious questions, I left him with a track and walked away from the awkward situation to go fishing elsewhere.

However, if you can strike up a conversation, the next step is to create an avenue for talking about spiritual things. After striking up a conversation with a guy playing a guitar, he began talking about plans, or rather lack of plans, for his future. This opened a door for me to ask if he had thought about plans after death. Immediately, we were on spiritual topics and a conversation worth conversing.

Once you are on this topic, there is no way of telling what the person will say so you really have to guide the conversation toward conviction of sin. This is always tricky and the best way to be successful is to keep doing it to get experience. It is good to use the law of God, the Ten Commandments, to bring them to a realization of their need for Christ. Sometimes this doesn’t work because not everyone listens to their conscience or even to common sense. An old man sitting along the canal didn’t believe in God but after I presented the Ten Commandments, the penalty for disobedience, and the possibility of final judgment, he didn’t know what to say. Sadly, as the conversation deepened, it was clear that he did not want to change so I left him with a track called “The Athiest Test.”

However, if someone does come under conviction, it is time to reveal the gospel. Unfortunately, I never was able to get this far in a conversation but others on Blue team were able to. A few people were actually saved and that boosted our fervor to continue!

It has been a huge step out of my comfort zone to go out of my way to witness to people. No matter how uncomfortable it may seem, I urge you to fulfill the Great Commission by sharing the good news of the gospel everywhere you go, whether it be handing out a track or initiating an in-depth conversation. Remember; relate, create, convict and reveal. The gospel message is for sinners to hear!