SHARING THE GOSPEL
We are passionate about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and we want to be ambassadors of this Good News. We desire that all would know who Jesus is, what He has done, and how to have life to the fullest through Him.
1 Corinthians 15:3-5 3
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
What is the Gospel of Salvation?
The gospel, in simple terms, is trusting that Jesus did enough to allow us to have a relationship with God through His life, death, and resurrection. It is trusting that He lived a perfect life, died to take the punishment that we deserve, and rose again three days later to offer us new life. When we put our faith, our confidence, in what Jesus did on our behalf, we are adopted into the family of God as His children.
The word “gospel” means “good news.” The gospel is the good news that God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son to take the punishment that we deserve. When we recognize the punishment we deserved is death, this is incredible news. The gospel is good news because we understand we cannot earn or buy our salvation by the good works that we do or the nice things we say. The gospel is incredible when we hear Jesus has provided a way for us when we were still lost in our sins!
Do You Think You Are Called to Share the Gospel of Salvation With Others?
Sharing the gospel with others may seem intimidating and daunting if it is not something you have done before. As with anything that intimidates us, we are uncannily skilled at crafting excuses to avoid stepping out of our comfort zone. We may hesitate to share the gospel because we fear rejection, we feel unequipped in how to approach someone without tripping over our words, or we may even presume it is the job of a pastor or evangelist. We may think that as long as we get them to a church service or event, we are good—right?
Yet, in 1 Peter 3:15, Peter states that every believer should always be prepared to explain the reason for what they believe and why they follow Jesus. Further, in 2 Corinthians 5, the Apostle Paul says believers are now a new creation through Christ Jesus and have become God’s ambassadors to the world “as though God were making His appeal through us”. Believers are God’s representatives that share the way to have a relationship with Him and how to live in union with a Holy God. It is clear it is the responsibility of all believers to be equipped, ready, and active in sharing the gospel of salvation with others.
So yes, every believer is called to share the gospel of salvation with those around them.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
1 Peter 3:15 15
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect
How Do I Develop a Lifestyle of Sharing the Gospel?
Paul describes believers as ambassadors. An ambassador is someone who lives in a foreign country and represents the culture, priorities, and agenda of their homeland. In essence, Paul says we represent God’s culture, priorities, and agenda while we live on this earth. But often we find our lives do not reflect a readiness to represent God’s culture, priorities, or agenda to our family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Here are some ways for us to develop a lifestyle that is ready to share the gospel of salvation.
First, pray for opportunities. Pray for God to open doors and give you the opportunity to share the amazing gospel message with others. God places people in our paths every single day, and when we go to God in prayer to ask Him to show us what those opportunities are, he will put someone in our path.
Secondly, when you engage with the people God puts in our path, approach them with love. Yes, the message we bring is offensive because we are talking about a problem that they have caused and that they do not have a solution for. But that does not mean we beat that person over the head with all their deplorable behavior or terrifying destination. After all, the message we speak shares the concept of incredible love that rescues us from that fate but more importantly, invites us into a beautiful relationship with our Heavenly Father. So listen to their story and background. Ask them questions about who they are and what their struggles are. Never pass up an opportunity to pray for them. While many people may not be ready to receive the gospel, many are still open for us to pray for them. After all, it would not hurt to have someone talking to God on their behalf, would it?
Finally, be ready to share the gospel clearly. When I was a student, I traveled with a pastor to a number of churches where he would periodically ask members of the student team to stand up and share the gospel in one sentence. The first time he did this he did not give us a warning. Yes, imagine being put on the spot with that question! Thankfully he asked another member of the team because I am not sure how I would have responded. But from there on out, every single team member was ready with a concise statement of the gospel in case he called us out at a different church. How would you do? Do you know how to share the gospel in three sentences or less?
This is what I came up with. The gospel is recognizing we have made mistakes that have separated us from God and only through Jesus’ perfect life, death on the cross that takes our punishment, and resurrection from the dead that gives us new life can we have life with God. This is not something we can achieve or earn and we certainly do not deserve it. It is a gift that we receive by God’s grace through our faith.
Sharing the Gospel Using the Tabbed Bible, Gospel Card, and Wrist Band
On top of encouraging a lifestyle that shares the gospel, we also recognize there are many useful tools that help us share the gospel as well. AOF offers gospel sharing tools that consist of a color-coded, tabbed New Testament Bible with corresponding gospel card and wrist band. By using the color-coded tabs, it is simple to walk anyone through scriptures that share the gospel message. The gospel can be shared by using one, two, or all three of these tools. Below you will find short training videos on how to use these tools:
When you are using the tabbed Bible ask the person/persons you are sharing the gospel with to read each scripture out loud and allow time for some interaction with the scripture, asking questions, and prayer.
Here are the passages:
SIN
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
DEATH
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
LOVE
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
FAITH
Ephesians 2:8.9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
LIFE
Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him form the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Once all 5 scriptures are read, discern whether or not an invitation can be made to confess out loud and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Please be mindful, when we present the gospel we do not want to make it seem like a transaction with God. We are inviting others to join into a relationship and a lifestyle with the creator of the universe. This decision is a commitment rather than a simple prayer we pray so we can obtain the “get out of hell” card. We become God’s children that are passionately following Jesus.
Finally, there is one final tab containing three scriptures that should then be read out loud.
NEW IN CHRIST
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.
GROW IN CHRIST
Acts 2:41-42 So then, those who had received his word (Peter’s) were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
SHARE CHRIST
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, ever to the end of the age.
I attended church for 18 years but did not really know Jesus. A friend shared the gospel with me. This changed my life. I now share the gospel with others and serve as a project leader for Acts of Friendship. I am currently being discipled one-on-one and I am also mentoring a recipient of Acts of Friendship.
Acts of Friendship Project Leader
We Are Here to Help
If you would like to know more about the details of how we do our ministry and how it can be done in your neighborhood or church we would love to hear from you! We do not want to merely add to the noise of programs in your life or church. We want serving, sharing the gospel, and discipleship to become the lifestyle of your life and church. We want to partner with you to accomplish this so please reach out and we would love to interact with you and your unique background and environment.