God's Word For Today
 

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BUILD A BRIDGE TO A NONBELIEVER

If your aim is to introduce an unbelieving friend to Christ, you
need to build a trusting relationship with him/her before you
talk with him/her about Jesus. Building bridges to others is a
process not a project, that requires God-given patience and
wisdom.

Ways to build bridges:

  * Take advantage of social events. Don't exclude yourself from
    social gatherings because you don't like certain types of
    people. If they don't know Christ, they are the ones who need
    reaching out to. You will probably find that you have many
    things in common: a passion for tennis, worry about your
    kids, love for your spouses. The only thing you don't share
    is your journey to heaven.

  * Be a good listener. Use your eyes and ears. Listen to what is
    really being talked about, what the others' needs are, and
    what you can do to help them. This may not be the time to
    share the Gospel with them, but by your behavior of
    acceptance and listening, the next time you want to share the
    Gospel with them it will be easy for them to return the favor
    and listen to your message.

  * Look for opportunities to serve. Through small acts of
    kindness toward others, you will have numerous opportunities
    to explain that what you did was because you are a Christian.
    Moving beyond words to deeds really develops a relationship.

  * Serve them with your time. Volunteer at a hospital or with
    youth organizations. Be a coach for a kids sports team.

  * Serve through your talent. Help a neighbor or single mom with
    home repairs, help with car repairs, do minor alterations for
    another person, or make a meal to share with someone in need.

  * Serve with your treasures. This can mean your money, but also
    your possessions. Loan your cottage to a church group, offer
    your second car to someone whose car is in the shop, buy
    tickets for someone to a Christian concert, take a co-worker
    to dinner and then to a special service at your church, or
    give extra furniture to newlyweds.

  * Watch how you walk. Your example of a Christian life will do
    more to tell the Gospel than all the words in any book. You
    can't live as if you don't know the Lord and then expect
    people to listen when you tell them how much He means to you.

  * Look for opportunities to plant spiritual seeds. You may feel
    comfortable giving a non-believer a book about the faith, or
    a simple translation of the New Testament. Christian
    literature that you give to others can go where you can't go,
    speak when you can't speak, and share the Gospel faithfully
    and clearly time after time when the reader is ready to pick
    it up and listen.

  * Be sensitive to times of heightened spiritual receptivity.
    The milestones in a person's life (birth of a baby, death of
    a loved one) make them more open to the Gospel than at any
    other time.

  * Be patient. Remember you are building bridges to real people,
    not just accumulating decisions for Christ. Don't give up on
    your friends. You have a lifetime to introduce them to Jesus.
 

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   Dan Owens has been with the Luis Palau Evangelistic
   Association for 10 years, originally as a crusade
   director and now as the team's first full-time
   associate evangelist. He also serves as LPEA's
   Director of Training for Evangelism and Discipleship.
 

   From Sharing Christ When You Feel You Can't by Daniel
   Owens, copyright (c) 1997. Used by permission of
   Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers,
   Wheaton, Ill., 1-800-635-7993.