This is not so they can just recite the words back to a person the way they memorized it; teaching this gives them a way to apply the gospel to the conversation they are having as well as give them a way to recall the truth of the gospel if they get stuck.
Let’s face it: If our people who are believers can’t clearly articulate the basics of the gospel, we must be teaching them something else as more important. Again, we can do more than know the gospel as we grow in our faith, but we should never know less than that.
3. Teach Believers How To Start Conversations.
Often believers who know the gospel struggle to share Jesus because they don’t know how to start conversations with other people.
You can learn an acronym to help here, like the word FIRE:
Family—ask about their family, truly seek to get to know them.
Interests—ask about hobbies, work, sports or musical interests. You will probably find you have things in common.
Religious background—Then, ask a general question about their religious or spiritual beliefs, like, Do you have any religious upbringing or spiritual beliefs? Or, when you attend church, where do you attend? (That’s a far better question than, do you go to church?)
Exploratory questions—Here you want to learn more about their actual faith. Examples:
- Someone with a church background: Would you say you know Jesus personally or are you still figuring that out? Or share your testimony, then ask if they have experienced anything like that.
- Talking with a Muslim: Ask, did you know that Jesus is mentioned in your holy book? Did you know there are actually four biographies about Jesus that are called Gospels? You can offer to read the Gospel of John with them to see who Jesus is.
- Talking with someone who is irreligious or skeptical: Ask them about their beliefs and how their own journey brought them to where they are. You can then share your own story of meeting Jesus.
4. Remind Believers To Share Jesus With Conviction and Compassion.
First Peter 3:15 tells us that we should always be ready to give a reason for the hope we have in Christ. That’s conviction: Being ready to speak up about Jesus and how he changed our lives.
It goes on to say we are to do so with gentleness and respect. We are not better than others because we have been changed by the gospel, but we have received the greatest gift (Ephesians 2:8-9); now we can tell others about this gift, with respect, kindness, and gentleness.
If most Christians in America did this in 2026, we could see a remarkable impact. Let’s be proactive for the gospel this year.
