We Can All Engage In Conversational Evangelism
For our members, presenting the gospel usually begins with presenting someone with a Personal Workers Testament. However, conversational evangelism goes beyond the simple giving of a gift. It was demonstrated by both the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles, and then commanded by Jesus just prior to His heavenly ascension – “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
These words apply to all Christians. We are all called to share the hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Our lives and our lips should point others to Christ.
Conversational Evangelism in Scripture
The Lord Jesus, when He met ‘the woman at the well’ gave a wonderful demonstration of conversational evangelism. Seated at the well, Jesus opened a conversation with a Samaritan woman by ‘asking’ for a drink. Jesus steered the conversation to spiritual matters, which in turn highlighted her sinful nature. The conversation then led to this woman being presented with the truth of whom Jesus was–the Messiah. Then the Samaritan woman went to tell the townsfolk about Jesus. She simply, and it seems very effectively, witnessed of her personal encounter with Jesus, saying “Come, see a man who told me all the things I ever did. Could this be the Christ?”
In Acts 16, Paul went ‘to the riverside where prayer was customarily made, and we sat down, and spoke to the women who met there’. There Paul met Lydia and engaged her, along with others, in conversation. We can surmise that people asked questions and Paul responded to their answers in much the same way Jesus did with the woman at the well. Paul found that Lydia worshipped, but did not know the Lord. As Paul shared the Gospel, we are told that: “The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 16:14). Notice that it was not Paul, himself, who performed the work of salvation; rather, “The Lord opened her heart!”
This is encouraging news for those of us who are fearful in sharing our faith. The Lord can open hearts if we will just step out in faith, start the conversation and let the Holy Spirit lead us.
Let us each pray that we might be used of the Lord to lead someone to Christ today.
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