The motivation to share the Gospel with people you don’t know
Our previous story ended with the question, “I want to make disciples for Jesus, what do I do?”
In this post, we will explore the motivation to share with the (arguably) scariest case: making disciples by talking to strangers 🙀.
Recap from last time
Discipleship is the act of learning of surrendering yourself to Christ, following Him where He leads, and equipping yourself to teach others how to follow Him (disciple-making).
But how does one make disciples?
Short answer: find them.
There are people who have been following Jesus for a shorter amount of time than you have. If you’re both willing to commit to holding each accountable in your walk with Christ for at least a year, then that would make for an excellent pairing. A future post describe how this works.
Another possible route is to disciple someone that is curious about Jesus or just started believing in Him. This can be someone that you know: a family member, a friend, a coworker, or even a stranger. Notice that this is how the early church grew (see the book of Acts). The disciples that were closest to Jesus made disciples, and their disciples, made disciples.
The early discipleship route is bumpy though; Satan does not like it when people choose Jesus. He’ll want to pull them back to himself (remember that Satan is the great influencer of this world for now). But this route can lead to immense growth, allowing God to teach and draw both you and your disciple closer to Him.
I have the hardest time sharing the good news of Christ with family and friends. They don’t want to hear it. I pray for Jesus to soften their hearts and minds (it’s a miracle whenever someone changes their mind). When any of these folks come around, then I’ll be ecstatic (and write about it).
Until that day happens, I focus on sharing the Gospel with strangers.
Enduring “stranger danger” and making disciples anyway
Talking to strangers about Jesus scares me. I don’t know what their experience with Christians have been. Whatever bad experiences they had might bubble up and “explode” in my face. What solace can I take in this endeavor? Luke 10 provides the insight we need.
We are going to do an exercise and read Luke 10 from verses 1 to 12.
The exercise consists of:
- Reading each verse in Luke 10:1–12.
- For each verse, write down “what the command to obey is”. (Jesus is the speaker in this passage so what He says are the rules).
- For each verse, write down how the verse could make you, or person you’re sharing with, feel.
The following table is my variation of the exercise. I highly recommend that you follow along with your own paper/notebook/Notes App. Go through verse 1, write down the command to obey, write down how it makes a person feel. Compare your entry with mine for reference. And continue until you finish at verse 12.
# Luke 10:1-12
+-----+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Verse|Command to obey |How people feel |
+-----+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|1 | Go out and share in pairs. | I: feel comforted that I don't have to talk to people alone. I have a buddy! Others: could feel like threaten when greeted by 2 people instead of 5. |
|2 | Pray that Jesus brings more people that want to make disciples. | I: feel surprised that there are people that are ready to accept Jesus. That does not seem normal where I live. |
|3-4 | Don't carry extra stuff as you go out. | I: feel slightly afraid to have less stuff with me. Others: could feel less threatened b/c I have less items |
|5 | Say a blessing onto the home that gives you an audience. | Others: know that you're about Jesus; it's not a bait-and-switch. They may feel like you care about their home. |
|6 | Rely on the Holy Spirit. | I: feel relieved that will have God's peace with me whether the other person accepts Him or not. Others: get to feel God's peace. |
|7-8 | If invited in then stay in the same place (do not jump from house to house).| Others: may feel happy and respected that they can host someone. I: feel that I can give grace to someone by just being a good guest in their home. |
|9 | Heal people (through Christ with prayer).; He provides miracles) | Others: can experience God directly through answered prayer and healing. I: feel like I need to trust that God can heal if it's in His plan and purpose to do so.|
|10-12| Do not stay where you are not welcome. | I: feel relieved that I don't have to change people's minds. Others: know that I came b/c of Christ whether they like it or not. |
+-----+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+That took a little while to get through, eh? Glad we’re back. Let’s answer one last question about what we read:
At the end of all of this, what are people you meet meant to feel?
For me, I see the following:
- People will know I’m there to share about Jesus. There’s no question to my intentions; if you want to talk about God, then I would love to. If not, that’s perfectly OK and I won’t overstay my welcome.
- People have a high chance to feel seen, heard, pursued by God through an interaction with me. People should feel loved and respected by God (through me) whether they choose Him or not.
Therefore, as I meet with strangers, I want to make sure that my interaction with them is respectful, is straight-forward (about Jesus), and that they have the opportunity to feel loved by Him. This framing softens the fear of “stranger danger” and allows me to openly share with people I’ve never met.
What are your takeaways from Luke 10?
Okay, I have the motivation and (enough) comfort to share with strangers, what do I actually do?
Next time, we’ll cover how you can approach people you don’t know.
