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This is not necessarily meant to be a model for you to imitate word for word. It is intended rather as an example of the way you might approach and share Jesus with a person you have never met before.

How do you approach a total stranger? Do you just "accidentally" bump into him and say, "Oh, excuse me, I'd like to share something with you"? I suppose you could, but that's not exactly what I would recommend.

So how do you start? The first thing you need to consider is: Who do you approach? The answer is fairly simple. Most of the time it's best to begin with someone who is not in a hurry and who obviously has nothing else to do but listen to you. Don't try to out talk somebody who is walking as fast as he can to catch a bus. That won't work!

If the person you approach isn't in a hurry, both of you will be more at ease. Then that person is free to give you his full attention.

Once you have chosen the person, how do you initiate the conversation? How do you get into what you want to share?

In my own personal approach, I usually say something like, "Hello, I'd like to share something with you that's changed my whole life." Or I might just walk up and introduce myself: "Hello, I'm Jerry Savelle, and I'd like to share something with you that has changed my whole life."

As you will see on this sample approach, I sometimes say, "Hello, my name is Jerry Savelle. I want to ask you something. Have you heard the Good News?" That's a good way to get a person's attention, isn't it? After all, everybody (especially these days) is interested in hearing some good news for a change.

Now this person doesn't know anything about what I want to say. It might be anything. It may be that the federal government is not going to make us pay income tax anymore. (That would be good news!) He has no earthly idea of what I'm going to talk to him about at this point, but he is interested to hear it - no matter what it is. If it's good news, he wants to hear it. And that's the important thing. First of all, I want to get his attention.

I don't go up to him and say, "Hey, you - do you believe in God? Do you go to church? Are you a sinner? " I don't want to say anything that will put him on the defensive. I surely don't want to approach with: "You're going to hell if you don't listen to me!"

I want to say something that will get his attention. How can he believe except he hear?

I don't want to turn him off with my approach, and I don't want to get into a religious discussion or debate. You will find that most people you share with, especially in the "Bible Belt," have been to church at least once in their lives.

Most of them think that because they have been that one time, all is well. Those that have been to church a few times think they know a little something about religion. If you go up to them and say, "I'd like to talk to you about God," they will likely say, "Oh, I go to church." But you don't want to hear that right then. You want to get their attention.

My initial approach is: "I'd like to share something with you that has changed my whole life." At this point I haven't introduced anything, but I have that person's attention. He will usually give me enough time to introduce to him what changed my life. For the most part, everybody out there is looking for something that will change their lives. Once I have his attention, then I can lead him into the Good News and share Jesus with him.

Now let's look at an example of how your conversation might go:
"Say, have you heard the Good News? Did you know that Jesus is alive, and that He wants to make Himself real to you right now? Jesus said, 'He that loves Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself (or make Myself real) to him.' Jesus wants to make Himself real to you right now.

"God loved you so very much that even while you were a sinner, Christ died for you. But, listen, that's not where it stops. The Bible also says that God made Jesus Christ, Who knew no sin, to be sin for you, so that you might be made the righteousness of God. Do you know what "righteousness" means? Well, let me tell you. Righteousness just simply means right standing with God. Did you know that you have right standing with God, that God has already forgiven you, that He is not holding anything against you?

"The Bible says that it was God personally present in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself - not counting up and holding men's sins against them, but canceling them. Did you know that God has already forgiven you of your sins? Now, tell me, isn't that good news?

"Now listen to this. The Bible says that we, being justified by faith, have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that because of what God has already done through His Son Jesus Christ at Calvary, He has already forgiven you and would like to manifest Himself to you right now?

"Do you know how He does that? The Bible says when you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved. Jesus has promised that He would then come and live in you and make Himself real to you. Isn't that great?

"Not too long ago I was unhappy and miserable. But then somebody shared this good news with me and I accepted Jesus as Lord of my life that day. I want you to know that since that day, I have lived the high life. Jesus delivered me and transformed my whole life, all because I believed that He is the Son of God and that God has raised Him from the dead.

"Let me ask you something. Is there any reason why you can't make Jesus the Lord of your life right now? I'd like to pray with you. Would you let me pray with you?"
Now, that isn't hard, is it?

Then you lead that person in a simple confession of the lordship of Jesus Christ - not a confession of sins. The sinner doesn't confess sins to get born again; he confesses the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Here is an example of the kind of simple prayer I lead people in:
"O God in heaven, I accept Your love and Your forgiveness for my life right now. I believe in my heart and I confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that You have raised Him from the dead. I make Him the Lord of my life now.

"I renounce my past life with sin and Satan, and I thank You for receiving me as Your child.

"From this moment forward, my life belongs to Jesus, and Him only shall I serve. Thank You for making Yourself real to me right now. Amen."
When having the person pray with you, encourage him to repeat the prayer so that he can hear himself declaring that Jesus is Lord.

Follow-Up
Once the person has prayed this prayer and made Jesus the Lord of his life, then you want him to know that he is a new creation. You want him to understand what has happened to him and who he is in Christ.

Don't just let him go on his way right then. He needs some follow-up to help him in his new Christian walk and to get him involved in a good church where he can learn and develop.

The first thing I do is get his name, address, and telephone number. Then I offer him mine because he will need a friend. He is just a babe in Christ and will need counseling and support until he reaches some maturity.

If he is from your own area, you can help provide that support. If he doesn't live near you, then do your best to guide him to a church or assembly where you know he will get the instruction he needs.

When I lead a person to the Lord, even in my own city of Fort Worth, I don't insist that he become a member of my church. I really don't care where he goes to church, as long as it is a solid Word church. If he asks what church I recommend, I don't hesitate to tell him. But my purpose is not to get more people into my church. My purpose is to get them born again.

If he doesn't know a good place to worship, I don't say that just any place will do. Just any place will not do! I want him in a place where he's going to be fed the Word and where he will have an opportunity to grow properly.

Guide (don't try to pressure or force) him to a good Word church where he will grow unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13).

Finally, if you sense in your spirit that he is in a position right then to receive, don't hesitate to share more with him. Sit down and share the Word with him concerning being filled with the Holy Spirit.

I believe with all my heart that if you will take these instructions and suggestions and apply them to your own witnessing, you too will see that you can share Jesus effectively.

God bless you as you go into all the world and give the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every creature!

Source: Sharing Jesus Effectively by Jerry Savelle.
Excerpt permission granted by Jerry Savelle Ministries International

Author Biography

Jerry Savelle
Web site: Jerry Savelle Ministries International
 
Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
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