Have you ever felt unqualified to talk about God with someone in your life? Maybe you feel like your actions fall short of what you believe. Maybe you don’t think you know enough, or you don’t know what to say.
Most of us feel inadequate to talk about God. And why shouldn’t we? In many ways, God is beyond words. We can feel like we have no right to speak about him. But for some reason, God has chosen us to represent him to the world.
And to represent God to the people in your life this Easter season you’re going to need two things. Thankfully, he has already given them to you.
In 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NLT) we read that we are Jesus’ “ambassadors,” his representatives, tasked with spreading the knowledge of him everywhere we go. But there’s an important step we need to remember before we jump to the task. In verses 17-18, we see that God has given us a new life, a new story. We are new people. “The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God.”
What was your old life? Think about what your life was like before you began a relationship with God. How has God worked in your life? How is he working now? You have a story of God working in your life that he has given you to share with others. Your story is a gift from God to the people around you.
Not only has God given you a new story, but God has also given you his very Spirit to live in you and give you the words to say. Romans 5:5 says that God “has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” So speak from the heart! Relax and know that the Holy Spirit works through you. You may not know what to say, but he certainly does.
In 2 Timothy 1:7 we read that God has given us his Spirit of “power, love, and self-discipline.” Which of those three things do you need the most? Ask the Holy Spirit to give it to you and trust that he is with you.
So God’s story and God’s Spirit are everything you need to start sharing Jesus with those around you.
Jesus invited his friends into his story — one of suffering, mockery and death, but also of resurrection, life and courage. He gave his followers his own Spirit to guide and empower them. By sharing their story through the power of the Spirit, they started a movement of love that continues today. That story continues with you.
Because God has equipped you, you do not need to feel inadequate to talk about him with others. He has given you his story that is now your story, and he empowers you with his Spirit who lives in you. Will you, by the power of the Holy Spirit, invite someone into that story this Easter season?
Hello, everyone. My name is Ewen, and I’m Vietnamese.
So I know about GodTools when I was in my third year. At first I found it very interesting and convenient for me to share the gospel without a booklet.
So when I tried to tell the gospel — the first time I used GodTools was to call my friend. So I called my friend and I shared my screen, and I started to share step by step from the first principle to the fourth principle. And that friend received Jesus.
And I had the motivation to share the gospel to other people. And one of the stories is that one of my friends, in Germany, we just know each other by a mutual friend. But one day he asked me about God.
And I had a chance to share my screen and use GodTools to show him how God loves him. So I told him to install the app and he can discover it by himself. So after that he received Jesus by himself. And he came back to me and he said that I just received Jesus by reading the prayers from the GodTools.
Many friends in my university also received Jesus through GodTools during the pandemic, because we were all social distancing in Vietnam.
So that is my brief story about how I used GodTools to share the gospel.
Have you ever purchased a hat or other piece of clothing that said “One size fits all” on the tag? The idea is that by using a material like elastic one size can fit most, if not all, of the customers. Yet the same is not true for how to have a spiritual conversation with someone.
No method of talking about God will be effective in each culture or with every person. That’s why it’s important to understand the person you’re talking with and match your approach to them. At the same time, your method also needs to fit with the unique person God has made you to be.
So here are two things to keep in mind when you think about how to have spiritual conversations with the people in your life.
A person’s cultural context — mainly their family and community — helps shape their beliefs about God and how they view the world. We’re all influenced by culture and by cultural influencers, so understanding a person’s context will help you better understand that person. You can learn a lot about someone simply by asking questions about their family, where they’ve lived and what communities they’ve been a part of.
Still, every person in your life is unique. Though two people from the same culture will have things in common, no two people have the same personality or the same exact experiences. So we need to understand not just a person’s cultural context but in what ways that person agrees or disagrees with their culture. As you learn these things, it will help you customize your method of talking about the gospel with that person.
God loves you, and he wants to include you in his good work of grace and forgiveness. That’s part of why he created you the way he did and gave you the skills, personality and interests you have. That’s why he put you in a certain neighborhood or gave you a certain position at work or in your community. He made you unique so that you would be the perfect person to talk about him with the people he puts in your life.
That doesn’t mean you will always feel like the perfect person to talk with someone about God. You may never feel fully prepared for the vast experiences or complicated viewpoints the other person has. But you have experienced God yourself, and that is more than enough to talk with someone about him.
That experience of God is your personal story. And He wants the people He put in your life to hear it. Telling someone how the gospel changed your life is a story only you can tell with the same passion and joy you experienced while it was happening.
So find a way to talk about Jesus that matches who the other person is and who you are. There is no “one size fits all” way to talk about God, no right way to have a spiritual conversation. Try many different methods, from asking good questions to offering to pray for someone, from inviting someone over for dinner to using a gospel invitation tool in GodTools. As you get to know new approaches you’ll start recognizing which may be the most helpful for you and the people God has put in your life.
The Christmas season is a special time of year when spiritual conversations with people in your life can happen naturally. Holiday gatherings create opportunities to talk with friends and family you do not see every day, like that cousin who lives out of town. And even close friends and relatives are likely to be more open to meaningful conversation during the holiday season.
But feelings of pressure, and dread of small talk, are not uncommon at this time of year. Having the conversation you’ve been praying for may take focus and some strategic thinking. So here are three tips to remember when starting spiritual conversations during the holidays.
Have you been looking for a chance to talk with your family member or friend about faith? If so, a holiday meal or party might be a great time to chat. A sense of comfort can fill the room when people are gathered for a traditional meal. People mingle and laugh in a welcoming place.
At the same time, it’s important to think about whether you’re trying to start a conversation with the person at the right moment. For example, someone who is hosting or helping with the meal could feel busy. And if something doesn’t go right — what is that smoke coming from the kitchen?! — they might feel stress too.
So notice if they’re distracted or hurried. The way to show your care in that moment is likely through practical help. But keep your eyes open for a time when the person is able to relax and talk without needing to pay attention to something else.
Another thing to consider is where the friend or family member is on their faith journey. For example, if the person has shown open hostility toward spiritual topics, it might not be the right time to start that conversation with everyone around.
In that case, you could simply share your own story — about how God has worked in your life. Part of your story might relate to what the person is going through in their life and could help them move closer to God. “The power of your God story” lesson could help you think about how you would communicate your story.
If talking about something other than the weather feels challenging, that’s OK. One idea is to think about what God is currently teaching you or about a book you’re reading. It’s often easy to talk with others about what you personally find interesting. This can create a natural connection to something the other person finds interesting or has also been thinking about.
But perhaps a better approach is to pray and think beforehand about thoughtful questions you’d like to ask the person. Then look for chances to show care and get to know the person more by asking those questions.
Get some inspiration for good questions from the Openers tool.
Good questions will likely lead the two of you from a surface-level conversation to a deeper one. When that happens, continue to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide you with the appropriate questions to ask.
And having asked a question, seek to get to know the person more by truly listening to them. They might not want to talk about deeper topics, and while that’s disappointing it’s also OK. When you focus on listening well, you can let go of your expectations for the conversation.
Maintain a mindset of loving the person you’re talking to and wanting to bless them, rather than needing the conversation to go a certain way. The “How to love people by listening” lesson will give you more tips on how to be a good listener.
After you talk with someone, take some time to think and pray. Writing down a prayer request can help you remember to pray and may bring to mind topics to ask them about later.
Here are two valuable questions to think through: How can you continue the conversation? And what other next step can you take with this person?
Point your friend or family member to a resource that helps answer their spiritual questions. That way they can continue discovering and learning on their own. Consider inviting them to a Bible study or church event. Allow God to lead you in taking the best next step for that person, and trust that He will work in their life through you.
Growing up I never learned how to open my eyes underwater. So when I played water games with my friends, like diving for toys, I would squeeze my eyes shut and flail my arms blindly on the pool floor. Most of the time I ran out of air, gave up and returned to the surface in defeat.
And then my parents got me a pair of electric-blue goggles. What was once dark, vast and nebulous instantly became approachable and fun. Putting on those goggles opened my eyes to see underwater in a new way.
Having spiritual conversations with someone can feel like diving without goggles. You feel the pressure in your chest, you’re fumbling around without really knowing where you’re going. But when you put on gospel goggles, the murky water of spiritual conversations suddenly becomes clear.
Putting on gospel goggles refers to the practice of training ourselves to see the world through the lens of the gospel. God’s good news changes everything, and it especially changes how we see the people in our lives.
How has the gospel changed the way you see people? For me, it’s changed my view of people in four important ways.
I’m not really a people person. When I’m not at my best, I see people as “in my way” — an annoyance. I like space to myself, and other people feel like intrusions in that space.
The gospel, however, reminds me that God loves the people in my life dearly. He became a human being to empathize with us, suffer with us, spend time with us. He sacrificed his time and space to be in a relationship with us. When I look through this lens, I see people as God’s treasure, uniquely made by him and loved by him.
I used to think of people as purposely doing bad things because they are just bad people who want to hurt others. But it’s not that simple.
The gospel points out that sin and Satan are real actors in human history, twisting people into hurting one another and themselves. The gospel reminds me that all is not as it should be. We all sin against other people, and we are all sinned against by others.
It’s easy to see humankind’s brokenness, and when someone I love seems broken beyond repair it’s easy to see them as hopeless. But the gospel says that Jesus can make anyone new. There is not a single person in the world who is beyond Jesus’ power to love and restore. He came to release us from sin’s power over us and to make us into who God made us to be.
When I see people in my life, it’s easy to think that nothing I do will make a difference. But the gospel says that God is making all things new and that he brings change by using people like you and me. God can make a person new no matter how broken they seem. And he can use you and me to display his love and grace in people’s lives.
Seeing people through gospel goggles takes practice. I recommend taking a few minutes each day to think about someone in your life through a gospel lens. To make getting started fun and easy we created two printable gospel goggles worksheets. One is a fill-in-the-blank worksheet and the other is a set of reflection questions. Pick the one that sounds most helpful to you, or use both. We hope you enjoy them!
Forgiveness. Love. Sacrifice. In conversation your words display the good news of Jesus. But there’s more. The way you live communicates to someone too. People see that faith makes a difference in your daily life by how you treat people and by other choices you make. Both talk and action display the gospel.
So what does this actually look like? Here are some ways you can demonstrate the gospel in your daily life:
Being generous with who you are
Before you do anything, remember that you reflect God’s character. God made humans in his image (Genesis 1:27) and we see different aspects of who he is through the goodness in people.
Your personality and interests can also show friends and family the love of God. The difference between knowing your results on a personality test and helping someone understand the gospel happens when you choose to give generously from the person you are.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2, English Standard Version).
Working as a journalist means that I follow people around who have different passions and gifts than I do. While spending time with them I see glimpses of how they imitate God and “walk in love.” An artist writes poems on a typewriter and gives them away to people in her city. A gardener brings his crop to share with his neighbors. A college student helps peers learn from Scripture.
When you use the hobbies that you have in ways that serve people, you demonstrate the generosity of Jesus, who made the ultimate sacrifice — his life. Generosity doesn’t have to mean only giving someone material things.
One way to be generous is to intentionally show care to people in ways that are natural for you. If you’re a curious person, asking about how someone grew up demonstrates a real desire to know them. Maybe you are an empathetic introvert. If so, just being present with someone and seeking to understand what they’re going through can mean more than saying a lot of words. If you’re a resourceful problem-solver, you could help a friend with their finance budget or help them talk through a decision they need to make.
The ways you represent God will not always look the same as the ways other people represent him. And that’s a good thing. You can be honest in showing friends and family the kindness of God through your unique personality and in the midst of your imperfections.
Acknowledge the goodness in someone else
Another way to demonstrate the gospel is to encourage the other person by acknowledging the goodness you see in them. When you notice a characteristic of God in someone else, point out to that person what you appreciate. It could be through a quick text message. Or you could encourage a co-worker, who asked about something in your life, by telling them you value their thoughtfulness.
You don’t have to strive to perfectly show people what God is like. You can take steps to get to know people and demonstrate the gospel in everyday moments. With intentionality ask yourself, “How can I use time, words or other resources to make someone feel valued today?” Then take opportunities that come to both show and talk about the gospel.
This content was adapted from the lesson, “How to demonstrate the gospel with your life.”
Open the lesson in the GodTools app to find out about the rest of the points on demonstrating the gospel and to receive more tips.
Hi, I’m Luke Chain from Myanmar. The last two years there was a true crisis in our country: Covid and (indistinct). At that time we cannot go outside and the internet connection was not stable. But we have a good fellowship with our neighbors.
One of our neighbors is an officer of his company. I shared with him the goodness of God. He has many questions, and I said this to him, “You should read the Bible.”
Last month we met again. For me it’s very hard to meet with him because he’s a very busy man. We greeted each other and, “Long time, no see, my brother.” He said, “Yes,” but he said again, “By the way, I am reading the Bible that you suggested.” (I’m surprised, because he is a Buddhist.) And then, “I’m touched in my heart [by] the verse that said: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ It is a very particular way. Even if we cannot go outside, we can show our love for our neighbors.”
I said, “Of course.” But he said again, “But I don’t really understand the meaning that you should love your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul.” I said, “Okay.” I opened GodTools from my phone and I shared with him the gospel.
He’s really interested and I do believe that God touched his heart and God’s really working in his life.
Thank you very much.
God bless you.
When we think about excuses, we typically see them as a cop-out. We use them to rationalize our mistakes because we’re doing the wrong thing, rather than the right thing.
Our excuses are attempts to give ourselves a pass. We make excuses when it comes to lack of discipline with exercise (too busy), poor spending habits (not good at math), being underprepared (dog ate my homework), relationships (their fault) and lots more. The adult inside us says, “Stop making excuses and start taking responsibility.”
But excuses are not always bad. Once in a while they give us permission to move toward something good. Sometimes an excuse is exactly what we need.
When we first moved into our neighborhood, there was some awkwardness when it came to introducing ourselves. We felt like we needed a “why.”
For us, that excuse was food. Bingo and Angie lived behind us and, as it turned out, Bingo mentioned he had a couple fryers and liked to fry things — turkeys, cornish hens, etc. Before we knew it, we were co-hosting a fish fry and meeting neighbors we’d never met before.
After that, we met a couple who wanted to do a neighborhood block party. Through the simple power of invitation we saw neighbors from different ages, races and worldviews coming out of the woodwork to gather in our front yard.
Pushing through awkward interactions and (re)introductions with neighbors has not been easy, but it’s been worth it. As you seek to build relationships with your neighbors, try making one of these excuses.
Start with neighborhood prayer walks. Whether you live in a city, the suburbs or out in the countryside, remember that God has placed you there for a purpose. Start a neighborhood prayer journal. If you learn someone’s name, pray for that person by name. Ask yourself, “If God were to answer all my prayers for my neighborhood, what would change?”
Start with the neighboring basics, like a wave or a smile. Put your phone away and make eye contact, then say hello or introduce yourself. And consider asking for help. Borrowing a kitchen utensil or the proverbial cup of sugar, asking for a recommendation or expertise about something, or getting help with something in the yard are all great excuses to break the ice. Return the favor by dropping off a baked good or note to say thank you. Ask yourself, “Are there needs I have that my neighbors could help meet?”
Look for ways to serve the vulnerable in your apartment building or neighborhood, for example the marginalized, elderly, or someone with special needs. Pick up trash as you walk, share fresh produce with your neighbors, plant trees, stuff welcome baskets, organize a neighborhood clean-up day, or use the holidays as an excuse to drop off treats. Ask yourself, “If I were to move away, would I leave my neighborhood better than I found it?”
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to neighboring, and you want it to be something you can sustain over time. Maybe it’s walking with a neighbor or starting a book discussion. Maybe it’s inviting a few neighbors to a pancake breakfast or a spaghetti night. Ask yourself, “What’s something that fits my temperament, interests, season of life and neighboring context?”
Whatever it is, find the excuse you need to see your next-door strangers become your next-door friends.
Chris and Elizabeth McKinney are passionate about helping people love their next-door neighbors. They work for Cru City and serve as associate staff at their church in Missouri, The Crossing.
At GodTools we want to help both Christians and non-Christians enjoy having conversations about God. So in order to understand what makes spiritual conversations enjoyable to non-Christians, we’ve asked them directly.
In our recent research we’ve talked with dozens of non-Christians about what they want out of spiritual conversations with Christians. The results have been insightful. Here are a few things we’ve learned from them:
“I see [Christians in my life] as people and judge them based on their personality. I don’t actually care whether they are Christians or not.”
One theme that has come up again and again is that most non-Christians want you to be their friend first and foremost. What does being a friend practically look like in a conversation? They want you to respect them, and they want to have genuine conversations.
Non-Christians don’t want you to come into the conversation with an agenda or try to force the conversation a certain way. Who would? For help on being a genuine friend to the non-Christians in your life, check out our lesson, “How to love people by listening.”
“Tell me about you. Why did [Christianity] help you? What in particular do you get out of it? That would be fascinating.”
Non-Christians we’ve talked with have often expressed the desire to hear why faith is important to their Christian friend. They may have already heard a hundred times what Christians believe. They want to know why they believe it and how it impacts their everyday lives. If you need help thinking about how God has impacted your life recently, check out our lesson, “The power of your God story.”
“[Referring to stories from the Bible] How do these stories tie in with life today? With people’s interests today? With what’s important to them today? Otherwise it feels like bedtime stories.”
Talking with non-Christians about the Bible is often a non-starter. For many non-Christians, the Bible doesn’t hold any unique weight as a source of truth or wisdom. It seems like old fairy tales that aren’t even that interesting.
What is compelling, however, is when people can see how your faith impacts the real world. How is faith making you a better person, a better friend, a better influence on society? They want to see the benefit your faith has for you and the people around you. By seeing how you embody the truth and wisdom of Scripture, they will come to respect it. Our newest lesson, “How to demonstrate the gospel with your life,” talks about how to do this practically.
The non-Christians we’ve talked with love their Christian friends. It’s true that sometimes they’re a little weirded out by how those friends talk about God and spirituality. But many non-Christians long to have fun and meaningful spiritual conversations with Christians.
We’re grateful to these non-Christians for their honesty with us. And we hope hearing from them helps you see the potential for great conversations with the non-Christians in your own life.
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