One of the reasons why churches are established is to fish people. Some churches even go under an extensive study about Jesus’s life and the Bible as a whole to be able to deliver the good news accurately and in the best and convincing way possible.
In my whole existence, most of the church leaders and pastors whom I encountered, had almost the same structure of approaching people. It starts with the words, “Have you accepted Jesus Christ in your life? Are you aware of salvation?” During the whole session, they usually talk about the death sin brings and how Jesus saved us by ransoming his life over ours. It ends with a prayer of accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and more often than not, after that session I rarely see that church leader or pastor in my life ever again.
If I count the times I have been under that kind of discussion, maybe I have done it thrice with different church leaders. I have indeed accepted Jesus in my life and they helped me remember it every time I come across one. However, our life with our co-believers does not end with those kinds of conversations. Believe it or not, those moments are only the beginning of discipleship.
Some Christian leaders have a misconception of discipleship. They believe that it is all about multiplying numbers and just spreading awareness of the good news of salvation. However, going out and telling others about salvation does not guarantee that they have understood who and what they accepted. Sometimes those kinds of conversations also lead to arguments about beliefs. With a single detail, a person you are trying to fish will no longer believe you. This results into a senseless battle of wits of who or what is right. So one of the things we must always remember when we do discipleship – or simply introducing Jesus to someone- is that we share our faith not to win arguments, but to win people.
We are disciples of Jesus who are sent out to every home, school, and nation to win people, and to win people, there is only one thing we must keep in mind – that the best way to tell others about Jesus means opening our lives to them. These people do not care if you can preach in front of a massive audience or if you own a blog that talks about salvation. They do not care about those things. As one of our youth leaders said, they only care about how much you care about them.
Discipleship is about building a church – a family of God, and as a family, we share our lives with them. Only then they could understand who they are accepting and what kind of changes He has done to the people who invites them. Only then they could understand what kind of people composes the family of God and the reason behind the things they do. It doesn’t matter if you memorize the whole Bible or earned good credits in a theology school. What matters is your heart to share your goals, burdens, fears, delights – everything! Because our Christianity does not end on the words we speak, it shows in our life and when we share them, they will also learn to share theirs with ours, and only then the family of God is established.
Do you have a person in mind? Do you want to introduce Jesus to him? Do you want him to know about salvation? Then open your life to them.
Shared stories build relational bridge that Jesus can walk across from your heart to others.
Rick Warren
Article by Chlarissa Mae
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