Sharing our faith

A big part of summer project is training the students in sharing their faith. We spent a lot of time initiating spiritual conversations on campus and on the beach. While initiating conversations can be scary, it is also a lot of fun. People are searching and want and need to hear about Jesus. We had so many great conversations with students on campus and people of all ages on the beach. It is amazing how many people want to talk about spiritual things. Something I learned this summer is how important it is for me to share my faith. I've always known that I need to tell others about Jesus, because they need to hear the Gospel. But I didn't realize how important it is for myself. Every time I share the Gospel, I experience it in a new and deeper way. Philemon 1:6 says, "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."

One of our student interns, Chris, initiated a conversation on the beach with a 60 year old man. He said he had already talked to some of our students earlier that day and had taken a spiritual survey with them. Rather than leaving it at that, Chris asked the man what he thought of the survey. He opened up with Chris about his life and shared about losing his wife to cancer. By the end of their conversation, he came to the understanding that he was in need of a Savior. Chris prayed with him as he indicated a decsion to accept Christ into his life as his Savior.

There are so many great stories of people who accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, but not every conversation ended that way. The neat thing is that we don't have to worry about the results of our conversations. "Successful witnessing" is simply taking the initiative, in the power of the Holy Spirit, and leaving the results to Him. It's such a crucial part of walking with the Lord wherever we're at, so it was neat to be intentional about growing in how to share our faith.

This is a 4-point outline of the New Testament we often use to share our faith.

Students sharing their faith at the University of California-San Diego.

Abe (student) and Brandon (staff intern) sharing their faith on the beach.

Students sharing their faith with a student at UCSD as he walks to class.

Two of our student interns (Jason and Brian) sharing their faith with a man on the boardwalk.

Two students, Dylan and Steven (on the right), sharing their faith on the beach.