How to talk about your faith well

There are few things that I get asked about more by my fellow Christians than ‘how do I talk about my faith?’ It’s an area that we are often scared of and one that needs to be demystified. Although some are set apart with the specific gift of the evangelist, all who love Jesus, need to play their part in witnessing. Nothing will change in the UK if we’re dependent on the odd charismatic personality who can deliver a rousing talk. What we need is something very different. We require a mobilised Church, with every person playing their part and stepping into all that the Lord has for them. We all have colleagues, neighbours, friends that the Church may struggle to impact with the good news through any other means than us. God is doing great things and we need to play our part and join in with Him.

Yes! But how? Here are five quick tips to get us started…

1. Be interested in others & find things in common

   I’ve never quite forgotten a cheesy one liner from my youth ministry days that simply said ‘popular people aren't interesting they're interested.’ We need to ask questions, show an interest in others and when eventually asked back, take that opportunity to talk about our faith. Alternatively start by trying to find a point of commonality (a shared hobby, place or something similar). Talk about that area first before bringing faith into things later on.

2. Remember that God is with us

   It’s essential to remember that God is with us. Matthew begins with the assurance that this baby to be born would be Immanuel (God is with us 1:23) and closes with the assurance that he is with them still and will be until the end of time (Matthew 28:20). This promise remains true for us today. As we seek to share our faith with others we are not alone and the Lord has often gone before us. Let’s also remember that the Holy Spirit is at work in people’s lives and we are often joining in with what he’s already up to.

3. Don’t measure success by instant results

   We need to celebrate the impact we are making in the everyday not just the big decision moments. All of us can bring our little to Jesus and He will use it to help bring others further towards Him. We need to avoid the pitfall of defining our success in witnessing according to how many people say yes there and then. We are called not to make simple decisions but to make disciples. This is an altogether tougher task that takes longer and can often involve many people in the process.

4. Make it an everyday thing

   Sharing your faith is like using a muscle. If it’s done often it becomes easier and normal. If not done then the muscle wears away. We need to make talking about Jesus as normal as anything else and do all we can to open our mouths and speak about our hope in Him.

5. Pray

   We can overestimate our actions and underestimate our prayers. Let’s be praying for those we want to witness to and for openings to do so. When sharing let’s offer to pray for people who don’t know Jesus yet. It may seem weird but it's amazing how many people are up for this!

Sharing our faith is not easy but is vital. How do we start… one word and prayer at a time!