Weekly Action - 24 May 2024 - Sharing Faith Following Pentecost
Sharing faith following Pentecost
Last Sunday 19 May Christians around the world celebrated Pentecost, when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit to the early church in Jerusalem after Jesus’ death and resurrection. The season after Pentecost is a natural time for churches and Christians to be thinking about sharing our faith more widely with friends and family. We want all to know the good news that God loves us so much that he came in the person of Jesus to die for us, that he has forgiven all the things we have done wrong in our lives, and that he wants every one of us to turn around, come back to him, and have a personal relationship with him. As Peter said to the crowd on that first day of Pentecost, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off” (Acts 2: 38 – 39).
Sharing our faith
As Christians we are all called to talk about and share our faith. We should do this in loving and gracious ways with our friends, family and neighbours. Of those non-Christians who come to a church, an incredible 77% of them come because friends or relatives invited them. So, it is ordinary people like you and me, worshipping in ordinary local churches around the world, sharing our faith powerfully and effectively with our friends and neighbours that will have the greatest impact for the gospel.
Yet so many of us lack confidence, are somewhat embarrassed, and struggle to talk about our faith clearly and boldly with our friends and family. This is why Arise has developed Equipped to Share, a free course of five sessions that can be run in any church. Equipped to Share empowers individual Christians to talk with confidence about our faith in an easy and natural way, releasing us to evangelise in our daily lives.
We see this in the stories of people like Paul, a friend of Arise from Gloucester. Paul had several friends who had become Christians. Using the principles from Equipped to Share they talked with Paul about their faith in a natural way over a period of several weeks and months, as they hung out and spent time together. Gradually Paul began to come to the youth group and then the services of their local church, and got drawn into the social life of the church. There was no pressure, rush or hurry. Over several months, Paul had the opportunity to ask all his questions of his friends and the leaders of the church, until he was ready to make a commitment and gave his life to Jesus. Paul is now a dynamic Christian, following Jesus in many exciting ways in his life.
This Pentecost, will you take action as part of Arise’s Equipped to Share campaign, and plan to run the course in your church, to help your friends become much more confident and relaxed in reaching out to their families, neighbours and community to share the good news about Jesus?
Take Action
Practical Action
Talk to the leaders of your church about running the Equipped to Share course in your church. Download the Equipped to Share course materials. Get in touch with us at info@ariseuk.org if you are going to run the course. We might be able to come and lead the course with you if you would like, or support you in other ways.
Pray
Pray for any of your friends and family who do not yet know Jesus. Pray for opportunities to talk with them about your faith. Pray that they will come to faith. Pray that the Equipped to Share course will be exciting, effective and a real blessing to your church.
Give
Give to your local church, to support its ministry of sharing and growing faith with the people of your community. Consider also giving to other Christian organisations like Alpha, Christianity Explored or HOPE Together, that are focused on sharing and expanding the Christian faith.
Encourage us and others by letting us know what actions you have taken – message us at info@ariseuk.org, or via Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Find out more
It’s great to take this action as individual Christians, but even better to come together with others to pray, discuss, worship, learn, have fun and take action together. Contact Arise if you are interested in joining or starting a local Arise group in your church or area.
Find out more about the importance of training, equipping and supporting ordinary Christians like you and me to share our faith with confidence as a crucial part of God’s bigger vision for our world in the Arise Manifesto report.
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