Weekly Action - 27 June 2024 - Sharing Faith
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. 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 Jesus said to his disciples, the Holy Spirit “will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15: 26 – 27).
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 Nick, a friend of Arise from Swindon. Nick was a complete atheist, but studying the historical person of Jesus as part of a Religious Studies A-level course made him begin to ask questions. When he mentioned this to a friend over a beer in the local pub, his friend began talking with him about his Christian faith, over a period of several weeks and months, using the principles from Equipped to Share. Nick’s friend invited Nick to go with him to his local church and local Christian youth group. There Nick made some great friends, who all gradually talked through his questions about faith at a gentle pace, whenever Nick wanted to talk. Eventually, after several months, Nick made a commitment to follow Jesus. His life has been transformed ever since. Nick is now a dynamic Christian, following Jesus in many exciting ways in his life, involved in his local church, and having a real impact in his local community.
This week 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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