Chicken Evangelism Makes disciples

Chicken Evangelism makes disciples. It’s an adventure. It’s fun. It’s personal evangelism that crushes fear by “sharing Christ before you chicken out!”

What is Chicken Evangelism and Why Does It Work?

Chicken Evangelism (Share Christ before You Chicken Out) is based on Jesus’ words to His disciples in John 4:35, “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” Christ maintains some folks are ready to receive Him as Savior right now. They just need to be shown how.

Chicken Evangelism—Get a Vision for the Lost

I have taken Christ at His word. He has helped me ask a crucial question of people, often on our first encounter. “Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?” The responses have amazed me and many others. Here’s the story of how a college age man received Christ as Savior a few minutes after we met.  Gas station attendant receives Christ.

Chicken Evangelism—Make Disciples

Chicken evangelism (Bring up Christ before you chicken out) is sometimes criticized by those who’ve never tried it for “making decisions, not disciples.” All I can say is, “Pardon me, your slip is showing!” Let’s examine this criticism under the microscope.

While it is true that chicken evangelism does not always lead to discipleship (and the same can be said of any form of evangelism), consider the case of Dave Kerr. The first or second time I met Dave I asked him, “Have you received Christ Jesus into your life?” He answered that he had a different way of looking at things. Yet as time progressed, Dave changed. He became the leader of our  group for men and served faithfully for many years.

Or consider Flynn Collier. When I first approached Flynn with the question, “Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?” He didn’t  want to talk and said so in no uncertain terms. But God used the question to stir his mind. Two weeks later Flynn showed up at church uninvited. He has rarely missed a Sunday since! He connected with Christ through the apostles creed, “I believe in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord.” Now Flynn hears God’s voice and is an example of obedience to God for all to see. We call him Flynn “Fantastic” Collier.

Then there’s the lady in our church who asked a sales clerk “Do you have Jesus in your heart?” She challenged him to receive Christ on the spot, but he didn’t want to pray on the job. Yet her question left an impact. He was stirred. Immediately after work he went out to his car and prayed a prayer of salvation. As soon as he got home he told his daughter what he had done and encouraged her to do the same. She prayed a prayer of salvation and received Jesus that same night. The following week she went out and enrolled in confirmation classes at the Lutheran Church. This is discipleship at its finest. Don’t tell me chicken evangelism doesn’t make disciples!

Chicken Evangelism  “As You’re Going”

Matthew 28:19 is often written, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,” but is perhaps best translated, “as you are going make disciples.” Or as a footnote for the NASB  translates, “Having gone (into the world).” The thought in Jesus Great Commission is that we have already gone into the world where we live, work, and do our daily activities. The beauty of Chicken Evangelism is no one has to go out of his way to share good news. Rather, as we are going shopping, buying gas, paying bills, we meet people along the way. Some of these are ready to receive Christ. Consider the cell phone sales lady.

Chicken Evangelism—Get Filled with the Holy Spirit

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Although people understand this verse in various ways, we can all agree with Jesus that the fullness of he Holy Spirit is intended to help us share our faith.

Chicken Evangelism—The Bible Way to Pray for the Lost

Here’s a radical idea, and it’s altogether Biblical. Instead of praying for the lost, pray that God will open the mouths of Christians to make the gospel clear.  Paul knew this secret and often asked people to pray for him to enable him to share the gospel (Eph 6:19 and 20). “And pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

Chicken Evangelism—Ask the God Question Before You Chicken Out!

When some people hear about chicken evangelism, they think I am bold, but I am not. Nor am I an evangelist. I overcome fear by asking the God question early. Here’s the story of a Texas State student who received Christ. I find I have about a five minute window when I meet a new person. If I don’t ask the question within the window, I chicken out! I’m for all forms of evangelism. I support relationship evangelism, friendship evangelism, and every form of outreach. Relationship evangelism may be the best form of all. The problem is I rarely see it happening.

Chicken Evangelism–Make the Gospel Clear

This is a crucial key! 1 Cor 15:1-6  has helped me so much because it makes the gospel clear. “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel: Jesus Christ died for our sins. Jesus Christ rose from the dead.” We must make the good news glorious and clear. Salvation is a free gift based on Jesus death and resurrection. As soon as I started making the gospel clear, people started getting saved! Without the gospel people don’t get saved.

Chicken Evangelism–Let the Holy Spirit Lead about Follow Up

I have always taught workers to follow up on people. Yet, study the Scriptures with me. Outside of the twelve and Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, how many times did Jesus follow up on those he ministered to? The answer may surprise you. Follow up is something that must be led by the Holy Spirit.

I Invite You  . . .

This post explains what Chicken Evangelism is (bring up Christ before you chicken out!) and adds a few aspects that make it work. Go ahead, try it out–you may be surprised at how many are ready to receive Christ! And if you want to talk about it, contact me.

 

Receive Christ As Savior–This Cell Tower Worker was Ready

Another man has been added to the Kingdom. To God be the glory!

Are you ready to receive Christ as Savior? Here’s more about How to do it.

The cell phone tower worker was sitting in his company owned pickup with the motor running. He was busying himself with his computer as he checked out the status of the AT&T tower. The window was open so he was easily approached.

 

“Do you ever climb these towers?” I began.

“No, and I never want to,” he explained.

 

We talked about the tower for a minute or two until I asked my “Chicken Evangelist” question.

 

“Have you ever—and this is a personal question—asked Jesus Christ into your life?”

 

The man smiled. “Oh, sometimes . . .” he answered. “Sometimes . . . ” He said it as if he were thinking about it for the distant future. (I really wanted him to be able to receive Christ as Savior. I don’t want to see anyone suffer in hell.)

He was a large man yet he began to show a child-like heart. He obviously wasn’t sure about much of anything. I could tell he was open to talk so we exchanged names.

 The Good News–Here’s How a Man Receives Christ As Savior

“I have some really good news for you, Scooter.” I proceeded to share the gospel in as simple but complete way as I could. He listened to it all. When I got to the part about faith, he admitted, “I have trouble with faith. I’m not a faith or feeling person. I go more by facts.”

Everyone Who Receives Christ Needs the Historical, Objective Gospel Facts

“Actually, I’m a believer in Christ today because of the facts. I studied to find out if Jesus Christ really rose from the dead. I investigated to find out if the Bible were true or not. I’m a believer now because of the objective, historical evidence that Jesus rose from the dead and the that the Bible is well-attested by historical fact.

 

Scooter was interested but unmoved. I could tell he wanted to settle some things about Christ and God but seemed powerless to move ahead. He tried changing the subject.

 

“I’ve thought about these things–especially the past couple of nights.” He explained that storms had kept him awake. I perceived that God was preparing him to make a decision and I told him so.

 

He delayed. “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know….” We talked about what faith is. I explained faith as taking a risk. We don’t need to know everything before we invite Christ into our heart. If we have to know everything before we accept Him, we’ll never go ahead and receive Him because we’ll never know everything!”

 

This made sense to Scooter and he nodded his agreement.

 

“We could go one of two ways here. You could get more and more objective information or you could take a risk and receive Christ into your life and see what He will do. I sensed this man needed to take a step of faith, that more knowledge or information would only delay him.

 

“Scooter, I think you’re ready to receive Christ into your life like a little child. I’m going to leave you alone and let you talk to God on your own. Ask Christ to forgive your sins and come into your life Are you willing to pray and ask Christ Jesus to come into your life?” He answered both verbally and with a nod of his head, “Yes, I will.”

 

“Good,” I said “and if it’s OK with you I’ll take and walk and come back in a few minutes and see what’s happened.”

 

I took off, retrieved a Campus Crusade for Christ booklet and returned. Upon return he said he had prayed a prayer of invitation to receive Christ Jesus into his life!. I prayed aloud that God would seal the work He had done. I gave Scooter the booklet and told him it had meant a lot to me.

 

We chatted briefly. Then out of the blue he said, “Things are going better for me. I’ve lost seventy-five pounds in the last 3 months!” Of course, I congratulated him on that achievement and asked how he did it. We talked some more. I invited him to church, any Bible believing church, since he lived out of town. We both shared how much we had enjoyed talking together and expressed hope to meet again in the future.

 

NOTES: It never ceases to amaze me how witnessing builds friendships. Invariably after talking with someone who receives Christ (or even talking about Christ with a stranger whether they receive Him or not), people open up and share personal things about themselves. Scooter wanted to let me know he lost 75 pounds! He trusted me with a joy of his life. Many men will share life’s woes with a stranger but men tend to share life’s joys only with a friend.

 

What do you think about the fact that God had been preparing this guy by keeping him awake through storms? “I’ve thought about these things–especially the past couple of nights.”  If we are witnessing with someone, we can be confident God has prepared them to receive.

 

Here’s another take on Chicken Evangelism (sharing Christ before you chicken out). Everyone wants to have good relationships. We think we need to build a relationship with someone before we witness our faith in Christ to them. Some folks pray for years for a friend and then try to add Christ to the relationship. That’s backwards. Share Christ first and then you’ll have a friend.

Evangelism is the tenderest of things. The evangelistic relationship is so personal, so fragile that many devoted Christians are afraid to try. Evangelism undresses the heart.

Yes, ‘tis true, the gospel presentation involves objective historical facts, e.g., Jesus Christ died for our sins, Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Beyond the facts, however, true evangelism uncovers the barest emotions of the heart. Evangelism is one heart speaking with another heart.

Personal evangelism is just that—very personal. The soul-winner takes the wraps off his heart in hope the next person will unveil his own.

When anyone witnesses to another he reveals himself. The Greek word for witness is martyr, e.g., one who suffers or is killed for his faith. The witness opens his life and lays it down in front of another. He is no longer protecting himself, but rather revealing his intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus to another person. He is willing to openly show who he is, what he believes, who he loves, and who he is willing to suffer or die for. He knows that he may be rejected, mocked, or ridiculed, yet he plunges ahead with the most personal element of life—his faith and love toward God.

Inherent in the gospel presentation (“Jesus did for our sins”) is the acknowledgement “I am a sinner, saved by grace.” To witness means we reveal ourselves, maybe more than we wish. To witness means to open up to another person a hidden part of ourselves that may be very private. When we say, “I’ve invited Jesus into my heart,” or “I love God” or “My sins are forgiven through the blood of Christ,” we are confessing very personal things about our lives.

Evangelism is delicate, tender and revealing. It cannot be otherwise. Soul-winning may open up old hurts and tell how we got the scars. In the recipient, it often evokes the same.

My wife, being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, will sometimes ask a stranger, “What could I pray for you?” This simple question has prompted ladies to open up or emotionally melt—even burst into tears.  Sometimes evangelism cries and weeps, not restraining the tears.

Of course, not every conversation releases all these emotions. The soul-winner pours out his breaking heart in intercession before he ever meets the one with whom he shares his faith. The heart of a soul-winner cries out to God like Praying John Hyde of India, “Give me souls, or I die!” Then in conversation with a hungry heart, distilled love is poured out in a cascade of truth and emotion on a receiving man or woman, boy or girl.

People need closure. To bring issues to the surface and then leave a person spiritually or emotionally dangling demonstrates immaturity or ineptness on the part of the witness. The Holy Spirit will often prompt a soul-winner to pray gently with a needy person for salvation or healing.

But that’s a topic for another day. For now, let’s humble ourselves. Let’s be willing to take off our protective layers and gently bare our souls in front of some who hurt.

 

OSLO, Norway (AP) — It may sound like an unlikely No. 1 best-seller for any country, but in Norway — one of the most secular nations in an increasingly godless Europe — the runaway popularity of the Bible has caught the country by surprise. The Scriptures, in a new Norwegian language version, even outpaced “Fifty Shades of Grey” to become Norway’s best-selling book.

The sudden burst of interest in God’s word has also spread to the stage, with a six-hour play called “Bibelen,” Norwegian for “the Bible,” drawing 16,000 people in a three-month run that recently ended at one of Oslo’s most prominent theaters.

Officials of the Lutheran Church of Norway have stopped short of calling it a spiritual awakening, but they see the newfound interest in the Bible as proof that it still resonates in a country where only 1 percent of the 5 million residents regularly attends church.

From the Associated Press, Yahoo edition, June 6,2013

Is the spiritual hunger of Norwegians–as shown by their thirst for the Bible– surprising to anyone?

It shouldn’t be. Whenever culture or government excludes religion, people’s thirst invariably rises. Russia experienced a revival after the communist regime failed in the late 1980’s. China is currently undergoing rapid expansion of Christianity due to government persecution of Christians.

Norway’s cultural secularism serves as an invitation for the gospel. God created man with an “empty space” in his spirit that can only be filled with Jesus Christ. Ignoring this “hole” in man’s heart invariably results in revival, a renewed quest for something spiritual.

My wife and I have traveled and ministered in the Norway, a nation of dramatic beauty. It appears there is a growing hunger for God in the hearts of many. Will the church seize the opportunity to proclaim the gospel with clarity?

What is the gospel? Paul clearly expresses the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3-6: The gospel is the good news that “Jesus Christ died for our sins, and was buried . . .  He rose again the third day and was seen by Peter, and James, and by over 500 others at the same time. ”

The challenge now is for Norwegian evangelists to rise up and offer the living Christ, the only One who can fill the void.  Church of Norway, rise to your destiny!

 

 

Why make evangelism so hard? Jesus said it’s easy. If it’s as difficult as some people think, we need a mental adjustment.

For some, fear and evangelism go together like ice and snow. “You can’t have one without the other,” they shudder. For many Christians, fears paralyze. Let’s identify three biggies in the devil’s fear-factor industry and then see how “chicken evangelism” overcomes the boogey-man every time.

Do These Things Scare You?

First, “I don’t witness because I might lose a friend.” That’s unlikely. More realistically, your friend will respect you for sharing your faith. But if losing a friend concerns you, get started by witnessing to strangers. With strangers you have little to lose.

Second, “I don’t know where to start or how to begin.” Try Chicken Evangelism; it’s tailor-made to help overcome fear and get started.

Third, “I might say the wrong thing and make things worse.” That’s doubtful, and if you don’t say anything, the prospect could end up in hell. Which is worse, his eternity in hell or your fear of saying the wrong thing?

Jesus Made Evangelism Easier Than You Think

Let’ see how Jesus made evangelism easy. Almost immediately after meeting a woman of Samaria, Jesus invited her to receive Him and his gift (John 4:10). No beating around the bush! Later, He explained basic principles of evangelism to his disciples.

“I have food to eat that you do not know about” (John 4:32). Evangelism God’s way is satisfying. It’s as easy as eating. It fulfills a person. Eating is something we do at leisure, at rest. Eating is enjoyable and so is evangelism God’s way.

“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34). When God asks us to do something, He simultaneously gives us the grace (ability) to do it. It has to be this way; otherwise, He would expect us to accomplish His will by our own power which is clearly not His expectation. Reaping souls is God’s work and we are joining His crew. To reiterate, it’s His work, not ours. He is the initiator and the One responsible for the outcome. Knowing evangelism belongs to Him frees us from the responsibly of the outcome. He gets the credit and we get the privilege of flowing with Him.

Our family lives near the Mississippi River which has a powerful current. I have tried to swim upstream against the Mississippi current. It doesn’t work. To swim or paddle against the flow is exhausting, almost impossible, for more than a few minutes. God’s way of evangelizing is like flowing with the current. Evangelism God’s way is like getting in a boat and floating downstream. It’s effortless and relaxing!

“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then [emphasis added] comes the harvest?’ Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest” (John 4:35). Jesus sees something we may have missed. He sees hungry people ready to be reaped. He sees men, women, young people, and children with hearts hungry for Him.

Pascal, the great French Physicist noted, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled by any created thing. It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ” (Blaise Pascal, Pensees, published 1670).  Jesus said the fields are white (ripe) and ready for harvest. As Bill Bright and Campus Crusade have taught for years, many people are ready to be saved; they just need to be shown how.

One of the salient points of Chicken Evangelism is many people are ready to be saved. Perhaps you have found some who are not ready. Has that has clouded your vision? The fact remains for every day in every century, Jesus said, “The fields are white for harvest.” We need the eyes to see what He sees and the faith that God will lead us to ready-to-be-reaped people.

“Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal” (John 4:36). Jesus corrected the idea that more time was needed, that better relationships had to be formed, that people were not ready. He said in effect, “Now, already people are being saved for eternity.” Paul chimed in, “Now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor 7:1)

“I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored and you have entered into their labor” (John 4:38). This is the primary reason evangelism is easy: Somebody before you has done the work. They preached the gospel, they set the example, and they lived the life. Perhaps that someone developed a relationship. No one person can do it all. God didn’t plan for one person to do it all; rather, He planned that someone works, another tags along and eventually leads the “ripe” man to salvation. If an individual is not ready for harvest, we go on to the next until we find the one who is. We are called not just to witness or build relationships—we are called to reap.

There is a place for labor in evangelism. The gospel must be preached. Sacrifices must often be made. Patience is required as people consider the claims of Christ. When I say, “Evangelism is easier than you think,” let no one construe this to imply that the labor intensive work of steadily teaching, preaching, writing, and living the life of the gospel is unnecessary or unimportant. The opposite is true. However, the scales have tipped too far to the opinion that evangelism is an odious, time-consuming, and wearisome job best left to professionals or super-Christians.

The time has come to tip the scales the other way. This is what Chicken Evangelists understand: In the case of reaping souls, much of the work is already done: “Today is the day of salvation.”

Is evangelism really easier than most people think? Is this scenario realistic? Does it work? To answer, here’s a true story.

Here’s what I want you to do. Grab three keys.

First Key: Pray

• That you be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18)
• That God will open your mouth (Eph 6:19-20)
• That God will lead you to the hungry (John 4:34-38)
• You don’t need to take extra time
• You don’t need to plan
• You don’t need to go out of your way
• Just go about your regular business, and as you are going . . .

Second Key: “As you are going . . .  “ (literal Greek for Matt 28:19)

• You don’t need to take extra time
• You don’t need to plan
• You don’t need to go out of your way
• Just go about your regular business, and as you are going . . .

Third Key: Pop the God Question early

• Do it before you chicken out.
• Ask “Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?” (or similar question)
• Expect a yes or no answer.
• If yes, encourage them and talk about it. Ex: Great! How did it happen for you?
• If no, give them the gospel in story or testimony.
• Follow with “Is there any reason why you would not want to receive Jesus right now?
• Let them pray (or pray with them) to receive Christ

Chicken evangelism makes soul-winning easier than most people think. It’s a way to bypass fear by bringing God into the conversation right away. It’s an adventure and it’s easy.

What do you think? Drop me a comment. I’m interested in your thoughts. Or better yet, are you willing to give Chicken Evangelism a try? If you are, contact me and let me know how it goes. I’ll talk with you.

 

The phone rang.  It was David Nitwalker (name changed) who had made an earlier appointment to buy a bundle of grassfed lamb from our farm.  He stood on the walk, a tall, rugged man and older than I had expected.  He was wearing large rubber boots.

I invited him in and he immediately commented profusely and about our house.  David noticed the wide pine flooring and huge beams.  “God, what a beautiful house,” he effused, and all this Southern pine.”  He knows wood, alright, I mused to myself.

Since it was supper-time I invited David for some toasted cheese sandwiches, our fare for the evening.  He politely declined but trailed me to the kitchen freezer where we stored the lamb bundles.  Together we chose a bundle that would suit his needs and loaded his cooler with the individual lamb pieces.  David wrote out the check and asked a few questions about age of lamb, why I prefer mutton, and so forth.

About this time David discovered a pan of peach cobbler on the counter.  “U mm. . . what’s this?” Right then I knew we were buddies, even though we had set our sights on each other a mere 5 minutes earlier.  “Peach cobbler,” I responded, “Want some?”  And so we sat down at the kitchen table to chat and eat cobbler with cream.

Something in me didn’t want to ask him about his faith.  But I could see that he was an older man and the thought crossed my mind that I would never see him again.  This would be my only chance to lead him to Christ.  He could die and depart to hell never knowing Christ as Savior.  I felt the urgency of the situation and waited.

The break came when David asked what I did for a living.  I replied, “I farm and pastor The Church of the Living Water.”  He seemed to approve and started to ask location of the church, but I knew I couldn’t pass the opportunity to follow up.  Many unsaved people like to talk about churches and religion just as the woman at the well.  But I could not be diverted from the goal.  “Have you given your life to Jesus Christ?” As I asked, all fear left.

David stammered, not knowing what to say.  Nothing came out quite right.  “I . . . I . . . don’t think so,” he finally managed to respond.  I could tell the question caught him off guard and hit him with a dose of reality.

I have good new for you,” I said as I began to put him at ease again.  But David wanted to tell me what a good life he lived and how he was not a bad person. I let him express himself and then agreed, “I can tell you are a good person.  And I have good news for you.  But first some bad news.  Nobody is good enough to get to heaven.  Not me, not you.  God says you have to be perfect to get into heaven.”

Then I gave him the good news:  “Jesus Christ died for our sins.  He took our sins on Himself and gave us His gift–righteousness!”  I went on in this vein momentarily and then asked, “Does this make sense to you?”  He was listening attentively to it all and replied, “Yes, it does.”  “Is there any reason why you would not want to ask Jesus Christ into your life right at this table?” I followed.

David was not ready.  He was thinking, but not sufficiently convicted to take the step of faith.  I listened and let our conversation lapse to another subject.  As I helped David carry his newly-purchased lamb to his car, we both agreed that we were happy to met each other and visit.  We wrapped up our business with mutual thanks and appreciation.  He said he would email me a testimony about the lamb and I suggested he consider what we talked about at the table.  May God bless David on his way.

 

“Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?” I asked the college-age girl as she sat opposite me.

“No I haven’t,” she responded softly. “I used to go to church when I was really, really little. I enjoyed it,” she continued.

Whenever anyone responds with the church answer when I ask about their Jesus relationship, I know they are not yet in the camp. I was pleased to give this girl the simple gospel message that Jesus Christ died for her sins and that He rose again from the dead. The gospel made sense to her so I explained she could receive the free gift of salvation right then. There were people all around so I mentioned that no one would even know what we were doing. It was OK for her to go ahead and invite Christ into her life either out loud or silently. She didn’t answer. Her only response was to immediately bow her head and pray silently. After a minute she looked up.

We talked briefly and I sensed that faith had been born in her heart..

“Do you have a Bible? I asked.

She said, “No” so I gave her a Bible.

I am so happy to be able to lead a person to salvation via Jesus Christ.

Now for a brief background. There was something especially sweet about this experience. You see,  I had been praying in a new and (for me) different  way.

“Give me souls!” “Give me souls!” had become my earnest prayer. I had been praying that God would lead me to hungry people — the ones already prepared to receive Christ as Savior. I still pray for that. And  I pray with St. Paul “O Lord, open my mouth that I may make the gospel clear as I ought.” Recently, however, I was reminded of a man called “Praying Hyde” who used to plead with God, “Give me souls or l die!” He would set a goal and expect God to use him to lead a specific number of people to Christ each day. He started off believing for one person each day. At the end of the first year, 400 people had been converted. As his faith increased, he upped the number of his goal. Read an account about John Hyde taken from They Knew Their God, Vol. 1 by Edwin and Lillian Harvey as shown on http://www.actsamerica.org/biographies/2011-04-Praying-Hyde.htmlPraying Hyde:

Some time during 1908, he began to pray for the conversion of one soul a day. In the village treks or in tent services, he lost no opportunity to press the claims of God upon many or few. At the end of the year, to his knowledge, there had been four hundred conversions and baptisms. To God he gave the glory, but the goal set for the next twelve months was two conversions a day. Again Hyde’s faith and intercessory prayers were rewarded and, at the year’s end, through his contacts, eight hundred persons were known to have come to the Savior.

Pleading with God for the conversion of four souls each day, divine assurance was given him that such would be the case. Often more than that number would be given in answer to his prayers, and this lifted Hyde’s heart to God in songs of praise and thanksgiving. “There was nothing superficial about the life of those converts. They all nearly became active Christians,” was the comment of one who was on the field and thus able to appraise the results.

Hyde’s faith inspired me, so I set a goal commensurate with my faith. I cried, “Give me souls!” and believed God to let me lead one person to Christ that week. Saturday afternoon near sundown, in answer to my earnest plea, the girl opened her ready heart and prayed to receive Jesus Christ as Savior! Glory be to God who suffered and died for our salvation!

What do you think about “Praying Hyde” and his goal-setting? What inspires you to win souls? Your thoughts may encourage me and others.

Recently I came home to our apartment building to find my neighbor Tanner sitting on the steps having a cigarette. I stopped to talk for a few minutes. I had been thinking that it would be nice to talk with Tanner about his faith, but I never knew quite how to start that conversation (a pretty common feeling for most of us, I think).

That night was different, though. I realized that my motivation for wanting to talk with him about faith was not because I should. I really wanted to know about his spiritual life.

In a word, I was curious.

“Do you have any spiritual beliefs? I’m a Christian, and I find that I’m really curious about other peoples’ faith journeys.”

He answered candidly about his past experiences in church, and talked at length about the reasons why he stopped being involved several years back.

As this conversation was happening, I realized that I had just stumbled across a breakthrough in my own ability to talk about spiritual things with people.

If I am genuinely curious about people, if I am interested in their lives, then naturally (since I am a spiritual person) that will mean I am curious about their spiritual lives.

That has led to some really great spiritual conversations with people.

Curiosity is powerful.

When I’m curious about something, I’m motivated to learn about it.

I’m willing to expend energy, or maybe even money, on it.

I spend time thinking about it.

I try to get other people thinking and talking about it.

I’ve found that when I’m curious about a person, that is a big motivator to encourage me to talk with them and figure out where they are in life and where they are spiritually.

So often we hear teaching that we should share our faith with other people, because it’s the right thing to do. Because it’s what we’re supposed to do. Of course that’s true. But I’ve found that the most authentic and meaningful conversations I’ve had about faith were the result of me simply being curious about that person’s life and spirituality.

Most people like to talk about themselves, and a few honest questions about their life can really deepen a casual friendship and open the door to hear their spiritual story.

Who are you curious about?

One Sunday morning I stopped for gas on the way to church. After filling the tank I chatted momentarily with the attendant. He was a new guy I had never met so I introduced myself and learned his name. I noted he couldn’t get to church since he worked Sunday morning. He agreed. I asked him carefully, “Have you received Jesus Christ into your life?”

“I’ve been to church a few times with my mother,” Frank (name changed) replied.  I knew I had to make the gospel glorious for him, so I said, “I have some really good news for you: Jesus Christ died for your sins. He rose from the dead and has complete forgiveness for all our sins.  You can receive Jesus and his gift of salvation in simple trust like a child. Does this make sense to you?”  Frank nodded and said, “Yes, it does.”

I was suffering from a severe case of shingles at the time. The pain from shingles can be so great it’s hard to breathe. My pain was causing me to have greater compassion toward hurting people. I want more compassion because I’ve seen when I speak with deep and genuine love, people respond.  Spoken with heart-felt compassion, words of witness go deep into the soul.

How I came across to Brandon I don’t know.  In any case, He was showing genuine interest and humility so I asked, “Are you ready to receive Jesus Christ right now?  You can ask Him to come into your life either silently or aloud.”  Brandon, a young man is his twenties, bowed his head and prayed a brief child-like prayer of invitation and forgiveness–right in the gas station!  I followed with a prayer of my own and a few words about how Jesus Christ now lives inside him. I explained being a Christ-follower is not a matter of “does and don’ts” but of listening to Jesus and following Him.

I stopped by later and gave him a gospel of John. He readily received it and indicated he would read it.  Here was a young man whose name is now written in God’s big Book of Life, saved for all eternity! I was so happy. There’s no feeling in the world like leading a man to salvation in Christ.