Evangelism For The Tongue-Tied by Chap Bettis

Author:Chap Bettis [Bettis, Chap]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-03-13T18:55:38+00:00

Chapter 6

Unleashing Your Stories

In the last chapter, you learned how God will open a door for the message through the conversational topic of religion. If we are praying, and if we are prepared, there is another door that God will open as well: stories of how God has worked in your life.

If you are truly tongue-tied, that thought will put fear in your heart. “What stories do I have?” Perhaps you have been hindered in the past because you don’t have a powerful conversion story. But if you are a child of God, I am sure that you have many wonderful times of God’s work in your life. The problem is that you’ve never thought about using those stories to share your faith with others. By the end of this chapter you will have several stories that can help you transition to the gospel.

Your Stories Are Powerful

Throughout the Bible, God has used the accounts of ordinary men and women to influence others. Stories are powerful for many reasons. First, they are personal. The stories you have are not about some high and holy person, but an average person—you!

Second, they cannot be argued with. No one can dispute your experiences. They may dismiss your conclusions as wishful thinking, but they cannot argue with your experience.

Third, people love stories. God has made us this way. What are movies, novels, and TV programs? Stories. The Old Testament from Genesis to Nehemiah is historical stories. What method did Jesus use most often to teach? Stories. God has made us to love and remember stories.

Fourth, they invite hope. If your story relates to the problems the listener is having, then it will give them hope. When you tell someone about how Jesus has changed your life for the better, they will listen.

Fifth, and most importantly, they are a biblical method of spreading the good news. In fact, Jesus commanded the demoniac:

“Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5:19-20)

After encountering Jesus, the woman at the well did the same.

Then leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:28-29)

Her account was evidently powerful because “many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (John 4:39). How much theology did she have right? Very little! But that did not stop her from telling her story to her friends.

In the same way, the beggar who was healed of his blindness told his story to the Pharisees. They wanted to prove Jesus was sinful. The blind man’s response? “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see” (John 9:25).

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