Sharing Your Faith

Jesus has the expectation that we’ll play our part in helping others to know and follow him.

And the after-work years offer fresh opportunities to do so.

Of course, no one likes an aggressive, in your face, ‘let me tell you about Jesus’ person. But that’s not what God is looking for, either before retirement or afterwards.

 

  • Making Connections

    Letting your light shine can be about taking more opportunities to engage with people by loving your neighbour, pitching in to respond to needs in your community, or more.

    Check out the suggestions on ways to live out your faith by being salt and light

    It is also about making the most of the connections you have – and using your new freedom to make new ones.

    There’s a multitude of opportunities to expand your horizons on our new challenges page. Many involve interaction with a new group of people and can lead to opportunities to speak gently and relevantly about life’s big questions.

    Of course, actions are never enough by themselves. Jesus’ plan is for us to live so that people ask us questions as to why we do what we do and behave as we do. It is up to us to aim for that kind of life – and to be ready with answers.

  • Using Words

    Where do we start when it comes to adding words to our actions? Try listening – and being interested in people’s lives, their concerns, their hopes, and their beliefs.

    Sometimes the simplest way in is to be honest with what you did at the weekend and wait for their silent shockwaves at the word ‘church’ to subside.

    Another way is to offer to pray for them at times of their need – and to do so. A survey shows one in six pray daily and one in four at least once a week. So your offer may be more welcome and relevant than you imagine.

    In it all, your own story is the most important. How God became real to you, the difference it has made in the good times and the bad, can have an impact. Your fellow after-workers are more interested in ‘does it work’ than anything else.

     

  • Invite

    Some three million people are open to receiving an invitation to church or a church event according to research. And you are almost certainly rubbing shoulders with some of them.

    They wait for words like, ‘Would you like to come to check out the Alpha course with me?’ or ‘How about coming to church with me this Sunday?’. Of course, there’s a big barrier to being as brave as this requires. It’s called ‘fear’. Which is why you’ll value to great insights available through The National Weekend of Invitation.

  • Creative Environments

    Working with others, you could create comfortable environments where those from beyond your church can encounter the good news about Jesus.The best will be where those present represent less like ‘you’ and more like ‘them’.

    The following are simple examples that have worked for others and have included as short talk.

    • Wine tasting
    • A room in a pub
    • A golf day followed by a meal
    • A Chinese meal
    • A pub-style quiz night
    • A film night – something like Babette’s Feast, Dead Men Walking, The Shack The Blind Side, Shadowlands or The Case for Christ
    • A comedy evening

     

Have you found a way to engage those outside the Church with what you believe? Please join our Facebook community to share it and Sign Up to our inspiring blog.

The word retirement is not even in the Bible. What is taught in scripture is transition. There is nothing that says you work most of your life and then get to be selfish for the next 20 years

Rick Warren, PurposeDrivenLife