Faith Sharing Worskhop
Course Overview:
Meeting #1
Bible Study - John 1:44-51 “Come and See”
Purpose of the workshop
What is Faith Sharing?
Breaking
down the stereotypes
PE #1 – Tell about the person whom has most influenced
your faith
Why
share our faith?
Meeting #2
Bible Study - Luke 10 “The Sending of the 70”
Taking
some of the fear of rejection away
Clergy
and Laity
PE
#2 – sharing part of ourselves in concrete terms
Power of personal faith sharing
Meeting #3
Traits
of people who effectively share their faith (you will be surprised!)
Earning the privilege of sharing
Role of prayer in sharing our faith
PE #3 - Tell someone about your faith
Bible Study John
1:44-51 “Come and See”
What
did Phillip tell Nathaniel?
What
was Nathaniel’s response?
What
was Phillips challenge?
The purpose of this
workshop:
…To
empower and encourage laity to invite other people to “come and see”…
Faith
Sharing is one beggar telling other beggars where to find the bread of life.
Why do we share our faith?
Commanded
– but what’s God going to do, throw us in hell for not reaching out?
Waco,
Xerox, Columbine, suicide, road rage, spouse abuse, people who die alone...
-
Those who are walking with God do not do these things
-
Those who are walking with God suffer less when tragedy happens.
Compassion
for the lost hurting people in the world
Because
what we have looks better than what the world has to offer.
Bible Study Luke
10:1-2,9,16
(Luke 10:1‑2 RSV) After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on
ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about
to come. {2} And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the
laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers
into his harvest.
(Luke 10:9 RSV) ...heal the sick in it and say to
them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'
(Luke 10:16 RSV)
"He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and
he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
The 70 mean not just the
apostles (clergy); it means everyone who is a disciple (laity).
What
was the task? What was the message?
What
do you think this message means today?
Taking some of the fear out
of rejection:
If
they were rejected, whom were they really rejecting?
(Tell
story of Dr Tuttle in his jail ministry)
“When
Christians assume they are responsible for preparing, evangelizing, and
converting people, most of them shrink from such and awesome responsibility -
for which they feel neither prepared or worthy. But when Christians see that the Holy Spirit prepare people, and
empowers and leads us to them, that he makes his appeal through us, and that he
is responsible for revelation and conversion, Christians then feel liberated to
perform their role with God’s mission.” George Hunter III
Prepare the hearts of those who will listen
Responsible for others “conversions”
We are only responsible to be led of the Spirit and
invite others to “Come and See”.
Practical Aspects of Faith
Sharing - for Laity or Clergy?
What
might be some of the pitfalls of waiting for Clergy to do it?
What
happens when the pastor leaves?
Who
is more credible, those who are paid or those who “just do it”?
The Power of Personal
Faith Sharing
Suffice
it her to say that I am convinced the only legitimate way to answer someone’s
“why” question (“Why do you believe in God?”), having earned the right to
speak, is to talk about your own personal experience with God. What has God done for you lately? That is what you can talk about with
conviction, authority, and integrity.
It is the confirming evidence of your faith. You cannot prove the existence of God to a non-believer, but you
can speak about why you believe. Richard Stoll Armstrong
What makes for powerful
faith sharing?
What
about those who never walked through “hell”?
Look
for where God reveals where He has worked...
“If
you do not look, you will not see”
Recap:
Sincerity, integrity, authority from personal experience.
Don’t
tell me what the scriptures say, tell me how God has impacted your life through
the scriptures.
Traits of people who
effectively share their faith:
Sincere, caring, generally quiet but confident in what
they have to share.
Integrity
(no facades) [Hypocrites need not apply]
Authority
– speak from some personal experience
Living right is not enough
to bring people to faith
A Missionary Experience:
1.
The danger of getting so caught up in the mechanics of helping, we forget the
gospel.
2. Just meeting people’s needs does not bring them to Christ;
it only earns us the privilege to share with them.
The power of listening
to other people - You are important to me.
The Specific Role of
Prayer in Evangelism
1. Praying for the
Harvest
Prevenient
grace - the quickening of souls to respond
AUMC
went door to door with poor results... why?
No prayer work!
2. Getting prepared to
share - being empowered.
Practical Exercise #1 - Breaking Down the Stereotypes
1. What type of person does Evangelism?
2. What are evangelist’s feelings toward non-Christians?
3. What kinds of things do evangelists say?
4. What are some of the things evangelists do?
5. Brainstorm words associated with evangelism
(Positive) (Negative) (Neutral)
6. Write the name of the person most responsible for your
involvement with Christ in His church.
7. What was this person like for you?
8. How did they make you feel about your life?
9. What words can you recall they shared with you that made a
difference?
10. What did the person do that helped make a difference in
your life?
Who do you think are the REAL
“evangelists”?
Share with a small group a
description of the house you lived in when you were in Junior High School
(about age 13). Talk about the physical
as well as the emotional environment.
Talk in as concrete terms as you can so that we can “see” this
place.
In a small group, share a
little a little about why you are a Christian, or what Christ has done in your
life. Put into your own words what you
are inviting people to “come and see”.