Our country is getting back to normal quickly. Masks are becoming a thing of the past and so is social distancing. This means we can start getting together with people again. One of the greatest needs our churches have as people begin feeling comfortable with being around others is to resume our evangelism efforts.
The most effective form of evangelism is still one-on-one, relationship-driven evangelism. This is something that everyone in our churches can do. Indeed, everyone in our churches must make this a priority if our churches are going to make up for lost time and win as many people as possible to the Lord.
Most people are nervous about sharing their faith with others. There are a lot of reasons for this, but perhaps one of the best ways to overcome the anxiety that arises when people think about witnessing is for them to use a style of witnessing that is most natural for them.
A recent book by Mark Mittelberg will help people understand what style of witnessing they are most comfortable with and develop skills to use their style effectively. In his book, Contagious Faith: Discover Your Natural Style for Sharing Jesus with Others, he says people can learn “to authentically be ourselves while sharing Jesus with others.” Doesn’t that sound liberating!? You don’t have to be someone you’re not to share your faith. You just need to understand what way of sharing your faith you’re most comfortable with and engage people from your unique natural skill set.
Mittelberg describes five different witnessing styles that people use to share their faith. The “five contagious faith styles” are Friendship-building, Selfless-serving, Story-sharing, Reason-giving, and Truth-telling. He says Friendship-builders “love spending time with friends while also making new ones.” Selfless-serving people “are naturally attuned to the needs of the people around them, and they delight in meeting those needs.” Story-sharing people are skilled at “articulating the details of their experiences with God and His grace.” Reason-giving people are “generally more concerned about what people think and why they think it, than how they feel about things.” Truth-telling people are “effective at getting to the point and bringing truth to bear in a variety of situations.”
Most people will identify with at least one of these styles because that is how they are personally wired. From there, people can work through the section of the book that describes that particular style and learn helpful skills as well as cautions to becoming effective in sharing their faith in the style they are most comfortable with.
We all have our unique way of relating to people that we are most comfortable with. Mark Mittelberg’s book will help the people in your church discover theirs and then help them to feel more comfortable talking to their friends and acquaintances from that style. There is even a really helpful study guide that can help a group discover their unique witnessing style. The study guide even includes an access code for a steaming video people can watch as they work through the material.
I urge everyone to get a copy of Contagious Faith and the study guide so we can all share our faith effectively, and with more comfort. You can get the book and study guide at Amazon. Lifeway has the video resource but not the book. If you will commit to leading a group in your church through this study, the MTSBC will help with the cost of these resources as long as the funding holds out. Just send me an email and tell me how we can help you and your church get this great witnessing resource.
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