How To Get Home Bible Studies With Your Friends
David Fuller
Friendship evangelism is one of the most effective means of winning someone to Christ and seeing the individual continue growing in the Lord following their salvation. Studies have shown that reaching friends with the Gospel results in a greater return on time invested than any other form of evangelism. Friendship evangelism is not life-style evangelism. Life-style evangelism is living a good life and hoping someone will ask you why you are such a different person. We should live a good life, but it takes commitment and a plan to reach someone. Friendship evangelism is targeting someone with the express purpose of reaching them with the Gospel. Teaching your friend a home Bible study is one of the best ways to do this.
The generation we live in is different than those of the past, in that, people tend to be more cautious when talking to strangers than ever before. Because of this, sharing the Gospel via home Bible study with someone you have already formed a relationship with makes it easier to get the message across and help that person make a decision for Christ. People are more willing to listen and respond to you if you already have a relationship with them because they believe you care about them and have their best interest at heart.
When using this method of evangelism, one should not expect to see them agree to a home Bible study immediately. When you are dealing with someone like this it is wise to not be confrontational, but rather challenge their thinking. If someone believes he can work his way to Heaven, it would be unwise to say, “Well the Bible says that good works cannot save, and that the only way to be saved is by Acts 2:38,” during your first conversation. Instead, you should challenge them to think a bit more deeply by asking them if they have considered what the Bible means when it says that eternal life is a gift in Romans 6:23. This way, they have something to think about between your visits rather than trying to defend their position of salvation by just being good.
My wife and I use friendship evangelism (as well as confrontational evangelism) as much as we can. First of all, we target people that need to be reached and begin to develop a relationship with them. Not all will be saved, but at least they will all hear the Gospel and know their need of salvation. Recently, I have been working with a young man at the Apple Store in Yorktown Mail. When I first met Geoff we talked only about the presentation we were working on for our ministry. As each week went by, I began take him things to read as appreciation for his help. He began to ask questions about the ministry and the Gospel, and I was able to share the plan of salvation with him. From this I was able to teach him a home Bible study. In the fall, his sister was baptized in a church nearby which opened the discussion even further. Within a few weeks, Geoff came to church and was baptized as well. He received the Spirit coming out of the water.
We all have friends who are unsaved. We need to begin praying for them and put a plan in place to reach them with the Gospel. You will need to invest a good bit of time, but it will be worth it in the long run. You may be surprised at how easy it is to witness, teach home Bible studies, and see your friends saved.
The above article, “How to Get Home Bible Studies With Your Friends,” is written by David Fuller. The article was excerpted from: www.sharingmyfaith.com web site. June 2001.
The material is most likely copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.
