Simple Ways to Witness and Get Home Bible Studies
Rich Atkinson
1. Be Filled with the Spirit
It is important to be in a right relationship with God as you talk to others about how they can know God. So that means maintaining short accounts with God and others and confessing sin. Practice “Spiritual Breathing” and being filled with the Spirit.
2. Pray for Opportunities
While serving as missionaries overseas, two roommates started praying for a man who had attended church, but didn’t truly understand about Jesus. The two men prayed specifically that the Lord would wake this man up in the middle of the night and give him dreams about God.
A few weeks later, the man came to a meeting and said, “I woke up in the middle of the night and I had this picture I couldn’t get out of my mind.”
A Cru staff member asked him, “What was it? Can you draw it for me?”
While the student drew the images, the staff member recognized the drawing and thought: “Did I ever show him the gospel booklet?” But he hadn’t. So he pulled out the booklet and began going through it with him.
When he got to the diagram, the student asked, “How does this man have my picture in his book?”
“This is the biggest evidence I’ve ever seen that there’s a God,” the staff member told him. “He put the exact picture in your head that I was going to show you in our meeting.”
A few weeks later, the student was saved.
3. Be Authentic
People don’t care about how much you know, they want to know that you care for them. Don’t put on a front, but instead maintain a humble attitude. The Apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Philippi and expresses his care and concern for them: “For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:8).
4. Ask Questions
As you witness or teach a Bible study, don’t do a stand-up monologue. Engage in a conversation, but at the same time, keep the focus on the message of the gospel. Jesus taught by asking questions. Phillip asked the Ethiopian eunuch if he understood what he was reading. Doug Pollack’s book, God Space, offers a list of 99 wondering questions to choose from to help you can connect with others.
5. Ask People for a Response
If you’re not using a specific gospel explanation like is found in a home Bible Study then take the time to ask the person to respond to Christ’s invitation. Acts 2:37-38 says:
“Now when the people heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”
The above article, “Simple Ways to Witness and Get Home Bible Studies” was written by Rich Atkinson. The article was excerpted from www.cru.org web site. September 2017.
The material is 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.
This article may not be written by an Apostolic author, but it contains many excellent principles and concepts that can be adapted to most churches. As the old saying goes, “Eat the meat. Throw away the bones.”
