To witness for Christ, each of us must cross what Pastor Rico Tice calls our “pain line.”
That is the obstacle that prevents us from sharing about Jesus because:
- We don’t know what to say.
- We don’t feel we are “good enough” to adequately represent Christianity.
- We fear rejection.
- We avoid pain.
My wife, Jean, is the only Christian among her four siblings. When her mom died, Jean called a family conference. Everyone sits in the living room, and Jean reads a detailed explanation of the Gospel and shares what her faith means to her. When he finished, one of his brothers said, “Jeanie, I love you, but I’m an atheist. I don’t believe any of it.”
That’s the pain line.
Crossing it is not easy. It requires a certain amount of courage and a full grace of God. But some thought management can help you feel more comfortable in conversations about faith.
We talk about how to cross the pain line in our Focus on the Family Broadcast”Share Your Faith in Everyday Life” with our guest Pastor Rico Tice, the senior minister of evangelism at All Souls Church in Langham Place in London.
He created an evangelism tool called Christianity Explored, which introduces people around the world to Jesus. His thoughts on sharing Christ are well-tested, and he will help you better understand how God wants to use you to reach others for Him.
In short, Pastor Tice breaks down the sharing of the Gospel like this: The center of the Gospel is Jesus, and there are three things we want people to know about Him:
- Who is He? His identity.
- Why did He come? His mission.
- What it means to obey Him. His call.
How can we effectively preach such ideas? Listen to my full conversation with Pastor Rico Tice in your local radio station, onlineon Spotify, Apple Podcaststhrough Google Podcastsor take us with you to our free phone app.
Pastor Tice’s book Faithful Evangelism: How to Talk About Jesus Even When It’s Hard walk you through each step of witnessing, teach you how to handle fear and rejection, and help you understand what to do when you don’t know the answers you think you need. It is available for a gift of any amount. For more information, click HERE or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).