Tobias, a team member in
Mozambique says,
For the Yao people, the stories
of Jesus are strong concepts that
they can grasp. Hearing how Jesus
calmed the storm or healed a man
from blindness is mind blowing. So, I
incorporate stories into conversation.
A lot of people are hungry for more and
will ask questions. Some people show
more than a cursory interest in Jesus.
So, back to your buddies. Do you dare
consider what getting to know Jesus
might look like for them? Ready? First,
consider one of your friends. Name
them. Think about what you know of
their lives, personality, communication
style, struggles and hopes.
Next, consider what it is about Jesus
that may resonate with them. What
might they love about Him? What
might inspire them? Which Bible
stories, Psalms or passages might be
encouraging to them? Where might
there be a point of connection?
Are you still with me?
Now, imagine which situations might
be best for them to explore this stuff,
remembering that the most effective
evangelism strategies will involve
you, their friend, communicating in
genuine ways. (Your friends won’t feel
particularly valued if you outsource
when it comes to the crunch.)
YOU’RE BUZZING WITH EXCITEMENT ABOUT HOW GOD IS
MOVING AND YOU ARE JUMPING OUT OF YOUR SKIN TO
TELL THEM EVERYTHING ABOUT BEING A CHRISTIAN.
Choose one. Go on…
Over in Mozambique, Tobias says,
Now, imagine that in a few months’
time, they are beginning to know
Jesus. You’re buzzing with excitement
about how God is moving and you are
jumping out of your skin to tell them
everything about being a Christian.
You pull out a box of your dusty
prayer journals for them to scour
through. Send them Facebook invites
to every Christian event you can find
(don’t forget the camps). Bombard
them with text messages of Bible
verses, every day. Sign them up for
a Koorong membership, subscribe
them to Christian podcasts. And lend
them your treasured (slightly stinky)
T-shirt you won at church youth camp
10 years ago for reciting the memory
verse backwards with a mouth full of
Weetbix!
A Yao friend looks to me a lot for
help when it comes to life issues. The
reality is that I can’t make decisions for
him, even if I wanted to so I engage him
in what the Bible says and encourage
him to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance
to work it out. I might have an opinion
on what he should do but often I don’t
need to say it before he figures it out
for himself. I want to focus on what
the Bible says about a situation, not on
sprouting propositions or instructions
on how they should behave or what
they should think. I would almost always
miss something in the cultural nuance
and end up giving bad advice. Better to
encourage prayer and let God speak.
Whoa there, hold on. There’s a
slight (or gigantic) difference
between orienting them to Jesus and
swallowing them up with the stuff that
surrounds Him.
Ah, now there’s some wise advice.
These guys admit they are still
learning but they seem to be on the
right track. Beats the verse-in-thepocket stealth operation.
Let’s go back to our cross-cultural
workers - what do they do when
people come to faith?
What would it take for us to adopt the
same posture as these cross-cultural
workers?
Can stories be easily woven into
conversation, like Tobias’ in Mozambique?
Could you invite them to your home
with a couple of friends to explore the
Bible together, like Dema’s community
in Thailand?
If they communicate more openly
through social media, perhaps
initiate deeper conversations through
Facebook Messenger?
Google ‘Alpha’ or ‘Intro to Christianity’
courses in your area or ask your church
to host one and go along with them.
If they are avid readers, buy them a
great book, perhaps with your thoughts
and ideas on sticky notes throughout?
Or invite them to read some of your
writing, poems, drawings or songs that
express your faith…
… the opportunities are endless!
First, it takes trust that the Holy Spirit
will always be working in people’s
lives (with or without us).
Dema in Thailand explains,
Some people in our Friday group
have come to faith, others have been
baptised in the local river, new people
have joined and others have left. We
worship together in a natural, culturally
relevant Thai way, complete with
chanting, lots of conversation and
Thai stories. We don’t push people to
implement certain ways of life but rather
help them along the way to understand
Jesus better and follow Him in their
daily lives, allowing the Holy Spirit to
prompt and transform. Once people
feel a sense of belonging, they share
their suggestions of how to worship
God. They come up with ideas that help
them to develop their own culturally
distinctive ways of following Jesus.
Second, it takes humility to sit
back, shut up and let go of our
preconceived ideas of what someone
should and shouldn’t do.
Third, it takes discernment to help
them navigate the Scriptures, answer
their questions and consider what
resources from Koorong’s bulging
shelves and the internet’s heavy cloud
are actually helpful, and what can be
left aside, for now (or for