Sharing the Gospel
Part ONE—Preparing to Share the Gospel
Section 1 – Consider the person and the context
I would like to share the gospel with my friend Kayla. Kayla and I work together at a
factory and I relieve her from her position as health advocate. I say this to point out that we only
have 30 minutes together in the workday before her shift ends. Kayla is a young black Muslim
woman a few years younger than myself. She grew up in home that was not religious and that is
still the case for her family. However, she began going to church with her little sister at a young
age. The two would catch a bus to a nearby Church of Prophesy. Kayla is very independent from
what I’ve seen and seeks to follow what she believes to be true. She believes in God as Allah and
that she as a young married woman is bound to her husband and must obey him as stipulated in
their marriage contract.
I asked her about her religious background last Monday and we had a nice conversation
in which she shared her journey with me. To be honest I wasn’t sure how to bridge the
conversation to the gospel. The conversation was not specifically about God but more so about
her religious experience. I am interested in building a stronger friendship with Kayla and have
invited her to hang out sometime. I believe that this would be a great place for us to be able to
have a more open conversation about God and spirituality.
I got Kayla’s number a while back for work purposes, but we have since spoken on the
phone and had really great conversations about work and life. Therefore, I can text her and
suggest a place to eat. I would start out the conversation asking more about her experience and
how she decided to become a Muslim. I would ask her about her testimony in coming to God. If
she asks mine than I would gladly share my story. At his point I would ask what she thinks about
prophesy having come from a Church of Prophesy. I will then give an illustration about someone
who is found themselves at a horse race with some money and just as they were about to bet on
horse 6 someone tells them to bet on horse 9. They do it thinking no harm can come of it and
horse 9 wins that round. They go back and the person is there, so they ask how they knew, and
they simply tell them to bet on horse 6. The man eagerly bets and wins the bet. Again, he follows
the counsel of this stranger and is not so surprised to win the bet another four times. You would
come to the conclusion that this man has inside information into the race.
I would ask if I could share a verse with her, then state that God claims to have inside
insight in the race of life on earth and He seeks to prove His sovereignty through that very
insight, His ability to tell the end from the beginning, because only He can do so. I will then
paraphrase Isaiah 46:9,10 which says, “remember the former things of old; for I am God, and
there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and
from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all
my purpose.”
Then I would ask if I could share one last story from scripture with her where God gives
a prophecy that spans from 500 BC to the end of the world as we know it. If she agrees I will
take her to Daniel chapter 2 and break down the story in a historical sense showing what time
Daniel was living in, explaining the dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had and the interpretation
that God gave to Daniel to save him and the other wise men. I would connect this prophecy to
real life events in history and how all that Daniel predicted came to pass with only one thing lfet
to happen, the stone cut without hand will crush all the earthly kingdoms and set up His own
kingdom.
Back to the story of the horse racing. With all his money in hand the man goes to bet for
the last race of the night, and he sees his friend there waiting to counsel him for the last race. If
that was you, would you trust him for the last race of the night, or would you bet against him?
I would then share 1 Corinthians 10:4, “and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they
were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.” And Acts
4:10-12, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this
man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders,
which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
That stone who sets up a new kingdom where the lowly are exalted and the exalted are
made low, where justice abounds, and love and peace are the currency! That rock is Jesus.
Section 2 – Plan for a conversation
I plan to meet in person. Prior to writing this I did mention to my friend an opportunity
that will help her make some extra money as a way to serve her. I would spark up religious
conversation by asking more about her experience then transitioning into sharing. I do not think I
need any recourses other than the Bible on my phone. I asked my husband to pray for Kayla as
well and that it would go well. I would need to show empathy by understanding her feelings
towards her own personal beliefs and also be open to listening to anything she may want to
share. Throughout sharing I will leave space for her to comment. At the end I will ask for a
response by asking if she is interested in learning more about how Christ can be trusted and how
the Bible is God’s word spoken to us through His prophets. I have prepared myself for this by
praying, writing out my plan, and relying on God’s strength and power to work through me.
Part TWO—Sharing the Gospel
Section 1 – Describe the event
We ended up meeting at my place and hanging out. I asked if I could share a story from
the Bible, as planned, and Kayla responded with slight disinterest but wanted to be polite, so she
allowed me to share. As I shared the story from Daniel 2 connecting it to actual periods in time
when the multiple prophecies were fulfilled, she became more interested and was really paying
attention. I’m glad I was able to initiate this spiritual conversation because I was able to connect
the stone to Jesus and relate it to why He came, lived and died for us. At the end she expressed
feelings of fear for her family who are not believers and I shared with her that in the same way
that the Holy Spirit found a way to share the truth of the gospel to her, He would find a way to
share the gospel with her family. We prayed and asked Jesus to come into her heart and that the
Lord would bless her family, especially her mom and help them encounter the gospel truth. There
weren’t any rejections, just questions of clarification throughout the study and acceptance at the
end. I believe that I was truly blessed in this situation to have been led to a person that God was
already working on and to have the victory of successfully sharing the gospel with a friend.
Section 2 – Share any lessons
This was a positive experience and I am hopeful that we will be able to continue studying
the Bible together. We have yet to schedule another time that we can come together to discuss
spiritual matters. I do believe I was prepared because I knew what I was going to share and
where to find it in scripture. The hardest part for me was initiating my part of the spiritual
conversation for fear of rejection and fear that she wouldn’t want to continue speaking with me
about spiritual things, or even talking at all. My advice to someone else planning to share the
gospel is to be prepared, be intentional about understanding the gospel story for yourself, and
knowing the scriptures you’d like to share. At the same time, I’d also say, don’t let lack of
preparation keep you from ever sharing the gospel. If a moment presents itself move forward in
prayer and allow the Lord to lead your words and listening ear in love. But my number one piece
of advice is plan what your opening line will be and push past the fears and use that to propel
you and whoever you’re sharing with into a conversation that could potentially change their life
forever (and yours)!
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