LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Witnessing Report
Submitted to Dr. Jonathan Bishop
In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 520 -D02 LUO
Spiritual Formation
by
Derrick Carroll (L28257121)
December 17, 2017
Witnessing Report
Witnessing Encounter
On Tuesday, December 5, 2017, I was blessed with a chance to tell my story and to share the
Gospel of the Lord Christ Jesus with a young man that lives in my neighborhood whom I have
talked with on many occasions, but never about Christ. I never even knew his name. I am almost
embarrassed to admit that. On this particular day, I just happen to see him at the park while
running.
This young man was running on the trail with me as usual. He and I decided to take a break
and we began to talk while swallowing Gatorade. I told him my name and he said, “My name is
Mike.
Mike and discussed several things including sports, world events, family, and even politics.
Mike then changed the conversation and he began talking about his medical condition. He said
he had been diagnosed with hypertension at a very early age and had been living with it for the
past 23 years. He mentioned that he had been hospitalized on several occasions for symptoms
related to his high blood pressure. He stated that he had been recently hospitalized for chest pain
and elevated high blood pressure. He said the doctors told him he was on the verge of having a
stroke and a heart attack because his blood pressure was so high. He stated that “the gods have
been with me and lady luck is truly on my side.” He also said, “I have the best doctors in the
whole world.” As I assessed our conversion and what he mentioned to me, I noticed that he never
mentioned Jesus or God.
I decided to take advantage of that moment to introduce him to Jesus Christ. I started by
asking him had he ever heard of Jesus. He stated that he was familiar with him to a degree. Next,
I inquired as to whether he believed in the death of Jesus and his redeeming blood. He told me I
did not have to continue to talk about the love of Jesus and how much Christ loved him because
he had lived such an awful life. I assured him that we are all bad and that we are all imperfect
beings because of the sin- nature we inherited from Adam.
Next, I began to walk him through a few Scriptures to aide in his comprehension. First, I took
him to Romans which states, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans
3:23). Then, I discussed the unconditional love Christ has towards him and all men. “But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
After sharing the word of God with Mike, I opened up and shared my personal conversion
story with him. His eyes began to light up. He finally began to comprehend the extent of Christ’s
love for him and all humankind. I then took him to the words of Paul where he said, “That if thou
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Roman
10:9).
Following that Scripture, I asked Mike if he wanted to receive the Lord Jesus as his Savior.
He said, “I absolutely want to receive Jesus as my Savior!” My soul began to leap with joy.
From there, I prayed with him a confessional and a forgiveness prayer. He accepted Christ!
Hallelujah! I further proclaimed to Mike that he was now a child of God and that he has a right to
eternal life. We were both overjoyed with his newly received salvation.
Following Up
After we rejoiced in his new walk in Christ, Mike expressed a desire to become a member of a
local church. I invited him to attend my church and he has joined since then. He and I also
exchanged phone numbers and have become prayer partners as well. In addition, I make it a
point to call him to discuss Scriptures and to talk about the Lord with him daily. My soul is still
leaping for joy over Mike’s salvation. I will continue to be his accountability partner and
continue to make sure he grows stronger in the Lord.
Evangelism in My Life
Witnessing to Mike has been a blessing to me and I know God is satisfied with my actions.
Fellowshipping with him has brought me great pleasure and joy. Because I was so blessed by this
experience, I plan to establish evangelism as a spiritual discipline throughout the remainder of
my life. Whitney states “that godliness requires that we discipline ourselves in the practice of
evangelism” (Whitney 2014, 120). In other words, our love for God is partly demonstrated in our
care and concern that others receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior and by acting on that love in
the form of evangelism. With that being said, my future plans for evangelism include the
following:
1. List several people whom I know that I can begin personally praying for opportunities to
share the gospel. I will share these with my family or my accountability partner who can
also pray for these people with me.
2. I will practice listening well so that I can see where the gospel intersects their story.
3. I will write my testimony so that I can share it clearly in under 3 minutes. My story will
include (a.) my life before Christ, (b.) the moment in which I surrendered my life to
Christ, (c.) and how Christ has changed my life.
4. I will practice sharing the gospel.
5. I will choose an accountability partner that will commit to helping me develop the
discipline of sharing the gospel.
6. I will keep a journal of my experiences and what I learn from each one.
Again, I plan to do all I can to establish evangelism as a spiritual discipline throughout the
remainder of my life.
