Using Our Sphere

October 29 – Connecting and Going Deeper with People in Our Spheres of Influence  - Acts 1:1-8

Hopefully we have all been inspired to go deeper into and become more intentional in our relationships with people around us. Don Everts and Doug Schaupp, the authors of I Once Was Lost, help the reader understand the context of sharing faith with unchurched friends and family. They lift up five thresholds through which people must move to become seekers and then pilgrims along the journey of faith.

Friends move from distrust to trust. Everts and Schaupp help their readers engage evangelism in a new cultural context. In our postmodern world, people are interested in Jesus, but not in the church. Many people are very suspicious of institutions like the church. Therefore, people need to experience Jesus through Christians who are loving and authentic. The best thing that can happen to a person who does not know God’s love is to be in a relationship with a Christian who is both loving and accepting. God came into the world in the flesh and blood of Jesus to reveal God’s unconditional love for humanity. People must trust us before they will hear one word we have to offer about real and lasting life.

Friends move from complacent to curious. Even though there is a longing in the human heart for something more, people don’t always get the connections between their lives and the ways in which God is working to heal relationships and creation. As we are on the journey with another person, we are called to be aware of the life events and experiences that open people to spiritual things. For example, many movies have spiritual themes and can become ways through which we talk about our brokenness and God’s reconciling love.

Friends move from being closed to change to being open to change. When we are open and transparent about our lives, the door is open for our friends to see that things can change in their lives. How have you been open to change? It is helpful to others when we are able to share about

times in our lives when we had to let go of something that was hurting us. Maybe we had to let go of control or an unforgiving spirit. Sometimes people have the belief that things are just the way they are, and that nothing can change!

Friends move from meandering to seeking. When we are engaging these sorts of conversations, it is important to be able to invite our friends into a group that is studying Scripture and investigating spiritual themes. This group can be a safe place for a seeker to explore the faith and to experience the faith of growing Christ followers.

Friends move from the threshold to kingdom life and work. Through prayer and nudging from the Holy Spirit, the time comes when you talk with your friends about joining God in God’s mission of real and lasting life. In other words, there is an invitation into kingdom life.

Look at Acts 1:1–8 again.  Remember that we are called to bear witness to what we have seen and heard and experienced in Jesus. We are not called to condemn and judge others; we are called to bear witness to the saving Power of God in Christ.