Reaching Others #1

You know, as Christians, we are often faced with the question, “Am I reaching enough people with the message of Christ?”.  This question has been on my mind for a while now.  You see, I try to reach people with God’s message of love, forgiveness and sacrifice  -  so I know from experience how very nervous, and sometimes afraid, we are to do it.  
In this series “Reaching Others” I will be discussing the fears and limitations that hold us back, and show that it’s easier to step out than it looks.  As I go on this journey with you, I will also share creative ways on how to spread the Love of Christ – practical examples to simplify things.  

I’ll do these “practical examples” first of course – and then I’ll give you honest feedback on how things went.  The reason for this is to encourage everyone to get themselves out there, get out of their comfort zones, and to go out and spread the Gospel of Christ – and to do it in creative ways.

The first practical example is the following:

God’s Love Letter
saykha.deviantart.com/art/Outr…

We did an outreach last month (January 2015), where a group of us went out to the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa (where I live, by the way ).  We took the above mentioned letter (I explain the content of this letter a little bit later), placed them in envelopes with “God’s Love Letter to You” written on it.  

We then went to a bus stop and parking lot, and we started to distribute them.  We broke up in groups of two, and split up.  It’s best to do this with someone else, and not to go out alone – this is just a safety precaution.  My friend and I then approached people, beginning the conversation with why we’re there:  We told them that we’re part of a church, and that we’re just going about telling everyone how much God loves them.  We then said what we felt was on God’s heart for that specific person, asked if they wanted prayer and then gave them the letter.  We then asked them if they wanted to give their lives to Jesus Christ.  If they said yes – we would pray a “Salvation Prayer” with them, and then tell them about a church in the area they could join.  If they said no, we would just smile and bid them a good day (don’t get discouraged when this happens – it will happen – just keep moving forward and tell people about Jesus).  Pray for everyone who wasn’t ready to accept Jesus, that God work in their hearts and draw them close to Him.  Pray that they accept Him into their hearts.  

Now, don’t be limited to doing only the above mentioned things.  Because you’re depending on God to talk through you, a lot of different things happen, and almost every encounter with a new person goes differently.  Go out in confidence, trusting in God, and you’ll be surprised at what He might do.

The letter is there to give to everyone you encounter.  Give the letter to those who  were open to you, and Jesus Christ – but also give it to those who weren’t as open.  Some people, who weren’t as open to you, might still take the letter because, well, that seems like the polite thing to do.  This is good.  We want this, because the letter is given for two reasons:

 For those who accept Jesus:  So that their love for Him can be reignited.
 For those who don’t accept Jesus:  So that they might be tempted to read the letter, and change their mind about not accepting Him.  God might still catch their hearts when they read the letter.

For this reason the content of the letter must really be God’s heart - how He feels about us.  I specifically love this letter because it catches the heart of God in a very true, and heart-scorching, way.  You can read the letter here – please use this letter for an outreach – it touches almost everyone who reads it:  saykha.deviantart.com/art/God-…

This letter took up 3 pages in the envelope.  The last page was the following:

saykha.deviantart.com/art/4th-…

As you can see, the 4th (and last) page of the letter was information the person who reads it might need, should they decide to give their lives to Christ.  The last page contained the following:

 A Salvation Prayer:  This is what the person prays when they decide to give their lives to Christ.  Your letter should always have a Salvation Prayer.  
 Details of a Church in the area:  Add the address, service times and e-mail address of the pastor.  It’s best to speak to a Church leader before you do this, telling them what you want to do, and if you can add their church’s details to the letter should the person reading it want to join a church to further their relationship with God.  Most churches will definitely say yes, and most will probably give you amazing support in your endeavours to reach others with the message of Jesus.  

When you go out, when you talk to the people who don’t know God, always remember to love them.  Remember why it is that you’re going out to tell people about Jesus:  It’s because He loved them so much, that He died for them – and He wants them to be His.  Tell them about Him, and what He did with His heart-wrenching, agonizingly intense, LOVE that He has for them.  Remember – “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  John 15:13” – and that is exactly what Jesus did for them – He gave the greatest love.  Fuel your motivation to talk to them with the knowledge that they are lost without Him – they need Jesus – and He wants to save them.
 
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  John 3:16

Before you go out, remember to do the following:

 Pray that God go out before you.  God gives us a promise in Deuteronomy 31:8 (below).  Hold onto this promise:

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”  Deuteronomy 31:8

 That he will give you wisdom and discernment in what you say:

“For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”  Proverbs 2:6

“Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!”  Proverbs 15:23

 That He give you a love for the people you will meet:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”  John 13:34-35

I encourage everyone to reach someone.  If you try the above mentioned example, please let me know I would love to hear how it went.  When we did this, we met people who gave their lives to Jesus (right there, in the parking lot mind you).  Many did not give their lives to God that day, but between my partner and I, people were saved (and it wasn’t only the two of us who went out that day) – all in all, it was definitely worth it to experience the rejection from those who weren’t ready, for the salvation of those who were.  Some days it will go well, some days it won’t, but stay focused – God is with us, who can be against us!

Please feel free to tell me about how you have reached people with Christ, and if you might have any practical examples of reaching people in creative ways.  I would love to hear from you, and we can all definitely learn from each other.  Remember, we do this because we love Him – they are important to Him, so they are therefore important to us.

With Love,
saykha