Note: Tagged Gospel Witness with the other posts in this series.

“Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:38

There are three primary approaches to contacting lost sinners. Witnesses for Jesus Christ don’t win souls by accident; they do it on purpose. These tools will help you grow in confidence and effectiveness while sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Find the way that works for you.

Your knowledge, personality, background, education, and salvation testimony build upon each other to make you the Christian God wants you to become. By adding tools and ideas to your existing knowledge, you significantly increase your effectiveness while being a witness for Jesus Christ. One of the overall objectives of this training should be to incorporate tools into who you already are in Christ Jesus.

By being yourself while talking with lost sinners, you may find the exact type of people who respond to you so that they hear the Gospel and get saved by Jesus.

Holy Father God saves who He will by the workings of the Holy Spirit. Soul Winners simply tell the truth of the Gospel.

“A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” – Proverbs 16:9

Your faithfulness in being consistent is a tool that the Lord can use mightily for His glory. Holy God sets divine appointments between a Soul Winner and lost sinners. Being consistent and reliable puts you where God can use you best.

If you are faithful by making yourself available, Father God will appoint lost sinners to hear the Gospel from you; while sharing His message of love and salvation through the cross. One thing you will have to do is be purposeful. Set specific times each week to seek the lost. Make a plan, and stick to it. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance after you go.

Believers in Jesus are called to be separate and sanctified. We are to go to the lost, telling them the Gospel, not living among them and being like them. How was Jesus a friend to sinners? By telling them the absolute truth regardless of how it made them feel. Purposefully going and telling people what great things Christ has done for them glorifies God. Try different ways of approaching people to see what works for you; God will bless the efforts.

We suppose there are three main ways we can approach lost sinners.

In our first way, let the lost get to know you over a couple of get-togethers and soon share the Gospel. Invite the lost sinner to coffee or dinner and get to know each other a little. We are not hiding that we are Christian while doing this. Prayer thanking Holy God for a meal is a great way to show the lost sinner that you are a public and caring Christian. And also, during this prayer, we can share the simple Gospel by thanking Father God out loud for Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection so that your guest may hear this necessary and straightforward truth.

Then, on the 2nd or 3rd meeting, get out your Bible and open it up to them, introducing the Gospel by sharing verses that show the truths of why they must have Jesus. This is one way to approach co-workers, neighbors, schoolmates, and other acquaintances.

We are NOT friend-winning. You must get down to business and be direct by having a specific plan to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must tell them the truth about their sin condition even if it hurts their feelings. We must convey to them the eternal consequences of their sin, even if it means they no longer consider us a friend. You’ve been the greatest friend they’ve ever had by telling them the Gospel. If the lost sinner won’t accept Jesus, that’s between them and God. Soul-winning is not friend-winning.

Another way to approach folks is a short five or 10-minute conversation and then bring up the things of God. Introduce yourself, let them get to know you by being friendly and polite, and then talk to them about the Scriptures. What we are doing here is looking for an entry point to bring up the word of God to get our Bible open. Every aspect of life is present in the Holy Bible, so being aware of the Holy Spirit while listening to your new acquaintance is an excellent way to find an opportunity to bring up the things of God. This approach may work well for you.

Again, the purpose is to get down to business, opening our Bible and sharing the Gospel. We’re not doing a Social Gospel Christianity.

“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” – 1 Corinthians 2:2

And thirdly, we can take a much more direct approach, going straight to Scripture. You can walk right up to strangers in public places, Bible in hand, and demand (politely with a smile on your face) to know the condition of their soul as to its eternal station. If they will listen for a minute or the Holy Spirit completely captures them (this does happen, it’s mighty to behold), you can quote Scripture to them about salvation while also offering to show them what the Bible means by that (those) verse(s). Many use this approach when door-knocking in neighborhoods as well.

In this manner, we introduce them almost immediately to the word of God without even stating our name or shaking hands which might sound cold, but it works well with strangers in public spaces such as parks and other gathering areas. Keep in mind that Holy God sets appointments between the witness and the lost sinner.

One term for this approach is called street witnessing. In this way of sharing the Gospel, we are not being aggressive, unfriendly, or abusive in any way. Don’t do damage to the name of Christ. We are kindly and directly showing the truth to total strangers. We never compromise anything about the truth of God. It’s essential to be polite and friendly but firm and never back down from who Jesus Christ is and what comes of a man who rejects Him.

You can walk up to people and ask them about their eternal station. You can ask: Are you going to Heaven? Or, Who is Jesus to you? Or, Do you know where you will spend eternity? Etc.

The lost may seek to get rid of you by simply stating that they are saved. We don’t accept that answer; follow up by asking what it means to be saved or asking them to explain how that happened, politely but firmly; their eternal soul is on the line.

When approaching the lost in this manner, having a verse or two of relevant Scripture committed to memory is helpful.

It is the job of the Christian to warn everybody that they face the wrath of God and that they have to believe in Jesus Christ to be saved. Pray while asking Holy God to order your steps in service of Him as a Soul Winner; prayer can undoubtedly be considered a tool of the Soul Winner.

“When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.” – Ezekiel 33:8

“Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” – Ezekiel 3:19