Why is it often so hard to talk to friends, neighbours, and colleagues about our faith? Why do so many Christians say that they’re afraid of evangelism? Why do many churches struggle to get people to give evangelism a go? In this packed Master Class, Andy Bannister will share some practical, down-to-earth tools that can help us both start—and stay in—conversations about Jesus with those around us. Whether you’re a pastor looking for material you can share with your church or a Christian keen to get more active in evangelism yourself, this Master Class will help you gain confidence in everyday evangelism.
1. Conversational Evangelism
We’ll take a look at some of the ways that Jesus went about conversations in the gospels, especially his use of questions. We’ll explore three really useful questions that can help us start conversations or give us the confidence to stay in them.
2. Evangelism to the Apathetic and Disinterested
It’s one thing to talk to sceptics, but what about those who say they don’t care about God? We’ll learn some lessons from Paul in Acts 17 and discover in particular the power of wondering questions, discovering how we can start conversations about Jesus from the things our friends already care about.
3. Five Steps for Answering Tough Questions
What if we succeed in starting a spiritual conversation but then our friends ask us a tough question about Christianity? Do we need to have every possible answer memorised, or is there a better way? In this part, we’ll learn a simple five-step approach that can help you handle any tough question, even if it’s an entirely new one.
4. How Not To Be a Crunchy Christian: The Importance of Character
When we’re sharing Jesus with our friends, our actions and character can speak as loud as our words. In part 4, we’ll look at some common pitfalls to avoid—and some practical ways to ensure that our lives measure up to our words, such that people want to ask the reason for our hope.
5. Bringing It Back to Jesus
Once a conversation has begun with a friend, how can we ensure we keep focussed on Jesus—not on winning an argument, or philosophy, or politics? In the final part, we’ll learn some ways to pick up the threads in a conversation and draw them in the direction of Jesus.
