Impact Blog
A weekly journal and interactive discussion with Peter.
Also check out our Video Log
RSS Feed
Witnessing
Written by Peter Youngren on August 13th 2006“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” 1 Peter 3:15
I remember going to youth group when I was fourteen and the dreaded subject of witnessing would come up. The announcement was made that after the meeting we’d be heading down town to “witness”. I would rummage through my thoughts, pretending not to be scared out of my wits that I might run in to someone that I knew; trying to figure out how to look cool while doing it. To make matters worse, the pastor told us that we would be taking a coffin out in to the streets and someone would jump out and start preaching. The logic was that this would draw attention to our group so that we could get the message out there en masse!
Is this the type of activity that Jesus had in mind when he said that we would be witnesses unto the “ends of the earth”? I think not! In light of the scriptures, how are we to be witnesses? Peter exhorts us to be prepared to give an answer to “everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” Here he makes it quite clear that our responsibility as followers of Christ is to give a reason when people ask us. Does that mean no other time – no! But it is an excellent notion.
I have found that there are two categories of people in the Church and neither one is right. The first category is made up of those who “witness” all the time. Sometimes some could even say that they brag about how much they witness. Yet it has been my experience that many times the “fruit” of their labors is hard to find. They don’t bring an abundance of people to Church and you don’t really meet any of the people that they have ‘prayed’ with. The second category is those who never “witness”. It scares them. And surely this can’t be right either.
Yet perhaps there is a third category – the one that Paul surely fit in to and that we can take rest in. That is the category of “yielding to Jesus”. The Holy Spirit lives inside of you and because of that you’ll surely know when He desires you to speak. I have found that sometimes we spend a great deal of time witnessing to people who have no desire whatsoever to find out about the hope that we have. And then at the same time there are friends, family members and co-workers who would love to know about the hope that is found in Jesus Christ, but no one has shared it with them.
My advice – focus on the ones who the Apostle Peter told us to focus on. You’ll see great fruit in your life and it is in keeping with this “stress free, new covenant” life!
Submit A Comment
Comments:
Peter Karl,
I love your upfront honesty about this topic, most pastors would say, ‘you’ve got to witness more, and more and more’ in an almost angered tone, and they would never admit at one time or another that they have been nervous about the thought of witnessing. Your honesty helps believers to know that pastors are just normal people too; I also agree that we should be following Peter’s example in the NT of being a witness, I know people that go around all the time ‘witnessing’, not that this is bad, but sometimes there is not a lot of fruit, I know in my own life, there is much better fruit when I follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in telling someone about Jesus than when I just tell someone who has no desire to listen to me, and I start hammering it into their head. I love the New Covenant teaching that you and your dad are doing, it has set me free in ways that I have never believed, Thank you!
Jamie Penque
Thanks for relaying this story. I can really relate to your fear of witnessing here in this story and also even trying to witness all the time. I think most believers in Jesus have had trouble at one time or another with witnessing, and we can beat ourselves up about it and sometimes we can get some pretty crazy mindsets about the whole thing. Only God can really show himself to people, we can’t show people God by our own efforts in and of ourselves. Thankfully God can work through us and use us to reveal himself to people…when that happens, it is truly wonderful. It’s all him though. ‘God alone is good.’ It’s all about Jesus. We need him so much.
Matt, whose homepage is here
Hi Peter,thanks for your message. As the revelation has hit home more and more lately that Jesus died for the whole world (not just ‘Christians’), I have made more friends outside of the church and have been truly humbled by the opportunities God has given me to share the love of Jesus and the hope that we have in Him - it has been a very restful and easy thing to ‘witness’ - it has just come out very naturally (‘being prepared to give an answer’)as a result of being genuinely interested in others which leads to great conversations and opportunities. Thanks so much. Dom.
DOMINIQUE COLLADO
I really appreciated you article about witnessing. As a Christian, I have always felt that my life should speak louder than a lot of words to represent Christ. If someone asks me anything about why I seem different or ask me about Jesus, I am more than willing to share but I am very uncomfortable when someone I am with always manages no matter where we are in what company to turn the converstaion to how we should live for the LOrd and what we should do. I think if they are interested, they will make some comment that would indicate their interest or even curiosity to begin with and you can take it from there. It just seems to put people off when they see you coming and know that somewhere in the converstaion they will turn it to their faith. This has made me feel more at ease with the fact that I dont’ try to ‘witness’ to every person I am talking to in a day/ Thanks…More at peace.
ann P
Praise the Lord.Who’s ministry is it?I have always believed that it is the ministry of the Spirit.When we stop struggling and get out of the way, God will work through us, and it’s all joy, a natural flow of our being.When we force ourself’s to go preach, it come’s out dificult, not natural, like we are trying to win God’s approval.This is not faith at all, it’s unbelief in the Cross and Resurection of our Lord, who has made us One with Himself and the Father. How much more aproval do we need.If we acept our death and new creation, we realise that we our hid in Christ, and the life we now live is his Life in us.When you get this revelation, you just naturally do what the spirit does, because He is now in control. No more double mindedness oneness.
tom
Hey Pete, when you preached this in one of your sermons a couple of weeks ago, it really spoke to me. The topic has come up in several conversations lately as well as references to your message, it was very timely and very liberating. thanks so much.
Tammara