…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. - 1 Peter 3:15

Christmas gives us abundant opportunities to share our faith. When you are with family and friends, when you are shopping and in line, when you are with colleagues for Christmas parties, and in many other ways you will have opportunities to talk to others about the greatest gift of all - our salvation.

In November 2017 at Christie’s auction house, a Saudi prince paid $450.3 million, the highest price ever for a work of art, for Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Salvator Mundi. Leonardo’s painting of Jesus as Savior of the World is controversial for many reasons; notably, experts disagree as to whether Leonardo himself painted it! In the days following the sale, several Christian writers and commentators were quick to note that all might have the Savior of the world, for free. Indeed.

We need to see connections between the diversity of faith experiences and the richness of the gospel. We have a multifaceted message that connects with complex people in a variety of ways. Do you resist this? Do you fear I might lose the centrality of the atonement in all this? I understand your caution. I fear the same danger.

Evangelism has never been easy. But I’m convinced it has become more difficult in our current day, when Christianity is viewed as intolerant, homophobic, antidiversity, anti-intellectual, antiscience, and just plain harmful. For a society that wants to progress toward inclusion and tolerance, Christians seem “on the wrong side of history.”

Talking about communicating the gospel convincingly, I want to consider the character of the evangelist and authenticity in the evangelist’s life.

I once heard someone say he wanted to be able to converse with anyone about anything. I was intrigued. He reasoned that joining in on a conversation of the other person’s choosing could express respect, interest, and care for that person.

If we hope to engage in conversation about weighty topics such as knowing God, acknowledging sin, and trusting in Christ’s death, we need to have some level of competence in listening, asking good questions, and pursuing rich conversation. If we can’t connect with people about the weather or their jobs, we may find it difficult to talk about eternity or their souls.

I know some people who need lead time before discussing heavy issues. They’re actually interested but probably won’t handle it well if someone just switches from light chatting about the weather to serious issues of eternity. And they’d appreciate being asked for an “okay” before making that dramatic leap.

Jana Harmon interviewed fifty former atheists who had come to saving faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. She tells us what she learned in the process, both from what her conversation partners said and how they told their remarkable stories.

According to Randy Newman, evangelism could be viewed as slightly less difficult if we break it down into component parts. In this article, Newman breaks evangelism down to a few component skills: presenting a concise summary of the gospel, sharing your personal testimony, answering apologetic questions, asking stimulating questions and offering invitations. Read the full article here.

What makes atheism so appealing? Author Cameron McAllister makes the case that overlooking atheism’s appeal constitutes a serious strategic mistake for those of us who want to discuss the gospel with skeptics.

"Pride alienates us from God and others. Humility is the path to better fellowship with God and others as well to true Christ likeness an to true ministry. Forsaking pride is essential in order to embrace humility and servanthood," says Jerry Root as he continues his message on Growing in Humility.

In this final installment of the series, Michael Ward challenges us to reach out with the gospel by doing more than just promoting ideas or stating propositions. We need to engage the imaginations and affections of those we want to reach. Read this article online.

The command to “go and make disciples” has for many decades been understood to be synonymous with “go and make converts.” In other words, go out to evangelize nonbelievers and help them come to faith in Jesus Christ.

As I meet Christians in a variety of settings, I sense a shift in motivations for evangelism. And I’m greatly encouraged by it. For a long time, I think Christians flocked to apologetics seminars and evangelism trainings because they felt guilty. They knew they were supposed to speak up, not be ashamed, make the most of every opportunity, and preach the word in season and out of season. But they didn’t. And they felt guilty for their evangelistic lockjaw.

Have you ever talked with a non-Christian about the gospel and wanted to follow up the conversation with the gift of a book? You sensed the person was open, and you knew you had more to say. Or have you hoped to have such a conversation but were afraid to? Having a few “leaving pieces” to offer outsiders may bolster your confidence, encourage someone’s seeking, and lead to eternally significant outcomes.

Most Christians in the United States have grown up with Jewish neighbors, classmates, and friends. But their understanding of Judaism is usually limited to their reading of the Old Testament and the holiday in December called Hanukkah. Some of us were taught in Sunday school that Judaism teaches salvation by works.

So, you’ve got Jewish friends and you want to talk to them about Jesus. You’ve read Gerald McDermott’s article about Judaism, and you’re wondering how to start connecting what you know about Judaism, what you love about Jesus, and how you long for your Jewish friends to make that connection as well.

Dr. Gerald R. McDermott offers an insightful overview of the history, beliefs, and various schools of Buddhism. He helps Christian better understand their Buddhist neighbors and summarizes key similarities and differences between Buddhism and Christianity.

There is no such thing as Hinduism. (You now know more than the average Christian and will immediately stand out in your next theological debate). The word Hinduism presumes a religion in which the parts are consistent with one another.

Islam is one of the world’s fastest-growing world religions. (Christianity is growing almost as quickly.) Several factors account for this: Muslims are aggressive in their evangelism (especially in Africa), their message is easily understood (Muslims say Christian theology is complicated and hard to believe), and they offer the politically alienated the prospect of national transformation.

The Jewish community collects stories that highlight their minority identity in a predominantly Gentile world. One memorable tale tells of a young boy who asked his rabbi, “What’s the difference between Jews and other people?” The rabbi replied, “Oh, Jews are just like everyone else . . . only more so.”

We need all the encouragement we can get in evangelism, especially in our world today that sees Christians as the “bad guys.” Sam Chan helps us a ton.

Knowing how to engage in good conversations with Mormon friends and acquaintances is crucial in our pluralistic world today. Former Mormon and apologist, Corey Miller shares his very helpful insights from his experiences and study.

Apologetics without evangelism leaves the task unfinished. Evangelism without apologetics risks a shallow approach to a very deep process. Andy Bannister helps us weave the two together.

Did you start some good reconnecting with people during the early stages of Covid-19? Perhaps it’s time to renew those conversations. This could be a great time to reach out to non-Christians and offer hope from sources other than policies and medicine.

Too many of us embrace grace for our salvation but then leave it behind in our everyday lives. We base our relationship with God on our performance rather than on His love for us. But our performance can never earn us the love we so desperately crave. Renowned author Jerry Bridges’s Transforming Grace is a fountainhead of inspiration and renewal that will show you just how inexhaustible and generous God’s grace really is.

Christians are called to be ready to make a defense of the faith. But as cultures change, the questions and approaches to that task shift. Philosopher Paul Gould helps us navigate these tricky waters through insights from his book Cultural Apologetics.

Three powerful questions. Take them away, try them out during the holiday season. Try them outside the holiday season, and see what happens as you start using questions in evangelism. My prayer is that as you do that boldly, or maybe falteringly at first, as you draw your friends into conversation, you’ll discover that the Lord can work through you in incredible ways, just as He works through questions in the Gospels.

The really encouraging thing, the exciting thing, is that if we learn to use the Jesus method and ask really good questions, then they are a powerful tool to help us both to overcome fear and to handle these sticky situations in which we as Christians sometimes find ourselves.