In this chapter you will learn specific ways to introduce people to Jesus as a personal Savior.

As you think about introducing people to Jesus, where do you start? The starting point is trust. It is often very impolite to walk right in with your Bible and your Savior. This is similar to butting into an ongoing conversation without any sense of what is being discussed. The people do not know you and have no reason to trust you. Your testimony has no value until you have established your commitment to the people in a deep and accepting friendship. Before you can share Jesus you must earn the right to share Jesus. So ask yourself, "Why should they believe me?"

Before You Begin . . .

Stop and think first about the people to whom you are introducing Jesus. There are frequently significant differences between these people and the people you are used to in your own culture. These differences may include

• Background: family, ethnicity, nationality, education, personal history, age.
• Shared history: the degree to which you both have known each other and shared some of life together, schooling, job, family.
• Core values: stuff that is really important in this person's life, family, reputation, sports, finances.
• Decision-making style: individual or group decision-making orientation.
• The manner in which they learn: visual, audio, cognitive, affective.

Observing these factors should help you to find appropriate ways of introducing Jesus. In addition you should be aware of other significant cultural differences when you think about leading someone to Jesus.

Other Differences

1. Motives to seek salvation: Much of North American society is a guilt-based society. We sense personal guilt for sins and shortcomings. Other societies are shame-based. They do not have a sense of personal guilt, but rather one of collective shame. Thus they may sense their shame within their family or clan or tribe. It is not so much a personal matter, but a collective matter. Generally shame-based societies are more prone to making collective decisions and, parallel to their lack of a sense of personal guilt, they are very reticent about stepping out individually. In fact, such an individual act would produce a strong sense of shame at moving contrary to, or opposed to, their collective. Here the strongest decisions for Christ are made in the group.

2. Where do you start? In the Western model people are generally introduced to the Scriptures first and then to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. After that they study various doctrines and practices of the Bible as understood by the Seventh-day Adventists, as well many other Christians. In many other cultures the first question is, "How can I experience the power of God?" They want to know your own personal experience with God. Often prayer is a high-priority subject as they begin to experience the God of the Scriptures.

3. What do you build on? As you look for a place to connect, it may be well to ask about their sense of need? Where may their faith have failed? Are there redemptive analogies that will enable them to understand biblical concepts? Are there stories and myths, such as the "altar to the unknown god" which Paul used when speaking to the Athenians (Acts 17:22-28)?

4. Where there is no god: Our Western model has presupposed at least some Christian orientation, and colonialism made that orientation seemingly widespread in much of the world. People accepted Jesus because they accepted the Bible. But as many areas of the world experience either growing nationalism or become multi-cultural and secularized, that orientation is no longer so widespread. It can no longer be assumed that people have accepted the Bible as the Word of God. Other living faiths are experiencing similar confusion as Western secularism is spread through the media, particularly television. While classic Buddhism can be atheistic or godless, and is more of a philosophy, secularism is qualitatively different. Secularism is not the denial or God, it is the irrelevance of God. As in formerly Christian lands, in Buddhist, Hindu and even Islamic countries, there are growing segments of society where the faith is only a thin cultural veneer covering an essentially secular outlook on life.

5. Order of topics: In non-Christian cultures different presuppositions must prevail. People generally do not even have a pre-Christian orientation. Be sensitive to a priority of topics. In some situations you might follow a sequence such as Scripture, God, Christ, Holy Spirit, etc. In other situations the sequence might be Christ, God, Holy Spirit, Scriptures, etc.

6. Introduce them to Jesus first. Cognitively-oriented Western Adventists are more prone to come to Jesus through belief in the Scriptures, while non-Western cultures are more prone to be relational and intuitive. It may be best to introduce people first to Jesus and after that to the Scriptures. They will accept Jesus on the basis of your testimony and they will accept the Scriptures on the basis of their commitment to Jesus.

7. How do people become Christians? There are at least four major paths to faith in Jesus:

The faith of the group or family. This is particularly true for many Christians who were born into Christian families. In some primal group-oriented societies, it is common (Acts 16:33; 1Cor.1:16) for whole families to convert and the conversion is generally more lasting than the conversion of one against the wishes of the family. By pressing for individual conversion you may win one but lose (alienate) many.

A relationship with a Christian. The saying is trite, but true, "Christianity is caught, not taught." If one does not have confidence in the messenger, his message may not be accepted either. The greater the distance between the messenger and the listener, the less the likelihood of developing a personal relationship of credibility and trust.

Dreams and visions. While God is more than anxious to use us in the process of winning others to faith in Jesus, he is not limited to our cooperation. As God spoke to Cornelius directly (Acts 10:1-8), he still speaks to people today. But he then often brings them in contact with his own people for further help.

Crisis event. Wars, famines, floods and other natural disasters as well as personal crises frequently result in a "failure of faith" and an openness to a new object of faith and devotion. People in the former Soviet Union, especially in central Asia, as well as in China and elsewhere experienced a vacuum of faith and meaning that had to be filled. If Christians cannot fill that void, too often it is filled by cheap substitutes (e.g. materialism, nationalism, addictions, etc.)

Most people in this world do not share our Western history or presuppositions. Issues such as differing theories of inspiration and different canonical lists, and even denominationalism are foreign and irrelevant to them. Faith is more concrete and less abstract. The important question is, "What can Jesus do for my life and my group, right now?"

Often they will accept Jesus on the basis of the testimony of your personal experience, and the clear indicators in your life of the reality of that experience. Your humble life, your spiritual commitment and faithful walk with Christ is a convincing foundation that will allow the Holy Spirit to empower anything you verbally say to them.

After Your Testimony

Once you have shared your testimony, it may be appropriate to ask your listener for his/her response. Remember there are direct and indirect societies. Moreover, in most non-Western societies, an act of commitment will require the decision of a larger group. You may wish to frame your probing accordingly:

• Does my experience of a personal God make sense in the context of your faith?
• Is an experience such as mine possible in the context of your faith?
• I don't think that my God is a local or Western God. How has he been active in your faith history?

If your friend seems particularly open to what you are saying you may wish to become more direct. Do not be afraid of a direct question. Your friend may be waiting for it. You may wish to ask your friend:

• "Jesus met these (be specific) needs in my life. Do you think he could do the same for you?"
• "Jesus has become my personal friend as well as Savior. Would you like to get acquainted with him also?"
• "Jesus has brought tremendous peace to my mind and life and enables me to cope with life's pressures. Would you like to experience that peace and help also?"

Then What?
If your friend says yes, be prepared to share some short specific "snapshot" stories about Jesus (e.g. the woman at the well, the woman taken in adultery, Jesus with the children, the rich young ruler, the wedding feast, etc.).

If the setting is appropriate, invite your friend to pray with you. The prayer should include something similar to:

• "Jesus, I have just heard about you and this is new to me...."
• "Jesus, I am willing to give you a chance in my life...."
• "Jesus, I want to get to know you better...."
• "Jesus, I invite you into my life and I ask you to help me with...."

Some people are nervous about praying, and they may be afraid that they will say the wrong thing and offend God. You may wish to lead them through a prayer, inviting them to repeat it after you. Here is a sample prayer.

Lord Jesus, I have just heard about you and I want to know you. I want you to take away my faults and failures and accept me as your own child. Please come into my heart and mind, as you have promised, and lead my life in this difficult world. Amen.

Some Helpful Scriptures
Here are some passages of Scriptures that might be helpful to share with your friend(s). Remember that these are offered not on the basis that Scripture is more important than Jesus, but that these are Jesus' own words to his "followers."

• Revelation 3:20 "Behold I stand at the door and knock...."
• John.1:12 "To those who accept me, I give power...."
• John 6:37 "Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me; I will certainly not reject anyone who comes to me."

If Your Friend Hesitates

If your friend hesitates, he or she does not necessarily reject you or Jesus. It may mean that your friend needs more time to think about it, time to talk with others about it, time to be polite in his or her response, or any number of things.

It is important for you to give your friend the opportunity to think about what you have said. It may be very new. It may be totally outside his or her realm of plausibility. If this person is your friend, then you will continue to be a friend and allow time and space for your friend to reflect and begin what may be a lengthy decision-making process.