2 St. Patrick's Day Evangelism Ideas

Happy St. Patrick's day! Idea #1 - I just received an e-mail from Global Short Film Networks. They encouraged us to share the video below on social media, asking people what they would do if they could be so "lucky?" You can get the link for this video and do that yourself here: http://www.globalshortfilmnetwork.com/ctrl-z-p-4-c-8.html. You can see some of our videos on using these tools here. After sharing the video, begin working through the sound barriers to share your faith. Idea #2 - Tell the true story of St. Patrick! You can get that here. St. Patrick went from slavery in Ireland to abolishing slavery there and leading much of that Island to Christ. He was one of the first successful missionaries and a tremendous figure. Definitely check out the history of St. Patrick for more on his evangelism strategy. I hope you have a great St. Patrick's day and I hope you get to share your faith today! 

On a side note, CJ (of Patrick Crossing) is going to be on the radio today, on KSUT, 91.3 fm today at noon and he and his band will be playing at the Irish Embassy starting at 5 pm. 

Create a facebook ad to share your faith!

A quick idea for evangelism is to make a facebook ad for your area. Just type "ads" in the search box on facebook or click "create ad" which appears above other ads you'll see on your profile. When you create the ad you can target specific ages and audiences, for example, your city, neighborhood, school, etc. You won't have much space so you can't write much. Write something that will expose the general concept of the gospel and then link that to  a website or blog where people can find more. You can pay per click or per 1,000 views; either way it is relatively inexpensive (~$1 / 1,000 views). The picture above is our ad for Connect, our weekly meeting this week. I tried to strategically include the part about "Jesus' love, forgiveness and life" as an intro to the gospel. Hope this idea helps you reach thousands in your area! 

18 Creative ways to reach your workplace for Christ

For many, the workplace is the sphere of influence God has strategically placed them in to make Him known! It is not a ministry to be shunned but rather a purpose to be embraced. You have an unbelievable opportunity to reach the people you work with every day for Christ. Your daily good attitude and Christlikeness will show them Christ in a way few will ever see. 

That being said, here are a few practical workplace evangelism ideas. I hope you have a blast trusting God to use you in big ways at the office (or wherever you work) and I really hope these ideas help!

1. Put something on your door and/or walls that will point to Christ; then be ready to share when people ask. Make sure to change it up every so often to keep the conversations happening. While I was working in the office world I put the Passion of the Christ poster up (it was showing then) and it started a ton of conversations. 

2. Talk good about your spouse. People will notice and ask why. Seriously, people can hardly believe it when you talk up your spouse and it is a great opportunity to tell them about the reason for your great relationship - Jesus!

3. Communicate your sense of purpose. Every Monday my co-workers would say, “another day another dollar” or something like that. Communicate your passion for serving God both at work and while away and you’ll find yourself sharing the reason for that purpose very often. Click here for more thoughts on that!

4. Talk good about your co-workers and boss. Avoiding the workplace gossip mill will speak volumes about your character and bring up opportunities to talk about why you respect those individuals. 

5. Pray before your meals - it will get peoples’ attention and lead to evangelistic conversations.

6. Walk in integrity. Work hard. Don’t cheat. Don't live a hypocritical life. Once, some of my co-workers tried to get me to go to a strip bar. I wouldn't join them and it opened up a great opportunity to share why. Your Christ-like behavior will definitely point to Jesus - just make sure to speak the gospel as well (1 Peter 2:12). 

7. Serve in your workplace. Replace the water, carpool to work, make coffee, clean messes, carry heavy loads, get the mail, etc. Basically, be the person in your office that does the small things that no one else will. It will speak volumes. 

8. Start a lunch time Bible study. You could even do an evangelistic Bible study and invite your co-workers to join you. Get a great example here. 

9. Keep a Bible on your desk or in view wherever you happen to work. While in college, a co-worker at a snowboard shop saw my Bible and began asking about it. She put her trust in Christ, in tears, that night. She then brought her boyfriend to church, introduced him to me and he also became a Christian. Your Bible will open up a ton of conversations. 

10. Wear a Christian t-shirt with an evangelistic message on casual fridays or whenever your job provides an opportunity for that. If that isn’t an option, wear a Christian bracelet or something that could spark a conversation. Check out more on that here. 

11. Be there to talk when co-workers are going through tough times and situations. Be relatable. Ask how people are doing. Take a genuine interest in their lives. Then, share the hope you have with them. 

12. Listen to Christian radio and/or messages in the office, car or wherever people will have a chance to overhear you. 

13. Invite your co-workers to church or some other Christian events where they will hear the gospel. Get more on that here. 

14. Bring Christ into conversations you're already having at work. Get more thoughts and teaching on this here and more here. Just use transition questions to work through the sound barriers to bring conversations about sports, movies, music, news or other issues back to Christ. 

15. Ask how you can pray for a co-worker. Get more on that here. 

16. Brag on God: Tell your co-workers what God has done and is doing in your life. Check out Brag on God Fridays on beholdingglory.com. Share your testimony with your coworkers. 

17. Give evangelistic gifts and/or cards at Christmas parties, going away parties and other celebrations. Get more on that here. This is one of our Christmas evangelism ideas. 

18. Put a verse or Christian quote on the signature portion of your workplace e-mails. People put all sorts of junk in their signatures - why not use that as an opportunity to share. You could also try some of the internet evangelism ideas we've shared in your workplace. Check those out here. 

The bottom line: if you're willing, God will open up huge opportunities for you to share Christ with your co-workers. Be respectful but do take the initiative! Love them like Christ does and they won't be able to wait to talk to you about Him! Have a blast reaching your sphere of influence for Christ! 

Gas Station Evangelism

Today I was standing in line at the gas station, waiting to buy a drink, when I started thinking about how to get into a conversation about Christ with the ladies at the cash register. I was in town but near where a friend has a church so I thought I would try using something similar to the "ask about church" idea. I asked if they had ever heard of the church my friend pastors in the area to which one of the ladies responded, "Yes! I go there every once in a while." I turned to her co-worker "T" and asked, "what about you, what's been your experience with Christianity?" She said, "I really don't know. My grandparents took me to church a few times but I still haven't figured out what I believe." I asked if her reservations about faith had more to do with a lack of evidence or questions about things that happen in life. She said it was the life questions she was dealing with. I shared a few resources with her and encouraged her to keep searching and then left the station (my wife and daughters were waiting outside). I was amazed at how simple it was to get into a conversation about Christ. It just took a little initiative. I was also blown away at how quickly these 2 young ladies were ready to talk about Christ. It wasn't awkward at all. The harvest really is ripe and people really are interested in the hope you have to share! It was definitely a more conversational approach than the quick, "Jesus loves you" tactic that works in quick opportunities like that (check that out below). If you've never tried the "ask about church" idea give it a shot and have a blast when you do!

6 Ways to Reach Your Neighbors for Christ

It is always hard thinking of ways to share your faith with your neighbors and it seems my neighbors have typically been the group of people I have been least effective at reaching out to. I want to be more intentional about sharing with them and thought I'd share a few ideas I'll be trying soon, with you. I hope you get a chance to try some of these as well. Here are 6 ways you can share your faith with your neighbors. 

1. Host a pot luck or BBQ and invite the neighbors over. Play christian music in the background (KLOVE is a good choice) and be intentional about working through the sound barriers. 

2. Invite your neighbors to enjoy something special you have that they may not. You might invite them to watch a big game on your big screen TV, swim in your pool, let their kids play in your back yard or borrow your tools. The main idea is to use what God has given you to bless them and then be intentional about sharing the Good News with them as well. We were just given a hot tub and can't wait to invite neighbors over to sit in the hot tub with us!!!

3. Pray for a need they have. Whether it is a health problem, a financial need or whatever, ask your neighbors if you can pray for them. This will open up an obvious opportunity to share with them. 

4. Help them with a need they have. You could water or mow their yard, shovel their snow, help them cover a bill, give them a ride or find any number of ways to serve them, opening a door to share with them too. Get more servant evangelism ideas here. 

5. Give them a Christ centered gift (for Christmas, birthdays or just for fun). Books are a good idea. Get more ideas on gifts by clicking here. 

6. Invite them to church. Inviting your neighbors to church will bring up a conversation about Christ regardless of whether or not they come, and maybe they will! Here are some ideas on inviting friends to church. 

Well, those are just 6 ways to share Christ with your neighbors. Have you tried these? If so, what happened? Do you have other ideas? If so, please share them with us. I hope these ideas encourage you to reach the sphere of influence called your neighborhood that God has strategically placed you in! Have a great time sharing your faith this week!

QR Code Evangelism

You've seen them, the weird, square bar code things (pictured above). They're actually called QR codes if you didn't know and they are a neat way to share info with the growing smartphone owning population. You can scan these with a QR code scanning app. I have the free QRReader app for my Iphone. You simply download the app onto your phone, then open it and scan the QR code and it will send you to whatever the code is linked to. In this case (the picture above) it is linked to everystudent.com, a great evangelistic site (go ahead and try scanning this picture and you'll figure out what I'm talking about). So that's where I'm going with this, why not use this media trend to share the Good News?

It is simple. Find an evangelistic site you would like to share with non-christians (here are a few possibilities) or write a note on your blog and copy the URL for whatever website you choose to use and paste it into the "Enter URL" section at quickqr.com. Then click the "Generate Code" button.

That will produce a .png image of your QR code that will direct anyone that scans it to the evangelistic site you choose. You could then upload that to facebook, other social media, e-mails or just print it off with a little note that you could leave around town. You could try to come up with creative ways to get people to scan it - like saying, "answers to life's questions" and then the picture of the QR code.

Whatever you do, this is one more simple way to share your faith. Why not give it a shot? Let me know what you think and how it works for you! Here's my example:

Father's Day Evangelism Idea

This Father's day, get into a great conversation about Christ by asking someone what they love most about Father's day or how they plan to celebrate father's day. From there you can ask them what they think are the characteristics of a perfect father. You could begin working through the sound barriers from there also including other questions about fathers. As you transition, you can transition to the fatherly characteristics of God and help them see their heavenly father as the only perfect father. You could also, if it is appropriate, ask them what they would have changes about their earthly dads if they could have changed anything. You can tell them that only God can meet those needs and continue sharing from there. I hope you have a wonderful father's day and I hope you'll get a chance to share with someone using this idea today! Get the God Solution Father's Day show here or listen below!

Evangelism Idea: Share on a Bus!!!

This is a really simple idea. Share on a bus! I was recently riding on my dad's bus and had numerous conversations about Christ and was amazed by the number of people he had been sharing with as well. It is very easy to meet someone by saying "hi" when they or you first get on the bus. From there you can quickly start a conversation and begin transitioning through the sound barriers. Usually, you'll have a captive audience long enough to share your testimony and/or go through a gospel presentation. It also seems that many of the people you'll find on the bus will be down and out and seriously needing prayer and encouragement. You'll undoubtedly have opportunities to pray for them as well. This is a super easy way to practice sharing your faith. Just head to the bus station, pray, get on a bus, and go for it! As Bill Bright would say, "Take the initiative in the power of the Holy Spirit and then trust the results to God!"

I never dreamed the gospel could be shared through my blog by the "founder of the Monmouth County Broom and Brew, the sisterhood triple goddess coven" or featured to 6 million other blogging moms. So when I first heard of the Circle of the Top 25 contest I immediately ruled it out. Curiosity motivated me to glace at the other blogs in the contest where I saw the most high traffic blogs I know of. I thought, "No way, I would make a total fool of myself if I entered..." Read the rest of the story here.

Entering your blog in a contest will widen your audience and allow you to reach into the minds of "pagan witches" like the one talked about above. What a great opportunity for them to hear the gospel as you share what God has done in your life through your blog.

Would you take second to vote here. Just click the link, scroll down till you see my picture and vote. Thanks!

End of the World?

6 out of the top 10 google searches are related to the end of the world. What a great opportunity to get into spiritual discussions with friends.

Just a couple simple questions could lead you easily into the gospel: What do you think about the end of the world? What do you think the Bible says? Where do you think you would go? Why?


Then you can transition into sharing the gospel by saying something like, "Do you want to know what God told us about how to be forgiven/go to heaven?"

Check out my blog as a way to use the internet and this topic to lead into the gospel. Beholding Glory

Step out and trust God and see how He comes through.

Laura

The Story - A great new tool!

Just found an great new resource! Thanks Laura Krokos for the heads up. Check it out by clicking the image below! This is a great and easy way to share your faith online - just click the share link in the upper right hand corner of the page (after you click the icon below) and you'll be able to post it to facebook or any of your social media!

What's in a name? An evangelism opportunity!

What's in a name? An opportunity to share the gospel!!! Seriously, every name presents an opportunity for the gospel. This evangelism idea is so easy and it is a great way to get started working through the sound barriers! Simply ask someone you meet what their name is. Then (quickly), try to think of someone that has influenced you for Christ with that same name. Tell your new friend you have a friend with their same name. Continue from there to share who that friend is and what their influence on you has been. This friend could be a pastor, mentor, encourager or just a friend from church. The bottom line is that as soon as you tell them about this friend and their influence on you, you can begin transitioning into a conversation about Christ by asking what their experience has been with Christianity.  Check out the 4th story (about Chuck) in this post for an example. Well, I hope you enjoy applying this simple evangelism idea!

Evangelism Idea: Share a Verse!

God's Word is powerful and God's Word always changes peoples' hearts and minds! We often make the mistake of trying to share the Gospel without actually going to scripture. We can also believe the lie that people won't appreciate scripture until they know Christ. So here's an evangelism challenge: look for opportunities to share a verse with people you cross paths with! You could share a verse that God has been using in your life and tell a non-Christian friend or co-worker what you've been learning. You could share an encouraging verse with a non-Christian friend or co-worker that is going through a hard time. You could post a verse on facebook. You could also transition to a verse in conversation with a stranger and see where that leads. I did this the other day and it wasn't awkward at all. I got up to the line at Walmart and saw a gentleman waiting. I asked him, "are you in line?" He said, "no, just looking for my wife." I immediately responded, "I don't know whether you've ever read the Bible but the Bible says he who finds a wife finds a good thing." The man laughed and responded, "well I hope when I find her she doesn't have too much in her cart." At that point the line opened up and, being in a hurry, I had to go. I didn't get to go further in that conversation but realized how easily that fun verse transitioned the conversation to a spiritual conversation! Whether you're bringing up a verse with a stranger, co-worker, neighbor, friend or relative, sharing God's Word with people is always a good way to get into a spiritual conversation! 

There is a student that has been coming by to get a random verse from me in the cafeteria on a very regular basis the last few years (It was great seeing you in church yesterday Stephen!!!). Once he asked me for a random verse and the random verse I opened up to had to do with salvation. That opened up into a conversation about the gospel and a lot more verses. About a week later another guy I had met a time or two came up and told me, "you remember how you were talking to that other student about receiving Christ last week?" I said, "yes." He continued, "I've always been spiritual and have always watched church services on TV every Sunday but something was always missing. As I eavesdropped on your conversation last week I realized the thing that was missing was receiving Christ. I had never done what you were talking about so I took that step last week. Thank you for sharing that verse with that other student." Wow!!! That amazing story would never have happened if I hadn't been applying this idea. 

So the challenge for today, bring up a verse in some conversation you are having and see where it leads! Have a great day!

Easter Evangelism Idea - Bake Cookies!

To celebrate Easter this week, why not bake some cookies with a friend?

When I was in high school, I desperately wanted someone to tell me about Jesus. I remember hoping that someone would invite me to youth group because it sounded so fun. There was also a group of Christians that went to lunch every week together. I would say things like "That sounds so fun!" or comment on how much I loved the restaurant where they were going, but nobody ever invited me. I even found this recipe for cookies that talk about Jesus and asked someone who I knew was a Christian to bake them with me hoping I could finally know what it was all about.

So why not make cookies with a friend this weekend? Not only do you get a yummy treat, but while the cookies are baking and cooling you have plenty of time to break through some sound barriers and share the gospel.

One great idea comes from Sasha at Lemonade Makin' Mama for Resurrection Cookies. These yummy cookies (the same ones I made with my friend in high school) are made with meringue and pecans. They bake overnight so are great for your family (a way to explain Jesus to your kids) or for a sleepover. If you don't have overnight you can bake them at 275 for 3 or 4 hours until they dry out.

Each step is associated with a Bible verse and describes the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Hop on over to her blog for the recipe!

Another great idea (especially for kids) are the Resurrection Rolls from Quit Eating Out. They rolls are so easy and are made with things you probably have on hand! Crescent rolls, marshmallows, butter and cinnamon sugar are all that it takes to make a powerful picture of Jesus and the empty tomb.

So head on over to Kim's blog and make these rolls! (I'm telling you these are AWESOME!)

Get more Easter evangelism ideas here.


"Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him" Psalm 34:8

Evangelism Idea: Share with a Facebook Ad!

Sharing your faith with a large number of people has never been easier! Go to the facebook ads page here for answers to questions you may have to get started. Create an ad for your ministry, church, website or blog by going to the create ad page here. You will pay around $1.00 per click on your ad but can set the limit you're willing to pay per day (ex. $10 / day). For every click there are usually thousands of impressions (people that see your ad but don't click it). That means for every dollar you spend thousands more will get a quick view of the gospel. Carefully select specific demographic conditions to target your ad to specific audiences (ex. college students in your city). Make sure to use your 25 character title to portray the big picture of the gospel in a unique way (example: Jesus loves you!!!) and then summarize the gospel and your link in the next 135 characters. You probably won't be able to afford to run this forever but for a short time period you can reach a large audience with the gospel and a link to your ministry. I hope you get a chance to try this idea and the many more we've posted!

How to Share the Gospel in a Conversation About Music.

Our society is addicted to music! So how can you get to the gospel from a conversation about music? Simple! Follow these 3 easy steps. 1) If your favorite band or musician is Christian than share that in a conversation about music. It is a very simple way to bring Christ into the conversation. Check out this interview with U2's Bono! Back in college I was a huge punk rock fan and took ever opportunity I could in conversations about music to bring up some of my favorite bands. This always opened up into a conversation about Christ! 2) Do the artist or bands in the discussion have any lyrics that could get back to the gospel? Mention those, even if they're negative, and then work through the sound barriers. I also used to like the Smashing Pumpkins and would often bring up one of their lyrics which said, "Emptiness is lonliness and lonliness is cleanliness and cleanliness is godliness and God is empty just like me." I would then use that terrible line to ask whoever I was talking to what they thought and then transition to the gospel from there. Even if the lyrics are terrible, they may still provide a way to bring up the gospel. 3) Do the artists or bands being discussed address any social, moral or historical issues that you could bring a Christian perspective to? Look for opportunities to discuss your faith when talking about music with an important message.

Those are just a few ways to get to the gospel from any music you happen to be talking about. Please share any other ideas you have by commenting on this post!

Evangelism Idea: Flash Mob!

You've probably all heard of flash mobs. Usually they are a form of social artistic expression but why not use this cultural trend as a way to share your faith? All you need is a few crazy friends and a crowded place. We did this with 1,000 college students in Denver, on the 16th street mall, New Year's Eve. It was a blast and we were able to share the gospel with hundreds of people (and Malcolm and Leah got to lead a guy to Christ!). Please check out the story and video by clicking here. The idea is fairly simple, get a group of friends together. Decide where you're going to go and what you'll do (you could freeze, sing or do something out of the ordinary that will get peoples' attention - make sure whatever you do is legal). Set your cell phones to vibrate and set all your alarms for the same time. Then spread out and when your phone goes off, do what you planned. You'll probably get a lot of peoples' attention and that will inevitably result in numerous conversations afterwards. Then be ready to work through the sound barriers and share the Good News! Check out a few flash mob examples below. Have a great day!

Jesus, Atheists, Love and Football - February's Top Posts!

Below are the top 5 posts from February! I hope these encourage you a ton!

1. 532 words Jesus Died to Tell You!

2. The Top 10 Ways to Reach Atheists for Christ.

3. 88 Easy Ways to Share Your Faith! (this has several new ideas & duplicates were removed)

4. Love is in the Air: Valentine's Survival Tips!!!

5. Way to go Greg Jennings!!!

Having grown up an MK all around the world I am always excited about what God is doing around the globe. More than 80 countries have read this blog: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Guam, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iran, Ireland, Italy, India, Isle of Man, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal, the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Quatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US, Venezuela, Vietnam and others. If you live in any of those countries, please comment on this post and let us know what God is doing in your part of the world. Thanks!

The Top 10 Ways to Reach Atheists for Christ

All of us have "atheist" friends. Most of my atheist friends are too smart to flat out call themselves atheists (they recognize the logical fallacy) so they say they are philosophical agnostics but practicing atheists. That doesn't seem any better to me. If atheism is a logical fallacy why should living your life according to a logical fallacy be any smarter than stating the fallacy in the first place? Regardless, I have nothing but the highest respect for many of these atheist friends. There are always some that lack intellectual integrity and are belligerent in their discussion of these issues but more often than not, I find them to be fun, thought provoking and interesting people that I consider friends. One of the smartest people I've ever known, a friend who I've debated numerous times, whose intellect I respect but whose conclusions I disagree with recently posted a link on my Facebook wall titled The Top 10 Tips for Reaching Out to Atheists. It is a funny post and no doubt gives good perspective from that side of the spectrum. Here are a few pointers I would suggest for all of you that want to reach out to your atheist friends.

1. Take the initiative and don't freak out!!! You're faith isn't based on a leap but rather on a confident step. There is a foundation of logic, empirical data, evidence and history that make your position the only logical position. The bottom line: if your atheist friend is objective they will have to be open to the evidence, if they are not, if they are ideologically motivated, you won't change their mind. Either way, all you need to do is confidently share the evidence, live what you preach (hypocrites turn everyone off, including atheists) and beware of smokescreens - I've often found that atheists claim to be so as a smokescreen. Just take the initiative to engage your atheist friend in discussion. Ask them out to coffee and a discussion, give them to a book reading challenge or even debate them publicly (but know your stuff first if you want to take that approach). Whatever you do, don't cower in the corner of Christian insecurity, take the initiative to discuss the issues.

2. Know what you're talking about. As a Christian, I feel embarrassed by weak and unintelligent answers many Christians give in discussions with atheists. An example: "If evolution is true why do we still have monkeys?" Every time I hear that question thrown out I am appalled at the misunderstanding of the theory of evolution the debater exhibits. If you're going into a discussion of this type please, know what you're talking about or at least be committed to learning. A great place to start is "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist." You should also check out our apologetics page for some great links.

3. Base your argument on data and logic. Don't be afraid of science. Don't fall into the "The Bible is true because it says so" trap. That only works if they already believe the Bible and they don't so don't take that approach. Atheists have tried, without success, for hundreds of years to destroy the Christian faith. They haven't managed to. The arguments are solidly in your favor - know them! Give them reasons to believe. Get some of those reasons here or check out the MP3 below. Do your best to speak their language - evidence. Avoid "Christianese." Another quick note, if they do claim to be an atheist, make sure to inform them atheism is a logical fallacy. If they recognize that and claim, like my friends, to be a philosophical agnostic but a practicing atheist, ask them why living their life according to a logical fallacy is any smarter than stating the fallacy in the first place. Finally, make them use data and logic too. Don't tolerate the atheist's favorite trick, the Ad Hominem attack!

4. Use statistics and don't let them get out of stats. I love sharing stats when I can. Stats like those that show the impossibility of chemical evolution and the formation of the first cell out of a primordial soup. I share some of those stats in this presentation:

Anyway, whenever we'd bring up those stats in a debate the Atheists would always just say, "it could happen." That's not science.

5. Thank God for the Big Bang! Talking about the science, thank God for the Big Bang. The Big Bang is a reality! We can take pictures of it, mathematically prove it and measure its after radiation. Christian's that fight against the big bang are not being intelligent. The big bang is proof that the Universe began and proof that a supernatural explanation for the Universe is necessary. Noted Atheists are coming to that same conclusion (example: Antony Flew - but poor guy, his atheist "friends" called him crazy when he saw the light - they always like that powerful Ad Hominem attack. I'll be expecting a few of those types of genius comments at the end of this post). Stick to cosmology and don't get into a debate about the age of the earth - it will get you nowhere and it will distract from the main issue. Genesis 1 describes the astronomical reality of the universe in a way that confirms Divine Revelation.

6. Don't forget the history and archeology. There are 10 1st Century historical references to Jesus and only 9 for Tiberius Caesar. The book of Acts has 84 archeologically and historically confirmed statements. The manuscript evidence for the New Testament is mind boggling. And before you say, "Bart Ehrman," check out this post by Ben Witherington. The fact is, you have every reason to trust the historical reliability of everything you read in scripture. Share the reasons why.

7. Call them out on their autophagic statements. Here are 12 examples of statements that eat themselves up that you hear all the time. These examples are quoted from Micahel Bauman, Greg Koukl and others. "Everything is relative." If that statement is relative, everything isn’t relative.
 "There is no truth." If that statement is true, it's false. "There are no absolutes." Ask them if that statement is absolutely true?
 "There is no right or wrong." If that statement is true, it's wrong. "No one can know any truth about religion." And how, precisely, did you come to know that truth about religion?
 "Science is the only sure method of finding truth." Oh? What scientific experiment taught you that truth?
 "You can't know anything for sure." Can you know that for sure?
 "Talking about God is meaningless." That would include the statement itself. 
"All religions are true." If all religions are true, then Christianity is true. But part of the truth of Christianity is that other religions are false. Either Christianity is correct and others are false, or some other view is true and Christianity is false. Either way, all religions can't be true.
 "You can only know truth through experience." What experienced led you to that truth?
 "Don't push your values on me." Aren’t you pushing that value on me? Don’t tolerate intolerance. 
"Whose to say." That's an Ad-hominem attack! Whose to ask?

8. Discuss moral objectivity. They know right and wrong. Put them on the spot. Discuss the lie that Christians have caused all the world's problems. Get some great perspective on that in "What's so Great About Christianity." No matter what, make them say something stupid. In our debate, posted below, I asked one of our atheist friends if morality wasn't objective would he be OK with me shoving a long knife through his stomach. He replied that he would find it unpleasant but couldn't say it was wrong. I'm not sure if we caught that on the recording (I started it a bit late into the debate) but it was just the kind of statement you want them to make.

9. Ask lots of questions. Don't give them an intellectual free pass. Don't let them off the hook! Be nice but go after them. Ask questions that will put them on the defensive. Read Tactics for more great points on asking questions. Don't interrupt (give them enough rope to hang themselves so to say).

10. Keep the discussion going and going in the right direction. Give them good books to read (You could give them either of the 2 mentioned previously in this post or God is Good, God is Great, Evidence for God or Contending with Christianity's Critics). Don't presume to know everything. Love them. Don't be a jerk! Gregory Koukl writes in Tactics, "Jesus' teaching made some people furious. Just make sure it's your ideas that offend and not you, that your beliefs cause the dispute and not your behavior." Don't take offense at their disparaging comments about God. Pray for them. And finally, keep the discussion focused on the main issue. Jesus! He alone has the answers and He alone is working in your friend's heart (that's typically, in this case, more the issue than the head). Trust Him. Do your best to love your friend and don't back down from sharing the only Good News! Hell is real and they need THE Savior.

I wish I could have spent more time on this. I hope these ideas help. Please share any ideas you have as a comment to this post! Thanks for reading and have a blast sharing your faith, even with atheists! Finally, check out one of our debates with our atheist friends below.

4 Unique Evangelistic Events

Check out these different ways to share your faith through events.

1. Host an Open Discussion

2. Invite a Few Friends to go Witnessing After Church.

3. Host a Half Night of Prayer.

4. Flash Mob Evangelism!