Elevator Evangelism

^{By Mark Littleton}

Elevator evangelism involves chance opportunities to meet people and share your faith. At the gym. At the supermarket. At the gas station. These are times when you evaluate quickly whether or not a person is receptive to the gospel and then you initiate a conversation that’s designed to share Christ quickly (as in an elevator, hence the name). Here are a few pointers:

1. Think in terms of sharing what God has done in your life and for you, not telling your listener how to be saved. This: “God has been good to me. Why just the other day …” Not this: “Do you want to know how to become a Christian?” You’re telling them a story about what God has done for you. Be sure to make your conversation natural and bring in God as a friend, not a judge.

2. Think in terms of God’s power to turn the conversation into an opportunity, rather than you forcing it into your own little grid. This requires creativity and a sense of risk and adventure.

3. Look for ways of folding Scripture verses into your conversations. That’s what makes memorizing scripture so helpful. You can say something like, “I remember a promise in the Bible that helped me handle this. It says …”

4. Know your two minute testimony that explains how God changed your life. Then be prepared to continue the conversation as the person may ask follow-up questions.

5. “Feel, felt, found” are effective words to remember in developing an effective sharing technique. “Oh, I know how you feel. I felt that exact same way once when …. What I found out was …”

6. Learn to ask open-ended questions. “So what happened next?” or “What were the results?” Then you can respond with, “I’ve seen that. This is how I handled it. I couldn’t have done it without Christ.”

7. Think “divine appointment” with people you meet. When you encounter a person say a quick prayer for the person and for God to create an opportunity for starting a conversation.

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