{"id":24506,"date":"2023-07-12T04:44:35","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T10:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/?post_type=blog&p=24506"},"modified":"2024-12-04T12:57:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T19:57:06","slug":"5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up, people always told me that opportunities to share my faith would just pop up out of nowhere. Believers insinuated that conversations about Christianity and religion were as commonplace as asking if someone prefers vanilla or chocolate ice cream.<\/p>\n

For years, I was convinced people would be enraptured<\/em> by my love, humility and kindness and would come up to me and ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s different about you? I want what you have!\u201d Then I\u2019d have my chance to respond with my perfectly constructed answer of \u201cJesus\u201d and bam!<\/em> \u2014 another person saved.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s rarely the case. For me (and just about everyone else I know), sharing my faith doesn\u2019t happen that way. It is way more complicated and messy.<\/p>\n

When we share our faith, we\u2019re often either too aggressive and \u201cin your face,\u201d or we\u2019re much too passive for fear of being perceived as judgmental or awkward.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re stuck on one side of the coin or somewhere in between, I\u2019ve found a few things that might help you navigate how to intentionally share your faith with love and discernment.<\/p>\n

1. Stop caring about what people think.<\/h4>\n

This might be a no-brainer for some, but it\u2019s something I need to be constantly reminded of. Some people are going to think what you believe is weird \u2014 you\u2019ve got to be prepared for that and be OK with it.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, in the United States, we have freedom to believe and practice Christianity without fear of governmental backlash. But that doesn\u2019t mean people won\u2019t still judge us for what we believe.<\/p>\n

If I believe that Jesus saved humanity from the sting of death, then I think I can produce enough girth to not be ashamed of whom I put my daily trust and faith in.<\/p>\n

2. Before you speak, act with kindness and love.<\/h4>\n

Yes, the Bible is pretty clear when it says to literally tell people about the goodness of Jesus, but an excellent way to start that conversation is by first extending love. Even to the people who think you\u2019re weird.<\/p>\n

You cannot control how someone else acts \u2014 but you can control your response. You can abstain from office gossip. Or when someone is bashing a family member, friend or co-worker, you can acknowledge that person\u2019s frustration but then throw in a good note or mention a positive quality that person has.<\/p>\n

Uplift and speak kindly. When you\u2019re in a difficult work setting, it\u2019s not as easy as it sounds \u2014 trust me, I get it. Show love when your knee-jerk reaction is quite the opposite because that\u2019s what Jesus would do.<\/p>\n

3. Focus on what you believe and why you still believe it\u2019s true.<\/h4>\n

People love to hear and live through other people\u2019s experiences. We\u2019re wired to be empathetic and curious.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t feel like you have to hold the Bible out in front of you and robotically regurgitate Scripture. Jesus affects people in different ways, and each of us have our own conversion story \u2014 share yours!<\/p>\n

Make it relevant to your daily life. Talk about what has kept you believing in a sovereign God through all of the mass shootings, natural disasters and deaths of family members. Share why it is that you believe<\/a> what you believe. Personal anecdotes can go a long way.<\/p>\n

4. Stop speaking Christianese to unbelievers.<\/h4>\n

You know exactly what I mean. I\u2019ve seen Christians speak in a way that just confuses people who don\u2019t believe.<\/p>\n

Paul says, \u201cI have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.\u00a0<\/sup>I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings\u201d (1 Corinthians 9:22-23<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I imagine he didn\u2019t mean you should drastically change your personality depending on who you\u2019re around. But I do think he\u2019s saying to cater your language a bit to fit who you\u2019re hanging out with. I wouldn\u2019t speak to my professor using the same exact phrasing I would to talk with my sister or husband.<\/p>\n

Often in American Christian culture, we\u2019ve added all these unnecessary layers of language when we talk about God. It\u2019s as if we believe embellishing our words will make us seem more spiritual in God\u2019s eyes or something. But when we do that, we also confuse people.<\/p>\n

For example, rather than saying, \u201cGod laid it on my heart to pray for you,\u201d you might be able to say, \u201cHey, do you mind if I pray for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Words are powerful and important \u2014 but we don\u2019t need to constantly enhance what we say every time we talk about Jesus. Keep it simple.<\/p>\n

5. Some people just won\u2019t get it, and you can\u2019t dwell on that.<\/h4>\n

Christians believing in a triune God who is sovereign over all and gives wisdom and direction through holy Scripture written thousands of years ago that\u2019s still relevant today \u2014 that\u2019s a hard thing for some people to get.<\/p>\n

And some people just won\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t lose hope and never stop praying. But remember that some people will never know Jesus. You can\u2019t change hearts, only God can do that. It\u2019s your job to extend love and plant seeds of truth.<\/p>\n

Sharing your faith might not be as simple as choosing your favorite ice cream flavor, but it also shouldn\u2019t be overly complex either. Don\u2019t wait for someone to come up to you and ask, \u201cWhat\u2019s different about you?\u201d to start sharing Jesus with people. Because chances are, that\u2019s not going to happen that often.<\/p>\n

Be yourself, be kind and speak truth in love. That\u2019s not always easy to do, but the best way to tell people about Jesus is to display his character. Like my pastor often says, \u201cDon\u2019t just talk about it \u2014 be about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2018 Dani Fitzgerald Brown. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t lose hope and never stop praying. You can\u2019t change hearts, only God can do that. It\u2019s your job to extend love and plant seeds of truth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":42233,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24506","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sharing-your-faith"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith - Boundless<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You can share your faith, but you can\u2019t change hearts. Only God can do that. It\u2019s your job to extend love and plant seeds of truth.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Don\u2019t lose hope and never stop praying. You can\u2019t change hearts, only God can do that. It\u2019s your job to extend love and plant seeds of truth.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boundless\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/boundless.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-04T19:57:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/iStock-862201618-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"854\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Don\u2019t lose hope and never stop praying. You can\u2019t change hearts, only God can do that. It\u2019s your job to extend love and plant seeds of truth.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/iStock-862201618-1.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/\",\"name\":\"5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith - Boundless\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith-6750b39946a5a.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-12T10:44:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-04T19:57:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"You can share your faith, but you can\u2019t change hearts. Only God can do that. It\u2019s your job to extend love and plant seeds of truth.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith-6750b39946a5a.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith-6750b39946a5a.webp\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"people holding \\\"thought bubbles,\\\" share faith\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog Posts\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/\",\"name\":\"Boundless\",\"description\":\"Find your place. Focus your future.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Boundless\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/boundless-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/boundless-logo.png\",\"width\":1201,\"height\":289,\"caption\":\"Boundless\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/boundless.org\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith - Boundless","description":"You can share your faith, but you can\u2019t change hearts. Only God can do that. It\u2019s your job to extend love and plant seeds of truth.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith","og_description":"Don\u2019t lose hope and never stop praying. You can\u2019t change hearts, only God can do that. It\u2019s your job to extend love and plant seeds of truth.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/","og_site_name":"Boundless","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/boundless.org","article_modified_time":"2024-12-04T19:57:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":854,"url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/iStock-862201618-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith","twitter_description":"Don\u2019t lose hope and never stop praying. You can\u2019t change hearts, only God can do that. It\u2019s your job to extend love and plant seeds of truth.","twitter_image":"http:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/iStock-862201618-1.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/","url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/","name":"5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith - Boundless","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith-6750b39946a5a.webp","datePublished":"2023-07-12T10:44:35+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-04T19:57:06+00:00","description":"You can share your faith, but you can\u2019t change hearts. Only God can do that. It\u2019s your job to extend love and plant seeds of truth.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith-6750b39946a5a.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith-6750b39946a5a.webp","width":1500,"height":1000,"caption":"people holding \"thought bubbles,\" share faith"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/5-tips-for-sharing-your-faith\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog Posts","item":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Tips for Sharing Your Faith"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/","name":"Boundless","description":"Find your place. Focus your future.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#organization","name":"Boundless","url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/boundless-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/boundless-logo.png","width":1201,"height":289,"caption":"Boundless"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/boundless.org"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/24506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blog"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/70"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog\/24506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}