One reason people don’t share their faith with their loved ones and friends is that they don’t know how to present the truth clearly.  If someone asked you how to “follow Jesus,” “become a Christian,” “accept Jesus’ gift,” or any of the other phrases we use to mean saying “yes” to Jesus, how would you answer?  Do you know how to help people understand their need for salvation, to invite them into eternal relationship with Jesus, and how to pray with them to make that decision?

If your answer is “no,” today’s the day to learn!  There are MANY ways to tell people the truth about Jesus, but here is a very simple way.  I was trained at a Dare2Share event years ago and made a simplified and adapted version of the training on a bookmark that I still hand to students when I am presenting the Gospel (Good News about Jesus) to them.  Here’s what the bookmark says:

God loves you.

God created us to be with Him.  “Then God said, ‘Let us make (people) in our image, to be like ourselves…’” Genesis 1:26

 We have all sinned (done wrong things).  “For all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard.”  Romans 3:23

 Our sins separate us from God.  “”Now the Lord observed the extent of the people’s wickedness, and He saw that all their thoughts were consistently and  totally evil. So the Lord was sorry He had ever made them. It broke His heart.” Genesis 6:5-6

 Sins can’t be removed by our good deeds and must be punished with death.

“God (saves) you by His special favor when you (believe).  And you can’t take credit for this ; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”  Ephesians 2:8-9

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23

 God loves us and wants to be with us, so He sent Jesus to earth.  Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

“I passed on to you what was most important and what had been passed on to me – that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.  He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

 Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone has eternal life and will be with Him forever. “” I assure you, anyone who believes in Me already has eternal life.”  (Jesus’ words) John 6:47

“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

The next time I ask someone if they have ever said “YES” to Jesus’ gift and they say no.  I will ask if I can tell them about His gift and when given a positive answer, I will walk that person through these truths.  Then I will say something like, “Now you know the truth about the gift of life now and eternal life with God through Jesus, you are accountable to make a decision about what you will do with this gift.  You can accept His gift and start a relationship with Him right now. You can do this by telling God you believe He raised Jesus from the grave and that you want Him to be in charge of your life (Romans 10:9-10).  When you make decision to follow Him and tell Him you believe, you will never have to wonder what will happen to you when you die.  You can know for certain that you will spend eternity with Jesus. Would you like to start a relationship with Jesus right now?”

I will explain that praying is just thinking thoughts or saying words aloud to God and that He hears us every time we speak to Him.  I will offer to say a prayer s/he can repeat after me or to stay with him/her as s/he tells God what s/he believes and as the commitment is made.

After our new brother or sister in Christ has experienced the re-birth that comes from this most important decision, I will celebrate by letting him/her know that Luke 15:10 says,”… there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”  This means there is a party happening RIGHT NOW in heaven about this decision!

There is another resource I created for children and students who accept Christ’s gift to help them process and take the next steps to grow in their relationship with Jesus.  We call it the “What Now?” card. Here’s what it says:

You just started a relationship with Jesus, so now what?

When you make friends with anyone, you spend time getting to know them.  It’s the same way with getting to know Jesus. You spend time getting to know Him.  You can get to know Him by…

• talking to Him.  We call this prayer.  It’s like thinking thoughts to Him in your mind.  He hears you when you pray (Jeremiah 29:12). You can also talk to Him out loud by yourself or with other people.  You can talk to Him about anything, anytime! He’s always there with you (Matthew 28:20)!
• learning about Him.  You do this by reading the Bible.  It is full of stories of God showing His love for people.  The first four books in the New Testament are different people’s stories about Jesus and His time loving people on earth.  The book of Mark is a good book to start reading to learn more about Jesus.
• spending time with others who love Him.  We go to church to spend time focusing on God and to encourage other people who love Him.  You will hear lots of stories about God and those who love Him and have fun learning about how to know Jesus more.

People who have a friendship with Jesus are called “Christians” which means follower of Jesus Christ.  Now that you are a Christian, you have the BEST example to follow of how to love other people better and how to make good choices in Jesus.  It’s important to tell your parents and other people who love you about your decision to be friends with Jesus so they can help and encourage you in your friendship with Him.

Churches exist to give people a place to learn more about God and worship Him with others who believe.  It’s a place to grow in our relationship with God and learn about how He wants us to love others. If you ever have questions about being a Christian or anything else, please feel free to ask.  Also, if you don’t have a Bible of your own, please let us know so we can make sure you get one.

If you aren’t able to go to church or spend time with other Christians, a good place to start learning more about Jesus is:  www.Bible.com  We are so glad you made this decision today!  Welcome to the family!

Please feel free to cut and paste and recreate the bookmark and “What Now?” card.  Look up different ways to present the Gospel and adopt one. Then as stated in 1 Peter 3:15b, “…if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.”

Someone pointed you to the One who carried you across the bridge from death to life.  Now you get to be that someone for another person. What a cool opportunity to say thank you for the Gift you have received!

-Beth