How can we lead someone to have faith when they don’t even believe in God?
We should always start where people are and try to give them a nudge in the right direction.
Consider the following true story. Chuck Colson was the founder of Prison Fellowship and author of several best-selling Christian books. He was invited to a banquet and was seated next to a well-known journalist.
The man told Chuck he was an atheist. Colson asked, “An atheist is a person who says they can prove there is no God. So please tell me how you did that?” The man replied, “Perhaps I should say I am an agnostic.” Chuck then asked, “When did you stop studying about God?”
The journalist then said that he never had studied about God. Colson concluded, “An agnostic is someone who says that God cannot be known, and you can only be an agnostic if you have tried to know God and have exhausted the search. So, I would say while you appear to be an intelligent person, you have made an unsupportable statement.”
Several months later, this journalist wrote an editorial telling about his visit with Colson and what he learned about the need for faith in our culture. He wrote, “Religion fills an important role by giving us a moral code to live by and hope beyond this life. Without this structure a society becomes unstable and gloomy.”
We may not have Colson’s style, but we should always be looking for opportunities to sow seeds of faith. Church leaders can use many methods to create a culture of outreach in the local church. Of course, the best way to encourage evangelism is to be zealous witnesses ourselves.
This example must come from more than just church staff. People will listen to the preacher, but they are more apt to follow the example of non-professional church leaders. As has been said, “90 percent of leadership is example.”
Brian Giese
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.
