On Wednesday I met with a group about the possibility of volunteering with their prison based literacy program. As usual one of the first questions asked was “what do you do for a living?” and I explained my calling as a Missionary to Australia.
After discussing their goals (and how that would fit with me) one of them asked how my religious background would affect this ministry.
I am actually very glad they asked this question (and bring up the subject myself if they don’t) because it’s important they understand how the Gospel will be shared [1]
Actually explaining this to the organization is the easy part…the hard part is actually starting those gospel conversations.
For that you need to become a Gospel Ninja
A gospel ninja is someone who is constantly looking for opportunities to share a truth of Scripture [2] in a relaxed way that isn’t confrontational (the person initiates, or God just opens a door for the truth to be shared, the message of course will be confrontational)
My number one rule for being a gospel ninja is I will only answer questions that people ask me about religion
Sadly in todays culture openly sharing the gospel in places like work or school can get a person into trouble. However if we are simply answering a question then there will be little or no consequences.
“Okay” you may be thinking, “how do I get them to ask the questions?.” While nothing works all of the time, here are some lessons I’ve learned about becoming a gospel ninja.
1. Make sure they know your a Christian: This isn’t done in an arrogant way, you simply make Christianity your identity so that everyone realizes your a follower of Christ.
2. Live a Godly testimony: Unfortunately many of the unsaved have met Christians who don’t live for Christ at all so they are going to be watching you very closely [3]. Living a consistent testimony in front of them is one of the gospel ninja’s most powerful weapons
3. Get involved in Conversations: Conversations where others are sharing their views on a subject are great opportunities to be a gospel ninja. While this isn’t answering questions, since everyone is sharing their own views it’s unlikely giving a Christian perspective will create issues.
4. Offer to Explain Your Views: I like to tell individuals if they ever want to learn more about Christianity I would be happy to explain it to them. This is especially useful after you’ve gained thier trust with a Godly testimony
(“I live this way because I’m a Christian, if you ever want to understand what that means then let me know”)
5. Show Genuine Concern: We all have bad days (or crisis situations) and this is a great opportunity to show them the love of Christ. It also allows a Christian to give a personal testimony of how the Lord helped them in that kind of situation [4].
6. Be Patient: The most difficult part of being a gospel ninja is waiting for God to open a door instead of forcing it open ourselves. While waiting for that opening fill your time with prayer, relationship development, and Scripture.
It truly breaks my heart that we live in a culture where sharing the Gospel openly can lead to a reprimand. The good news is with some work and patience we can be an awesome witness for Christ.
And of course the best news is the Gospel always works.
- I have learned groups are open to the Gospel being shared through ministries as long as I am honest about it, not telling them and doing so makes it look dishonest ↩
- I’m not saying you can’t share the whole Gospel at once of course, but have found sharing truths a little bit at a time helps an unbeliever understand Scripture better ↩
- especially on bad days ↩
- at this point your simply “telling a story” which of course also shares the Gospel ↩
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