My Experience Sharing the Gospel

 First and second year of college I lived a suite with these three non-christians who will not be named. They knew I was a christian, even though I didn't always act like one. As a we grew to be closer friends I had a bigger and bigger burden to share the gospel to them. So, one time I decided to invite them to a gospel night that our small group was having. I had such high hopes, thinking that if we were able to answer all of their questions, they would be saved. I thought to myself that if only they could understand what the gospel was really about then of course they would want Jesus.

So that night they came to the bible study and we debated and discussed every christian topic you could think. All of the hard questions came up and I had to dig deep, using all of my bible knowledge and logic to try to answer any question that they had. At the end of the night my friends left more resistant to Jesus than when they came in. Their conclusion of the night was that our faith was narrow-minded and uncompromising. I continued to try to invite them to different church gatherings and received more rejections than I can remember. Although they liked me as a friend and respected my faith, I couldn't find a way in.

In my second year, we continued to live together and our friendships continued to grow. Thankfully they continued to ask questions about my faith especially when it came to controversial political or scientific issues such as abortion or creationism. Then one night we were all hanging out randomly in one of the guy's rooms. We were casually talking and the topic of my faith came up. Our discussion got deeper and deeper as the night went on. I was determined to do it right this time. So I shared everything I knew about the gospel starting from the old testament to the new, about sin, God's promise, and salvation. I shared my own personal testimony without leaving out a single detail. Time flew by and before we knew it, it was already 4:00 am.

As much as I tried to explain and share, I came to a realization that night. Faith in Jesus cannot be convinced in someone through logic. I tried to tell them why salvation makes sense but it all came down to whether or not God is real. The only way to know whether or not God is real is to encounter him. But the only way to have a personal encounter is if its PERSONAL. I think for me that's the difficulty with evangelism, because after hours and hours of talking and explaining, it still comes down to a personal choice.

I still invite those friends to any church events that come up, but they're tired of saying no and just no longer respond. I still hope that someday the holy spirit will bring them to the place where they want more out of this life.

-Joseph