After completing Missionary Training School (MTS), Lauren* went out to practise what she had learned.
“I realised that even if I didn’t feel confident going into it, the result was never dependent on how eloquently I shared. My role and privilege were to share the Good News, and trust that the Spirit would lead me through the interaction.
An example of this was when I was volunteering at a cross-cultural coffee house. The purpose of this ministry is to create an open learning environment for people to share freely about their culture, their beliefs, their families, etc.”
UNDERPREPARED
“I remember driving to this ministry one Sunday morning feeling incredibly underprepared. I had rolled out of bed without making coffee, eating breakfast or even opening my Bible. I was up and out the door in 10 minutes. On my drive there, I prayed, ‘Lord, if you want me to share today, I need your help to do it. I’m barely awake and I didn’t open your Word this morning and I don’t think I’m prepared, so I need you to lead.’
That morning I was paired with an undergraduate student from the local university. After talking about college, her home country, and her family, we started talking about beliefs. She shared with me that she and her family are Buddhists. They go to the temple occasionally and ask for blessings and protection for their family. Sometimes, she even goes to the local temple here in Atlanta.
She then asked me what I believed, and I shared the gospel of Christ with her. At the time, I was convinced that it must have been the worst presentation of the gospel ever given. My thoughts were all over the place, and I felt unclear and frustrated while sharing with her.”
GOD’S LOVE
“After I finished sharing, she looked at me and asked, ‘Well, how do you know that God loves you?’ I shared that I know God loves me because He gave His Son, Jesus, to come and die on the cross, taking my sin away so that I could be with Him, in perfect relationship, forever. I then shared that He didn’t just do this for me, but for the whole world, and He did all of this because He loves us and wants to be with us.
Her response shocked me. She replied, “I had heard the story that Jesus died on the cross. But I had no idea he did it to take sins away. I have heard some things about the Bible, but I want to learn more.”
READING THE BIBLE
“A few days later I texted her and asked if she wanted to get together with me to read the Bible. She said yes!
We met every week for a few months and worked our way through Genesis. One day, after discussing a Bible story with her she said, ‘Remember when I told you I was a Buddhist? Well, I don’t know what I believe, but I don’t think I am a Buddhist anymore. I don’t know if I believe the stories in the Bible are true, but right now God feels more real to me than Buddhism. And when I learned that you had been praying for me, I realised that it was at that time that my anxiety went away, and I think that was the power of God.'”
TRUST GOD’S SPIRIT
“That one Sunday morning when I was convinced it was going to be an uneventful and unproductive day, God used me, however ineloquently, to speak truth to this girl’s heart.
God uses our words more powerfully than we could ever imagine. We don’t have to have all the right words, the right answers, or even the right attitudes (although that certainly helps). We just have to recognise the opportunities when they come and trust God’s Spirit to make the most of them. Share the gospel and do it often: you never know how God is going to use it. But he certainly will use it, all for His glory.”
(The original article was shortened.
*Name changed for security reasons.
Source: OMF
