5 Tips for Sharing the Gospel/Witnessing + Do's/Don'ts

1) Pray for it- Always remember it is God who draws people to Himself (John 6:44, 1 Cor 3:7) and we are simply responsible for sharing the Message (2 Cor 5:20). You should create a list of friends as a reminder for you to pray for and pray for them constantly. It can become a neat list of accountability as well, to see if you have shared anything about Christ with them over time, and what their response was. Pray for them by name. Ask others to pray for them. Ask God to open their heart and mind. 

2) Live it- What is in our control is our actions. As Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” You may be surprised at the witness that our lives can be--at least for starting the discussion, and giving it validity and 'believability'. The authenticity of our faith lived out in our lives, becomes a gateway for others to see God. In what ways can you improve your daily testimony, being read by those around you? Does your speech reflect God? Do your actions say 'child of God'? How do you treat others? How do you respond in hard situations? 

3) Love them- People don't care how much you know, or what you know, or about the God you claim to know, until they know how much you CARE! Period. Before you can ever hope to speak truth into someone's life, you have to love them. And that love needs to be seen, felt, accepted and believed in a trusting relationship before someone will be truly willing to hear about your beliefs. Examine the list of friends you listed (in Tip 1) and list ways that you can specifically show them more love, care and concern in the coming weeks. It may be spending more time with them one on one...it may be sending them an encouraging email or text or a nice phone call. It may be simply listening more and talking less. Show them that you love them over and over and over.

4) Share it - Sharing seems obvious enough but it is often most challenging because we could be uncomfortable presenting the Gospel in its entirety as suggested in 1 Cor 15:3-4, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”. There is a lot of debate on what 'must' be included in a gospel presentation. A true presentation of the gospel includes: God, Law, Gospel. 

God. 

God is holy and perfect and He requires holiness and perfection from us.  Holiness is the inability to sin.  It means moral perfection and it is something that God alone possesses.  Holiness is an attribute of God's perfect nature.  Therefore, since there is no one greater than God, and God is the greatest good, God is necessarily the standard of what is good.

Law.

The Law is a reflection of the character of God.  The reason it is wrong to lie, cheat, and steal, etc., is because God cannot do these things.  Because He is holy, He is incapable of lying, cheating, etc.  Therefore, the Law becomes the standard of righteousness.  But we are incapable of keeping the Law because we are not holy.  We are sinners.  Once this is said, you must ask the person if he has ever sinned.  You might want to explain that sin is breaking the Law of God.  You ask the person if he has ever lied, cheated, stolen, or been angry unrighteously, etc.  He will answer "yes" to one or all of these, and that is when you tell him that he has broken God's Law and is a sinner.  Furthermore, there is no law that has no punishment.  A law without punishment is a slogan.  The punishment for breaking God's Law is eternal damnation.

Gospel.

The Gospel is the good news that the judgment of God upon the person who has broken God's Law can be removed in the person of Jesus.  This is done because Jesus, who is God the Son in flesh, was able to perfectly live the Law and offer a sacrifice to God the Father.  His sacrifice is the death on the cross, which was the payment for the penalty of breaking the Law of God.  He died there and three days later physically rose from the dead as proof that His words, deeds, and sacrifice were true.  Therefore, if anyone wants to escape the righteous judgment of God, he must receive the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross.  This is done by faith, by asking God, through Jesus, to forgive you of your sins.

Other important truths you need to spell out are: 

1. Man is a sinner, separated from God, helpless to save himself

2. God loves man, and communicates what man must do in order to be saved

3. Man must listen, believe and obey the instruction of God; or destruction is imminent (Flood, 10th Plague) 

4. If Man comes to God, God’s way, he will be saved (Noah-Ark, Israelites-Passover Lamb, Israelites-Bronze Snake) 

5. If Man does not come to God, God’s way, but in any other way, he will be lost (Cain-Fruits)

The debate is over how much of the above you need to give background on. How much history do they need to know about God, or the Law etc. to fully understand it. 

5 ) Connect them to Truth and more Truth- Similarly to #4, we must ensure that whatever we share is the Truth and not compromised. We must be clear about many important truths, such as that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23) for without that understanding we do not need a Savior and that Christ is the only Way (John 14:6). But there is much more truth that is needed to be heard and understood for maturity and growth than can ever be shared in 20mins, or even an hour or a week...and they NEED to be connected to this truth. 
This book is a great tool to connect them to the truth they need in an easy, understandable way:
http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Road-Emmaus-John-Cross/dp/1890082724/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320298017&sr=8-1

Do's 

Do keep things simple. 

Do share your salvation experience with them. 

Do know what you believe. 

Do have a genuine love. 

Do be simple and define your terms. 

Do memorize appropriate Scriptures if possible. 

Do be patient and gentle.
Do listen attentively. 
Do answer their questions. 
Do ask questions. 
Do let him save face. (Don't attack, or belittle) 
Do bring him, if possible, to a decision about Jesus. 
Do remember that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).


Don'ts 

Don't attack directly or make fun of someone. 

Don't jump from one subject to another. 

Don't expect too much from him/her. 

Don't have a spiritual chip on your shoulder.

Don't lose patience. 

Don't come on too strong. 

Don't debate peripheral issues or doctrines. 

Don't get sidetracked defending your denomination. 

Don't be uptight. 

Don't assume. 

Don't argue. 

Don't speak too fast or unclearly.