Have you ever considered using Bible Storytelling as a way to share the gospel or do evangelism? Bible Storytelling is one of the many “tools” I learned this year at Equip. As the following story explains, this is a very easy and effective way to evangelize and share the gospel.
Sharing the gospel with Bible storytelling
A few days ago, I went into a nail salon because it was a special day. My sister-in-law was visiting, and we were going to a Broadway show. As I sat down to get my $7 manicure (got to love the Bronx), I looked into the beautiful eyes of my Cambodian manicurist. I then felt the familiar tugging as the Holy Spirit said to my heart, “Share a Bible Story with her.”
I began the familiar arguing. “Here, Lord?! I am just here to have a good time with my sister-in-law! Do I ever get a break from sharing? What if my sister-in-law sees me get rejected?”
“Share a Bible story with her, and watch Me work. I will give you the words. I always do.”
Then I remembered what one of our trainers taught us early on this year. It only takes one moment of courage to share the gospel, and after that, you just get to coast.
I took a deep breath. I prayed for the Lord to speak as I opened my mouth. Then, I stepped “out of the boat.”
“Did you and your family celebrate Easter this year? No? Easter is my favorite holiday to celebrate because we get to remember this amazing story that gives my entire life meaning and hope. Would you like to hear it?”
A cure for hopelessness
From there, God did something incredible, just like I felt in my heart he would. I felt empowered by the Holy Spirit as I shared the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection and how he appeared to some disciples on the road to Emmaus. She began to ask me all kinds of questions about the story I told, and I got to share my testimony with her. This sweet Cambodian woman with the kind eyes broke down in tears as she told me her life’s story. She bemoaned how it feels like all she does is wake up and go to work then go back to sleep at night.
She said to me, “If what you say is true, then this is the cure for my hopelessness. Please tell me more stories like this.”
I obliged, and I told her story after story about how Jesus gave people hope when there was no hope. I told her that in the beginning, God created a perfect world, where there was no brokenness or sadness or hopelessness. But, when shame (sin) entered the world, God had to make a way for us to get back to him. And that is when he decided to send his Son, Jesus, to pay the price for everything we have done wrong. I was able to tell her, much to her surprise, it does not matter how many good deeds we do — we cannot earn our way to heaven. All we have to do in order to have hope for the future is to accept these stories as true in our hearts.
Our job is to be faithful
My new friend is excited about learning more of these stories. We found an app on her phone with the Bible in Khmer, her heart language. Soon, we will be going through more of these stories of hope together.
This year, I have found that beginning with Bible storytelling is an incredible way to “do evangelism” and share the gospel. It allows you to see if that person’s heart is “fertile soil” and if they are interested in talking about spiritual things. It does not always yield incredible results such as this, but as long as we are being faithful to share, the rest is the Holy Spirit’s job. We can leave the results up to him. How freeing — we just have to obey.
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