4. Be Prepared to Respond
Be prepared to answer those who ask
Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Colossians 4: 4-6
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. I Peter 3:15
If we give glory to God for his involvement in our lives, some people will take notice. The Holy Spirit will prompt some of the people around you, attracted by your Christian character and curious about your faith, to ask you about it. At that point, you’ll need to explain your faith, and what God has done for you, your family, and your business or profession.
This situation – someone asking you about your faith – is so likely to happen that the Lord directs us to prepare for it.
This personal testimony should be something you prepare just for this situation. Some people will write out a page or two of personal testimony in preparation. The act of writing it out forces some precision on your part, give you the opportunity to edit it and embeds it more soundly into your mind – making it easier for you to bring it to the surface and find the words when you need to share them.
It is important that you be transparent and honest with your personal testimony. God has, by his grace, brought you out of difficult circumstances, most likely caused by your sin. Don’t avoid that. It is a universal condition. People will relate to and be drawn to the difficulties in your life as much as the successes.
Four-Step Implementation
If this approach makes sense to you, and you decide to build it into your life, here are some specific steps to take:
1. Bath this project in prayer.
Understand the God will answer this prayer, and you will become more adept at it. Ask his involvement in every step of the process, and invite the Holy Spirit to inspire, educate and direct you through it.
2. Work at excellence.
That means, first, to set ‘excellence in your field’ as a goal for yourself and your organization. Then, begin to systematically improve yourself, and your organization. Invest in training and seminars, add metrics to establish your growth, and keep the issue uppermost in your mind and those who you influence.
3. Seek, methodically, to build a Christian character.
Understand that this is a lifetime challenge. Regardless, by just verbalizing your intentions you will move it to the top of your mind. Invest your spiritual energy and resources – not in the programs of the institutional church – but rather in developing a relationship with God and the Christian attributes that necessarily follow.
4. Practice praising God.
For a lot of business and professional people, verbally giving credit to God is a difficult task. Don’t expect to go from ‘never’ doing it to ‘always’ doing it overnight. Gain a little confidence and try on the language by practicing with fellow Christians who are on your side. Practice with your family, or other Christian friends. Gain some confidence and competence in giving credit to God in a safe environment. Then, after a few successful attempts, extend that out to your non-Christian colleagues as the opportunity comes up.
Prepare a written version of your personal testimony. Tell the story of what you were before Christ, how you encountered him, and what you have become after that. Talk about the change in you. Add a Bible verse or two. Keep it under one side of one page. Then, read it several times to yourself to embed it into your brain. You’ll be prepared to be a workplace evangelist.
This simple approach to workplace evangelism is Biblical, and within the scope of everyone reading this. If only a percentage of the people reading this would apply it, we could turn the world upside down!