Sharing Your Faith is “The Way of the Master”

I just wanted to give a special thanks to Chris Vest and Doug Coppick who teach “The Way of the Master” class at Cascade Hills Church. This class has encouraged and given me the tools to be effective in sharing my faith. In the past 7 days, I have used the witnessing techniques taught in their class to share my faith with exactly 7 people. I wasn’t sure if any of them actually accepted the Lord as their personal Savior, until I received a phone call this morning.

This past Saturday, Chris Vest and I decided to visit downtown Columbus to try out some of our witnessing skills with some of the people outside the clubs. As we were walking along, I heard a guy yelling and saw that he was looking right at me. I just ignored him thinking he was some drunken guy who thought he knew me, until I took a few more steps and realized that I knew him. I didn’t recognize him because it had been about 8 years since the last time I had seen him, and his appearance had changed a bit. Chris and I walked over to him, greeted him and his buddy, and I noticed he was now in a wheelchair. Now, I know maybe you are not supposed to ask, but I can’t help it. I just had to know what happened to this guy. He then explained that he had been shot in the back during a robbery. This story seemed all too familiar, since I had just witnessed to a guy named Jonathan Sparks at the hospital with a very similar story. Anyway, as we were catching up talking about old times, I shared with him the greatest story of my life, which is when I dedicated my life to Christ. At this point, he looked as if he didn’t recognize me. You know it is funny how bringing up the name of our Lord Jesus Christ can really turn the conversation around.

Well, after he paid for his drinks, I began to use the tools I learned in the class to try and plant some seeds. He seemed very responsive and I could see the Spirit doing a work in him. After some deep conversation, I did ask him if he wanted to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He declined, but said he would give it some thought and thanked me for talking with him about the Lord. Upon leaving I had asked to pray with him right there on the side walk. He said, “Ok” and I prayed that his heart would be open to receiving our Lord and that God would do a mighty work in him. We left, and I thanked God for allowing Chris and I to be a part of His great work.

On June 2, 2008, I received a phone call from this gentleman thanking me again for our conversation and he shared that he had a one-on-one conversation with the Lord. He also told me he received Jesus as His Lord and Savior. This is just a small example of how God works and when we’re obedient what He can do.

Thank you again Chris and Doug for equipping me to live out my calling.

Jason Spaeder