How Do You Do Evangelism?

Welcome to Truth Talk Live. All right, let's talk. The truth is. I can't hide it! I can hold it in the box.

A daily program powered by the Truth Network. This is kind of a great thing, and I'll tell you what. Where pop culture, current events, and theology all come together. Speak your mind. And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host.

Hey guys, this is Michael Zwick. The question of the day is this. How do you do evangelism? You see, evangelism is not something that is optional. Evangelism is something that we are all called to do as followers of Jesus Christ.

And so if you read Matthew chapter 28, Jesus said, go throughout the whole world, teaching all people. Teaching them, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. The Bible says to do the work of an evangelist, that means to go out and to share the good news of Jesus Christ. It is the great commission. It is not the great suggestion.

And there's an old story. There's a legend that speaks of a conversation between Jesus and the angel Gabriel after the ascension. And Gabriel asked the master what plan he had made for completing his work of telling everyone about God's love. Jesus answered, I asked Peter, James, and John, and some more of them on earth to make it the business of their life to tell others. And the others are to tell others.

And the others still tell others until every man has heard the message and had his life transformed by it. Gabriel stood in meditation as he thought, as he saw a flaw in the master's plan. He said, Yes, he said, but master, suppose after a while Peter forgets and John loses his enthusiasm. And what if their successors down in the 20th century get so busy or so timid that they do not have the time or the courage to tell others? What will you then do?

Yeah. The voice of Jesus answered quietly and confidently: I haven't made any other plans. I am counting on them. And if a lost and a dying world is going to hear the good news about Jesus Christ, it's going to be through people just like you and like me. There is no other way.

There is no other plan. And so the question of the day is this. How do you do evangelism? And then, while I'm asking you that, as a follow-up, Can you give me an example of where you did evangelism? And it worked and it succeeded.

Can you give me an example of where you did an evangelism? And it may not have, but you know that you did your very best. And so right now we've got a Sandy Hightower out of South Carolina. Are you there, Sandy? I am.

How do you do evangelism? I do evangelism. Every minute of every hour of every day that I come upon someone, I might meet a cashier and a a grocery store and say, Hey, um, do you know Jesus? and have that conversation. Meet a homeless person.

I might go to church and see someone sitting there and just look at them and can tell they just need a moment of my time.

So I do evangelism in many, many different ways for many, many different people. There are some, most of the people I do, I meet, I talk to them, I evangelize, I plant the seeds, and I never see them again.

So it's between them and God from that point forward. But I've been blessed to know several who I have done with. Um And their stories. And I'll give an example of someone that's very near and dear to me, a man I was married to almost 40 years. Um He knew God and Jesus went to church with grandma every Sunday, you know, as long as he had to.

Um and we were married in the church. He told my my, um, the priest at the time that, uh, yeah, yeah, he was a Christian and um We moved forward, and turned out he wasn't so much of a Jesus follower. And at that point in time, I wasn't totally on board either. I was just kind of lukewarm. But as my fire, the Holy Ghost, ignited in me.

Um, I began to be mocked. I began to be laughed at for reading the Bible. And this man had some serious things that he needed help with. And um You know, I would have stayed with him till the bitter end. But, um things happened and he made some choices and after thirty nine point five years, we were divorced.

It took that and him getting deeper and deeper into his rock bottom point. He suffered from alcoholism. that I w you know, I just stood there and Stayed by fighting and kept saying, Jesus is the way. You've got to know Jesus. If you'll just.

open a Bible. If you'll just have a conversation with him. No man gets to the Father except for through me, says Jesus. I said, you know. He'll help you, I promise.

Just pray to him. And as he got rock, bottom, rock, bottom, rock, bottom, we even brought some deliverance into the situation, but he just wasn't getting it. And so I said. I'm going to send somebody to it.

Now, I've been planting these seeds all along, I've been telling them about it. Jesus and God, and he's seen it through me. And many, many times he says, I want what she's got, but he wasn't willing to do the work. But this time, I got Pastor Rich to go in and talk to him, and he says, send me somewhere. that can help me.

He's been to four or five very top high dollars uh rehab centers.

Okay, well he went to one that's called Changed Lives Ministry. in Montes Corner, South Carolina. And they do change lives. They go in and they learn Bible verses, they have devotionals, they go to church on Wednesday, twice on Sunday. They live, breathe, and eat the word.

And before you know it, He's calling me and telling me Bible verses. He got it? He got his salvation, and I was there when he gave his life to the Lord.

So I got to see that one all the way through, and his story has just gone up and up from there, but that's not what the topic is, so I'm going to stay on topic. Um I have an ex-daughter-in-law who Like, called me when my grandson was in the fourth grade and told him I had to quit telling him about Jesus because the teacher at school called and said he was a Jesus freak. And I've been able to drop seeds and plant with her. for years now and I Gabriel's fourteen.

So Um in the last year I've been able to give her more and more and just recently she said Omah, which is what they call me. I think I need to know more about Jesus. We get to see some of the fruits and it just makes our heart joyous. But the whole point is we're supposed to evangelize. at every chance we get because why are we here?

We are here to spread the news of Jesus and his salvation, to bring the souls with us. when he comes back. Absolutely. And I want to thank you for the call, Sandy. And to me, it sounds like you have a heart for people.

And you see, the truth is, is that if we're going to win the world for Jesus Christ, we have to care more about others than we do about ourselves. One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control. And sometimes it takes self-control to go up and talk to a stranger about Jesus or to be able to share the good news because we know they may not respond in a positive way. I've got a Mike Shreve out of Tennessee. Are you there, Mike?

I am, and so happy to be talking to you, Michael. I'm happy to be talking to you as well. I'm actually in the middle of one of your books about how you talk about all of the different religions of the world, and then you talk about why Jesus is the only way to get to heaven. But, Michael, I'll ask you the question: number one, how do you do evangelism? And then, number two, can you give me an example of where you did evangelism and where it worked?

Well I I certainly believe in evangelism. I've been an evangelist for 54 years. And I started out in an unconventional way during the Jesus Revolution. along with another brother in the Jesus commune that I lived in. We gave away everything we owned.

all our money and all our goods to the poor. And we started hitchhiking across the country, preaching on college campuses. Because so many times Christians wait for the world to come to us. But evangelism is all about us going to them. That was Jesus's mission.

He came all the way from heaven down to this cesspool of sin called the earth. to reach us.

So we ought to be willing to to go from our comfort zone into an uncomfortable world. reach others. And I have learned, Michael, that one of the best ways of doing that is to meet people at the known. and then take them into the unknown. And what I mean by that is uh get connected to them.

on an issue that they agree with, and then you can take them into areas where there may be disagreement and yet influence them because you've already shown them respect as a person by coming into agreements. And uh I could give you a hey, Mike. Mike, I want you to give me some examples and all of that, but we're going to a break right now and we will be right back. We've got Mike Shreve on the phone right now, and then we've got Emmanuel coming up next. But hold the phone, Mike, and we'll be right back.

866-34 Truth, 866-348-7884. We want your calls. How do you do evangelism? And can you give us an example? Truth, talk, life, and the building.

All right, guys, we are back. I've got a Mike Shree back on the phone. And, Mike, when we were on the break, the Lord brought this verse up. It's Matthew chapter 10, verse 1, and it says, And when he had called unto him his 12 disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out. And to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

And so one of the things that I was thinking about while we have these folks on the line and everything like that is there was somebody who told me something when I was a younger kid. They said that every dog has his day. And let me tell you something. You may not be the best evangelist in the world, but we can all do it in some way, shape, or form. And one of my favorite stories happened probably about 10 or 15 years ago where I just felt led by the Lord.

I was out in Yatkinville, North Carolina, right west of Winston-Salem. And I just felt led to ask this lady if she was saved. And I said, are you saved? And she said, no. I said, would you like to get saved today?

And she said, yes.

So she repeated the prayer after me. I baptized her right there. And so it just reminded me that, you know, you don't have to be perfect. You don't have to be really good to get started, but you have to get started to get really good. And this is something that is so important.

We're talking about souls that are hanging in the balance. This is something that we really have to read, study, and look into. And we've got Manual on the phone as well. But, Mike, I wanted you to go ahead and finish up. Tell me what you were saying before the break.

Well I was mentioning that in witnessing to people It's very It's very unfruitful to start out being confrontational. and is counterproductive. And so it's good to somehow build relationship or connect with the person in an area of agreement. For instance, when I meet a Muslim I'll immediately start by saying, hey, I've read the Quran. And in your Quran it says Jesus was born of a virgin.

and they'll agree with it. And in your Quran, it says that he lived a sinless life, and they agree with that. And then from that point onward, I begin to introduce ideas once we've reached. agreement, I've touched on the known, I can take them into the unknown. Likewise when I witnessed to a Hindu I quite often start out with the belief that there is only one God.

And of course, that Hindu will definitely say, oh, yes, we Hindus believe there is only one God. But then I go from that statement into I uh a breakdown of how those few words can be defined two completely different ways. the Hindu way and the biblical or Christian way. And so that's important. That's very important.

And I just I have learned that you can reach people if you learn to give them good news, too. In fact, you talked about the Great Commission. Uh and I think it's fantastic to see that the word commission includes the word mission. Because God's mission is to reach people. But it's a co-mission.

We're doing it together. And normally, God doesn't do anything in this world except He does it in and through prayerful people who listen to His voice. And a moment ago, You talked about how you felt led. to talk to a certain woman. That's the key to evangelism.

is guidance of the Holy Spirit or being led by the Spirit. And you asked for me to give an example Uh many years ago, I went to India, spent a month there. Doing outdoor crusades, which is a way of doing evangelism, and we had thousands get saved. But on the way back home I got uh delayed in an airport and had a 14 hour layover. And the airline company I was flying with.

sent a note that said they would put us up in a five-star hotel. And I thought that was God rewarding me for a month of sacrifice where I'd be able to get some rest in a nice, comfortable room. The quite contrary happened. I checked into the hotel, and right when I was walking into the hotel restaurant, God spoke to me.

Something I didn't want to hear necessarily. He said, Don't go in this restaurant. Go out on the street. I've got a job for you to do. And so I reluctantly turned away from this swanky five star restaurant and went out on the street Started walking down through this area where there were big Hindu temples and uh a a lot of things that uh Indicated strongholds had been built there religiously for centuries.

But I kept praying, your kingdom come, your kingdom come, which is essential to evangelism. You've got to get involved. in prayerfulness to be effective. And all of a sudden this waiter ran out of a restaurant. With this desperate look on his face, and he was a tiny little man, about four foot ten.

And he ran up to me in so a different restaurant now that was right next to the hotel. And in a high-pitched voice he said, What is your name? I said, my name is Mike Shreve. And he said, by any chance, are you a Christian? I said, I am a Christian.

He said, by any chance, are you a Pentecostal preacher? I said, I am a Pentecostal preacher. He said, Good. Does a man need to get saved? Right now, come quickly, come quickly.

And uh it was his boss. That came to work that night and said that he had finally concluded what his waiter had, who was a born-again believer. Was real and he wanted it. And he felt intimidated praying for his boss to.

So he ran out of the restaurant, hoping there'd be somebody out there to help him pray. And I happen to be walking by halfway around the world from home. But spirit led. at the right place at the right time. And it's a long story, but I won that I prayed with that restaurant owner to receive the Lord.

I talked an hour to him, and then we prayed. He got born again. And then he took me back to his restaurant, had all of his workers come out, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Catholic. He had all of his workers come out and he said, You tell them what you just told me. And he interpreted my message.

And every cook and every waiter and every waitress and every person, even the dishwashers in the restaurant, got saved and gave their lives to the Lord Jesus Christ. All because I followed the voice of the Lord. Anyone who aspires to evangelism has got to live a prayerful enough life where you are sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And that's just the way it works. Absolutely.

And there was a guy that I went out to lunch with one day, and he started to do evangelism with the waitress. And he said, I pray to the Lord each day that the Lord will place somebody in front of me who needs to hear the good news about Jesus, and that the Lord will soften their hearts. And Mike, I want you to stay on the line, but I've got Emmanuel Pittman. And Manuel actually does evangelism over at Elon University. Is that right, Manuel?

Yes, sir.

So how do you do evangelism? Yes, I my friend and I with the Ministry of Cross Exchange, one of the things that we really focus on is a strategic approach to be able to meet people of different variety of backgrounds where they're at. And uh it's been a great joy to meet them. meet a variety of different people from different backgrounds to be able to share the gospel in a very unique way. Where some people may not even understand it from being Hindu or Muslim or Taoist, whatever religion they're coming from.

We can actually strategically Show them how Jesus write. lived, died and rose again and how it applies to them. One example you mentioned, there's a man named David that I met. He calls himself a Christian Taoist when I first met him. Um We were at a Bible study.

And he was very purposefully just trying to shock everybody with some of his beliefs. And it was really strange to see that. And I noticed that it seems that he's used to people being weirded out by him. But I chose very Purposefully just to love him. I said, I prayed.

I think the past Year before I met this man, that God give me someone that I can truly disciple. And God gave somebody that has a very strange beliefs and very weird ways of thinking about the world. Um and I was I think I should tell people to be careful what you pray for. But nevertheless, God has still greatly blessed me with this opportunity to reach this individual. And over time, through discipleship, through community, through fellowship, he is now attending my church, even a very regular attendee.

Um and I just praise God that over time as we've been talking he's been graciously embracing the true Jesus. The Jesus of the Old Testament, the New Testament, fulfilling the works of the law, and the salvation of our sins was fulfilled in him with amazement. Amen. And guys, we will be right back. If both of you guys will just stay on the line, we will be back in a few minutes.

And then I want to, you know, kind of share some examples or what kind of works. And I want people to know what doesn't work. 866-34TRUTH-866-348-7884. We'll be right back with Manuel and Mike Shreve after these messages. Truth talk lies in the beam.

Hey guys, so we are back. We've got Manuel and Mike Shreve on the line. But Manuel, it's crossexchange.org. Is that the website? Yeah.

And it's cross X without the E before the X. It's crossexchange.org. And I'm sure you guys, when you go out there and you do evangelism, you meet all kinds of people, don't you? Oh, absolutely. The people from every single walk of life, especially when you're in a university town, you have the whole North America and sometimes internationally coming to you.

And so due to that, it's just a huge variety of different individuals you engage with. Manuel, have you learned what not to do? Oh, absolutely. I think it was one great illustration that I met someone who was a Hindu and someone who's engaged with very different people. I've only encountered some Hindu people, I think, on I'd say three or four different times now.

But before I did, when I first met my first Hindu individual who in a context of evangelism, I I explained the gospel to them, at least the traditional way of just telling the story of Jesus. But this individual could not comprehend what resurrection was. The whole idea that someone comes back from the dead because they understood the idea of reincarnation. And if I would have thought at the time to say the per that Jesus was reincarnated back into his same body, that might have helped them to help. But I realized that, oh, I have when I don't know where someone's coming from, Two different worldviews.

And so it's a matter of truly taking the time to understand the other individual, let them speak, let them have their. Time to explain where they're coming from, so you can meet them where they're at. Yeah, you know, the Bible says that I have become all things to all men in order that I might save some or more in order that we can be a part of the process where they get saved as well. And I've learned, for me, I've learned that I want to tell everybody about Jesus and I want to be kind to them and good. I've also learned not to be overly pushy because I think sometimes I've really turned people off.

And Mike Shreve, one of the things that I've learned over the years is that if somebody hears something that's good about you, they may tell two or three people. But if somebody really doesn't like you or you really turn them off, they might tell 50 or 100 people that you're no good. Do you know what I'm saying, Mike? Right, right.

So, what have you learned what not to do, Mike? What have you learned not to do?

Well As I mentioned a while ago, I've learned avoid subjects that create Tension or confrontation. And there are certain subjects that are going to get you nowhere in a conversation. And for instance, when I was a yoga teacher at four universities and I was devoted to the practice of yoga to the point where I was running the yoga ashram, That was back in 1970. If someone tried to talk to me and they emphasized That what I was doing was quote unquote of the devil. Or that I was quote unquote going to hell, I would have shut down immediately.

I was reached by someone who brought good news to me. Not that those things are untrue. But there's a well the scripture says He that wins souls is wise. And there's some wisdom associated with the approach you take. And the man who won me to the Lord.

approach me with logic and love. And he did he wasn't hateful, he wasn't harsh. He wasn't out to be a critic, in fact. The word evangelist comes. Comes from a Greek word euagalistes that means a bearer of good.

Ideas. And that comes from where the angel announced the birth of Jesus. And said, I bring you good tidings of great joy. And that word is Ewangaleon. And so Someone who's going to be an effective evangelist, you may have to mention things, of course, like sin and repentance and things that are more negative on the spectrum.

but try to avoid things that will be fruitless confrontation. I keep bringing that word up over and over again. And so that would be my suggestion. Uh Uh like uh Like I do uh on My podcasts, my websites. I try to meet people at a place of agreement first and then take them to a place.

Uh uh new information, new realization, new understanding. because you have to form some kind of relationship first. When you witness to a neighbor, if your neighbor is good at keeping his yard clean and mowed and And trimming his bushes. Praise Him on that. God told me years ago that just like we enter His presence.

Psalm 100, enter his gates with thanksgiving and enter his courts with praise. That's how we gain entrance into the sacred area of a person's heart and life to influence them. You enter in those gates.

Sometimes It doesn't always work this way, but sometimes you enter in with thanksgiving and enter into a deeper place with praise. Even if your neighbor is a heavy drinker, but he is really good taking care of his yard, praise him for taking care of his yard. And man, he will open the door. to you influencing him. in other areas that are even much, much more important.

And so that would be my That would be my suggestion. Also, I would say to people: don't accept any hindrance, but use hindrances to your favor. If you get opposition on the street, Keep loving in return. If you're witnessing to somebody and they get hostile, Don't ever resort to hostility yourself. but use that opposition.

attract attention. Because when I received it on the street, I will respond to that person by responding to their questions, knowing that they probably won't listen to me. But everyone around that is witnessing that happening is listening to me, and so I inject into that conversation things that would uh be attractive to them, bait on the hook, if you will. And um And it works. It works.

A uh A learning process. There's a learning curve to it, and you learn how to relate to people. And you learn how to reach them. We tried to do that on two of my outreach websites. And what what are your websites, Mike?

Well, I'll go. I've got one for people of Eastern religious beliefs because I used to be. One who embraced Hinduism and Sikhism and Eastern religions, and that website is thetruelight.net. The true light.net, T H E T R U E L I G H T dot net. And a couple of years ago, I decided to begin reaching out to Catholic people.

Because I was raised Catholic. I was an ultra boy. I was on my way to the monastery at one point. And if you ever go through something and then you come out to the truth, You earn the right to reach back and bring deliverance and freedom and knowledge and understanding. to those that are still in it.

And so I've got a Catholic website called To Catholics with Love. Dot org. And by Describing it as a Catholic website, I mean that it relates primarily to people. Of the Catholic faith, and it's to catholicswithlove.org. And I address.

all the doctrinal issues That really identify Catholicism or are unique to Catholicism. And come uh Those subjects with a biblical Response, an authentic biblical response. And we've gotten some great, great, great responses on that website. That's awesome. And so one of the things that I hear is that, you know, when I look at Acts chapter 17 and it's verse 16, it says, Now, while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

Therefore, disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and the Stoics encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? Others said, He seems to be setting forth of strange gods because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him before.

So what I hear him saying, Manuel, is that Paul really had to know his stuff. He, you know, he really had to know his doctrine. He had to know his theology. And he was in the situation where he was able to debate with other people. And, Manuel, you really take a lot of time and study, right?

Absolutely. I we really did model it after the Apostle Paul and how he in the book of Acts, he went out and evangelized people where they were at. In knowing our faith, that's number one. I encourage everyone listening to the station that when they study the word of God, that's number one. To spot any counterfeit, you have to know what the true gospel is.

The true word of God says. And now don't get me wrong, it's always a great benefit to know what Islam teaches, what Hinduism teaches, and I've made it a dedication to learn some of those things so I could know the audience whom I speak. But number one, you have to know your scriptures. And when you know the true word of God, wherever you see someone coming from, you have a Christian worldview. to the film and help others understand.

Yeah, absolutely. You know, I've heard many times they say that when you're looking, when they teach somebody to learn what a real $100 bill looks like, they don't go out there and show them all the counterfeits. They teach them to learn what a real $100 bill looks like when you're working in a bank. Therefore, when they see a fake $100 bill, they know that it's not the real thing. Does that make sense?

Amen. Yeah, and we've got a Matt out of Ohio. Matt, how do you do evangelism? Yeah, so it's really funny that some of the stuff that I was actually going to speak about. Uh he touched on.

Uh originally. You know, uh we did a mission trip down in Atlanta. Georgia back in like 2016. Um And it's really important, again, go back to what he was saying. that you have to be careful sometimes All you have to do is plant the seed.

And I think God is really clear.

Sometimes He's really clear about this. And you have to be careful with uh being too pushy about things. Um and and something that I've really learned the past couple of years is there are parts of my life that I've had to work on more and more as a Christian. to be a better example of who Jesus is, right? And Even simple things.

I I believe, I feel like strongly That And I've been telling a lot of my Christian friends the same thing. that you have to really pay attention. to even the small things that you are doing throughout your day.

So I'm talking about parts like driving. You know, a lot of people get road rage. I have no idea what you're talking about, Matt. You haven't been to North Carolina recently, have you? And see, that's what I'm saying.

It's something you don't even really think about at the time, right? It happens, and you blow some steam off. And all of a sudden, you're a bad example to somebody on the road. And I mean, like, they might not even know you, but just think. of the people who might be riding with you, right?

Um and they they they might be somebody who is Uh searching. For answers in Christianity and trying to learn from you. And your examples are so important. And I've learned the last couple of years. That even the tiny details like that are so important.

They are, and we are going to a break right now.

So, if you guys will hold the line for just a few minutes, we'll be back with our final segment: 866-34TRUTH, 866-34TRUTH. We will be right back. God bless you. Truth, talk, life, and the good death. All right, we are back for our last segment.

We've got Mike Shreve Manuel, and I believe we still got a Matt on the phone. And see, you know, my seven-year-old son is probably smarter than a lot of us, he's got something to say. Satan's a piece of trash, everybody. That's right. Satan is a piece of trash, and the Lord has given us authority.

Through the name of Jesus Christ, to be able to step on serpents, to be able to go throughout and win the world for Jesus Christ. And I tell you what, yes, sometimes it's tough, but when we know at the end of the day that Jesus won, Jesus won at the cross, he rose from the grave and he has given us authority to win, to defeat the enemy, it really helps me out a whole bunch. And so it is the great commission. It's not the great suggestion. And the great commission is not some money you make after a sale.

It is the commission to go out and to be able to share the good news about Jesus Christ. We all know in the book of Isaiah, chapter 6, where the Lord comes to Isaiah, or an angel does, and he says, hey, you know, I want you to preach or whatever. And Isaiah says, I am a man of unclean lips. And so that gets taken care of. He touches his lips.

And then the Lord says, whom shall I send? And he says, here I send you. I am, Lord, send me. And I believe that lifestyle evangelism is a great tool to be able to share the gospel. People don't want to hear what you say until they know how you're living.

I heard a preacher years ago, and they said this preacher was such a great preacher. They said that the way that he preached. He never should have left the pulpit. But they said that the way that he lived He never should have been in the pulpit to begin with. But all that being said, there is only a certain extent that you're going to get with people by living a good life.

At some point, you're going to have to open up your mouth and share the good news of Jesus Christ with others. Is that right, Mike? Absolutely. And you've got to find innovative ways of doing it. Uh some of the old standards don't work very well.

For instance, Of course, there's going to be exceptions to the rule. But yeah. For instance, Handing out tracks. usually in the Western world, in the United States, People don't value tracks, and you can hand them out hundreds at a time. And people just toss them.

But there's innovative ways of reaching people. In fact, I I put my testimony in a small booklet called The Highest Adventure: Encountering God, and then our publishing company. Did it in a real nice little mini book form. It's 64 pages long with a color cover. and I hand it to people and they value it.

Because they tend to think that there's more substance to it for some reason. And I've seen a lot of fruit from that. In fact, on the website, the true light.net, we have that as a downloadable. Uh ebook. in fourteen different languages.

And right now, we're getting more people contacting us from China than any other country. Which is fantastic. They're downloading that story of my salvation and what true salvation is. in their own language. And so again, that's another way of reaching people where they're at somehow get it in their language if possible.

in the way you do things. Uh I have some friends. It came up with a incredible idea that's being duplicated all over the country. They were full gospel businessmen, and they decided they were going to start carrying what they called a Godmobile. Have you ever heard of that, Mike?

A Godmobile, I have not. A Godmobile. They built this Godmobile out of a trailer they pulled behind a pickup truck. And as one of those trailers, that you see at a county fair where they sell ice cream or candy, cotton candy, et cetera. It's a little square thing where doors o open on all four sides in order to facilitate the crowds.

Well, they had this They bought one and then they mounted above it a great big sign that said, Are you going to heaven? Find out. with just two easy questions. And then they had a little paper, everybody that came up to the Godmobile. would get this paper.

where the first question was. Do you think you're going to heaven? And the answer could be yes or no. And then, if they, and the second question was: if you answered the first question, yes. What do you think is going to get you to heaven?

And then there were about 10 options. like uh going to church. Paying my tithe. Being a good person. Treating others as I would treat myself, et cetera.

You know, all the works that should follow Christianity. And then at the bottom of that it says turn the page over to get your answer. And The answer was: if you checked any of the boxes under question number two. you might not have true salvation. Because going to church, paying your tithe, et cetera.

Earn salvation for you, and then it goes into the salvation message. And How we've got to accept the Lord Jesus Christ into our heart, repent of our sins, ask Him, and sincerely. Uh request of him to be Lord of our lives. and being born again. having a genuine born-again experience.

And they would see sometimes one thousand people a day pray with them at these big county fairs. And yeah, it cost something, but it was an innovative idea. how to reach people where they're at. And uh so And then you mentioned a while ago that you've been reading my book, In Search of the True Light. It's a lengthy book, 336 pages, comparing over 20.

20 religions. But when I first published that book around the year 2003, I spent two months researching Yeah. Every name and address of every yoga teacher in Los Angeles County. And I got a list of over 800 names, and I mailed them a free copy of that book. And Two yoga studios shut down with the leadership finding the Lord.

So there's all kinds of ways to reach out. And uh you We've just got to find what works for each one of us. That's right. And if you can't say anything else, you can say this. Jesus loves you.

That's right. You know, there's times where I kind of get tongue twisted. That's my eight-year-old Michael. I get tongue twisted and I don't know what to say. And I just say that Jesus loves you.

And I tell you what, you know what I've learned in my life that when my attitude is in the right place, a lot of other things seem to fall in place. If I go out and I'm dreading having to go out and share the good news of Jesus Christ, then when I go out there, people are going to be able to see that in me. But see, this is not something to me, Manuel, that we just have to do and we hate it. This, for me, can be something that's enjoyable. I enjoy telling people the gospel literally means good news.

Is that right, Manuel? Absolutely. The gospel is. I think about 1 Peter 3, when it talks about that word apologia, apologetic. It's a comfort.

It's what it's talking about to those that are suffering. It is a great joy to testify of our faith. And when we think about the Christian life, Foundational to it. It is a religion about words, a religion that says. The eternal word, eternal logos of all creation has become a man and he has saved the world.

He is saving people, he's saving these people into himself. And in this case, it calls for us to love God and love neighbor, actually have relationships with people. And in those relationships, in those conversations. you're calling people out of darkness into light. And it's more about your entire life.

It's a calling. It should be, if you're truly called as one of God's children, you should really love it. He's getting back and dark. Yeah, that's right. There was a Barna study that was done a few years ago, Matt, and it said that 70% of people who were asked, non-Christians, were asked, would you listen to a gospel presentation from somebody who knew what they were talking about, number one, and number two was enthusiastic?

And 70% of those people said, yes, they would. Matt, when you're going out each day and you want to share Jesus with somebody, do you pray first or what do you do before you go out, Matt? Yeah. That's such a good topic to talk about, Mike. And I give you a good example.

I met a good friend about. I would say two years ago now. And from the very first time that I met him, it was at a get-together, a party, if you would say. And I wore my shirt. It said it was in red, and in big white letters, it said Jesus saves.

And you know, I'm making a statement. And all these people there, they meet me, and I'm energetic, I'm charismatic. And somebody finally, you know, my shirt is enticing a conversation, right? Finally, about halfway through the night, somebody looks at it and they said, Jesus saves. Why is that?

And I just laughed. And for the next about an hour or two hours, I want you to know I spoke to about ten to fifteen people about Jesus, man. And they all looked at me afterwards and they said, Matt, If you would have been anybody else. We would have never have listened to a word that you said, but the way that you talk about Jesus. It's fantastic.

I I I don't I don't Know what you do. It's crazy. Like your energy, the way that you talk about him, it makes me want to know more. And the guy's party that um he put together, we are very good friends now. And he tells people all the time he he meets new people.

And the first thing he says, Mike, the first thing he tells these people, he says, I'm going to tell you people something. This guy right here. spoke to me about Jesus the first time we met. And if it would have been anybody else, if I would have ran into somebody on the street that talked to me about the Lord. I would have told him to shut up and walked on.

I don't care. It says, but the first time he looked me in the eyes and he talked about Jesus, the way he told me about Jesus, the way he lives. for Jesus. I wanted to know more, man. And I tell you, it's such a big Yeah.

Of evangelizing is you have to show that it's this awesome relationship that you have. I I mean, if if you're dragging around and well, I I guess I got to read my Bible today, or I got to go talk to people about Jesus today. Nobody wants anything to be a part of that, you know? Mm-hmm. And I'm telling you, man, that is like one of the big joys of my life is when somebody looks at me and they say, man, you look.

You make Loving Jesus looks fun. That is just so great to hear, and I love to see people eager. And it should be fun. I want to thank you guys: Mike Shreve, Manuel Pittman, and Matt. I'm going to finish up with a Michael Jordan quote.

He says, I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed. What do you have to lose?

Go out and give it a shot.