Saying that you believe Jesus is your Lord and Savior. You have found his words to be true, his resurrection to be a fact, and he has changed your life. This is an excellent series of topics. People will listen and possibly nod their heads in agreement. But it is not engaging.

Saying that you once made a series of poor choices that led you down a destructive path. No one noticed, but you were dying a little each day. With each new conquest, you thought the pain in your soul would disappear, and it only intensified. Slowly, every day became a mental battle with self-worth and self-doubt. When you hit rock bottom, you discover the bottom could fall out, and the depth of your emotional emptiness could reach a new level. You moved back home hoping to find love and acceptance, but time had changed your most solid relationships.

It was in this freefall that Joe stepped into your life. He was a coworker whose life seemed to be so full of joy. He was always positive, even when you knew he was having a difficult day. He always took time to talk to you and appeared genuinely concerned. One day, Joe invited you to Church, and for some unknown reason, you found yourself saying yes. Sure, you regretted agreeing and thought about canceling, but you went anyway. The people were friendly, and all the horror stories you had heard about Church didn’t come true for you. The music was uplifting, and the sermon was not that boring. A few weeks later, you returned, and then you went again and again. After a few months of sporadic attendance, you decided to join a small group at Joe’s house. Everyone was kind, and you started thinking that Jesus might be okay. Over the next few months, your connections got stronger, and your convictions began to grow. Eventually, you stood up one Sunday, proclaimed your faith, and were baptized.

Since then, your life has been different. You are full of joy and have friends who want the best for you. You have attended classes to learn what and why you believe. Your life is steadily improving as you let go of the past and face each new day with faith.

That is more than a conversational topic. It is a story that people will listen to and then tell their friends.

Most people are not interested in your doctrinal thoughts about Jesus; they want to know how he has impacted your life. Learning to tell that story well is the key to engaging people with the gospel message.