Jesus has an amazing ability to meet people where they are. To see an “in” and enter through it. He won hearts by feeding bellies. He won minds by healing bodies. He spoke light into dark situations and offered hope when all seemed hopeless. When it comes to reaching souls, no one did it better than Christ and we can learn a lot from His approach.

Jesus rarely started with scripture to win souls. This should be a relief. One of the biggest reasons (excuses?) Christians don’t share their faith is a lack of confidence in their own knowledge of the Bible (source). Thankfully, we don’t need to be a walking Bible in order to share God with others. Jesus called Peter and Andrew who were fishermen by inviting them to become fishers of men (Matthew 4:18-19). He lead a physician to believe based on the healing power of God (Luke). At a well in Samaria, Jesus offered a woman “living water” which led to many from that city following Christ (John 4).

Jesus asked questions. In the gospel accounts, we find Jesus asked over 300 questions (source). Some of the questions Jesus asked could be great tools to share our faith today. “What do you think about the Christ?” (Matt. 22:42). “Do you believe that I [Christ] am able to do this?” (Matt. 9:28). “Do you love Me [Christ]?” (John 21:17). “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:36). As Christians, we don’t need all the answers. Sometimes, we just need to encourage those we love to think through the answers themselves.

Jesus saw souls, not circumstance. How often are we like the Pharisees – judging whether or not someone is a good “candidate” for the gospel based on the current state of their life? The Pharisees saw a “sinner” and Jesus saw a soul (Luke 7:39-47) Throughout his entire ministry, we see Jesus went straight for the “sinners,” the sick, the hurt, the broken and offered the healing that only God can provide.

It’s been said that 90% of Christians in America will not share their faith with anyone in their life (Billy Graham quoting from Barna Research). This can’t be us. We have the same opportunity (and responsibility) that Jesus had: to meet people where they are and bring them closer to Christ.