God expects us to stand for our belief in him. Some people may have a little problem for them to share Christ. It may be their nature is to be quiet and reserved, which prevents them from being as assertive as they would like. (For those comfortable talking with others, a solid knowledge of Scripture and a sharing of one’s personal experience with Christ is valuable.) But what about the Christians who would really like to take a stand yet feel themselves encumbered? Let’s talk about those folks. Allow me to share some ideas I’ve used over the years for how to be a silent witness.
Most banks for free will allow you to have a short saying above your signature on your checks. Every time you write a check to someone or to a company, you are reminding people about Jesus and their need to have a relationship with him. I have on my check imprinted “Confess-Believe in Jesus.”
How you vote in political elections also is a declaration of your spiritual convictions. I am a little baffled by people who say they are pro-life and yet they vote for people who are pro-abortion. Isn’t that a conflict of terms? Should we not as Christians vote for politicians with the same convictions we claim?
Christmas time is a great opportunity to witness to your neighbors. This last Christmas season I was saddened by the number of blowup figures and statuettes and lights that had nothing to do with the birth of Christ. For years I have had a sign in my yard with the old adage, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” The same would be true if you send out Christmas cards. Make sure to send biblical type of sayings and when you sign them, you can always put one sentence in there that says something like this, “May the Christ child born in this season have great meaning to you.”
At sports events some people hold up large signs that reads, “John 3:16” so when the camera pans over the crowd millions of people can see it . You don’t necessarily need to go that far but you could wear a T-shirt or ball cap that has that Scripture on it. Or, when you are asked to sign the register such as at a funeral you could write that Scripture by your name.
If you have a business card, you can have a biblical saying or a Scripture text or the emblem of the fish printed on it. I have known other people who have no business, but they have personal cards like that of a business card with their name, address, and phone number to use when they are introduced to a new person. You could do the same with your card.
If you invite someone to your home for dinner or go out to eat with them, ask if it would be okay for you to say grace. Supposedly, you would say grace anyway. When doing your prayer, you could also ask God to bless them and thank God for their friendship.
If you are a little bolder than the introvert, you might do what I have when facing surgery. Usually, the surgeon comes to visit you before you are taken into the operating room. Ask the doctor if it would be okay for you to pray for him. I have never had a doctor refuse. I always thank God for him/her and their family and the many years of experience with the education that is required for them to do the work on me. If you find it difficult to do a spontaneous prayer, write two or three sentences beforehand and memorized it.
You can order small pamphlets that usually have three folds that are called tracts. You can order them online from the American Bible Society, The Tract League, The Faith, Prayer, and Tact League, BMH Tracts, Fellowship Track League, Lifeway, or Good News Publishers. You can buy 200 or 500 of them at a very low cost. I had a job once where I had to ride public transportation and always had a tract with me so I could leave it on the seat when I got off the bus. You could do the same thing on an airplane or any other mode of transportation. There is even a pamphlet that you can order to leave on the table after you are finished with your meal at a restaurant that is tailored just for the waitress.
In a similar way, people go through trauma, tragedy, grief or experience joyful occasions such as the birth of a child. I’m sure that there are pamphlets or tracts that you could give or mail to someone to help them spiritually and emotionally. I have a tract that I’ve used for when a woman had a miscarriage. God’s comforting words on that paper could be invaluable to her.
The church could order postcards to mail to people welcoming him for the first visit or for regular visitors/members who were absent from service more than once. That way you stay in touch with your congregation and the community letting people know that you care about them. I was an assistant pastor and set up a whole visitation system with one person who was assigned to send out these postcards on a weekly basis.
If you are able to discover when a woman has given birth and are able to find the statistics of the baby such as length and weight, you could print that out. Then laminate it to be the size of a business card to mail to her or if you’re so inclined to visit her in the hospital offering that is a gift. Naturally, on the backside of the card put the information about your church which would hopefully be an invitation to come when she’s able.
Your church could have a doorknob hanger printed on it that gives Scripture and an invitation to come to the services. You don’t necessarily need to talk to anyone in the neighborhood, but you could go through a neighborhood and put these doorknob hangers on each entrance for people to know they are noticed and appreciated.
If you know of someone who would appreciate receiving a flower arrangement for whatever reason, you could send that to the person anonymously with a card of testimony and/or invitation to your church. This is a little pricier but if you can afford it would be a great one will outreach.
When you go to the doctor’s office, hospital, or other professional waiting room, leave something behind such as one of the tracts I’ve mentioned or even a magazine. It would be wise to know if such a gift would be acceptable to the owner of the business. If that’s so, put the information about your church on it.
On social media, you could leave a message of encouragement or enlightenment to any reader. You don’t even have to list your name on the message. Avoid being preachy or saying anything that could be misconstrued. But social media is a great place to witness.
These are just some of the ideas I used in the past as part of my personal evangelism. Of course, it depends on your available time and money. The most crucial question is how motivated you are to plant a seed for Christ in the minds of others. Remember that some sow, some water, and some harvest souls. The seed you may plant could lead to someone else harvesting that person. Those of us who claim to be Christians have an obligation directly from God not to be ashamed of him but have a good witness in his behalf. Think what you could do for God!
Christian Writer 