In our day in age, there are a lot of people who don’t believe in God. It is our job as Christians to tell others about Jesus and share his hope for us. It’s the heart of what I do, and I’ve written LOTS about it.

here is why I do this and am so passionate about Jesus: This is Why

why I believe it’s our purpose to be a light: Why Being a Light?

the purpose of our lives: We Need to Stop Wasting Our Lives

how to show your faith and why: Show It

Here is what I’ve found to be the best five tips…

1. Ask for guidance.

It’s so important to ask guidance from God, and the Holy Spirit will give you discernment on when to say something. It’s also important to consult a mature Christian and have them help you and follow the situation.

for more on mentoring and the importance of it: On Being a Mentor and the Mentors in Your Life

2. Tell them gently.

To begin with, you can’t just expect someone to know all about the story of Jesus. You have to tell them. Tell them your story and how Jesus saved you. If they show some interest or don’t protest against it, great! Keep sharing Jesus! However, if they start to make comments about being against God, or you know they are a different religion even though they have heard about God, then that’s where we need to proceed to #3 if you feel God is calling you there.

3. Be patient and live your life for God.

There is a quote I really like that says something like how some people are too hurt to listen to your message, so you have to live the message. And another says something on how you are the only Bible somebody will ever read. That couldn’t be more true.

Every situation is different. People are different. In the situation I’m faced with, the things I feel like God is calling me to do right now are to just live my life imitating the peace He gives me, being thankful and content, acting mature in shallow situations, and to pursue a relationship with Him and live that out. My friends know about Jesus. I’ve told them (probably WAY too aggressively when I was younger…thank goodness people mature), and now I feel like the best thing for me to do is to answer their questions when they have some and make gentle comments when the Holy Spirit prompts me to, but other than that, I’m just going to live my own life and do the best I can to make sure it is pleasing to God.

Like I said, I don’t know your situation. You’re going to have to pray for guidance because maybe one of these tips will work for you, but another the Holy Spirit is telling you to wait on. I think this tip is huge, though. We can’t force our light into somebody’s eyes. That’s disrespectful and will only turn them off. Don’t shun these people, either. Pray for them, and don’t give up! To successfully live out this tip, though, what does that mean…?

>> This means that you’re going to have to develop a strong relationship with Him because we are sinners, and we need His guidance. Pray, read Scripture, study God’s Word. We’re going to make mistakes. Please don’t be one of those Christians who looks down on people. I feel you – that’s really easy to do! It’s easy to lose your patience when somebody sins, but God forgives you when you sin, and He gives you another chance. We have to do that, too. This doesn’t mean we never confront anyone. In fact, I wrote a blog post on living your faith and what to do when others are tempting you or caught up in temptation.

for more on confronting and dealing with your friends stuck in sin: Living Your Faith: I Will Not Chill Out

Sometimes the best thing to do is live your life working on YOUR OWN sin while also confronting when the Holy Spirit directs you to, pray for the people who don’t know Christ, and wait for opportunities. God will orchestrate those, but we must be patient.

4. Ask gentle questions.

If you believe God is leading you to ask one of your friends a question that might get them thinking, do it. What’s the worst that can happen? They get mean? Oh, well. At least they’ll be thinking. This could be a question such as, “Why are you okay with {insert something that’s not okay}?” and see where that takes you. It’s important to listen to their point of view as well. I’m not saying you have to agree with or act like you agree with it, but show that person that you are listening to them.

Also, don’t go along with something they say that is not true. You can share your opinion in a respectful way, but don’t say something is right when it’s really not out of fear of hurting that person. It’s so easy to do that; I get it. One time I was talking to a kid, and he made a comment about how we don’t know for sure if our religion is right since there’s many others out there. And what did I say?! I said, “Yeah.”

Immediately I thought, “No no no! That is NOT right – our religion is right, and we can know that because of all the evidence for it!” Thankfully I was able to regroup saying that last comment, and we actually had a pretty good discussion.

I wouldn’t necessarily come out and say, “You’re wrong,” when somebody shares their opinion. Instead, gently direct them to the truth. If someone says they’re okay with gay marriage, instead of getting all defensive and being all “that’s wrong!!!” try saying, “I also believe the Bible says this about so and so…which is why I believe it’s not okay.” Get what I’m saying? If you are gentle and respectful, people are going to notice that. Some might get mad anyway, but God sees, and you’ll be rewarded.

5. Know your stuff.

Truthfully, I think this one is the most important. We have to know what the Bible says. We’re obviously not going to know every answer to every question, but it is so, so important to study God’s Word. Especially nowadays with all of the different religions and how they twist things that are SO unbiblical it makes me wonder how they even made it possible to believe such a thing. One time my friend was asking me one question after another about some different topics, which was great! I’m happy to answer her questions and happy to know she’s curious. However, it occurred to me just how important it is to know verses. She asked me about angels after a discussion about heaven and hell, and then I was like, “Oh crap! Where’s the verses on angels?!”

It’s also okay, as someone at my church told me, to tell that person you’re not very sure, but let’s look it up. I’ve noticed a trend with atheists, and a book I was reading identified it. Most atheists will ask some really hard questions, and when the person being asked doesn’t know, they will feel satisfied. But does that mean there’s NOT an answer? No! You just have to find it.

Okay, I hoped these tips helped you! The biggest thing of all is to stay close to the Lord, and He will guide you.