Some Ideas for Sharing Your Faith

IF everything goes as planned (fat chance), then we will be sharing our personal testimonies with the children in VBS on Monday, July 17th. Just tell your "story" as simply as you can. If you have ever struggled with some of the issues that the kids have (durgs, alcohol, abuse, poverty, etc.) , then be sure to include that in your story, HOWEVER, remember that it is not necessary for you to relate to everything in their lives. Not ALL of the struggle with such issues. EVERYONE'S story is important because every child is different and will relate to different stories.

Then we will be sharing the gospel with the children in VBS on Wednesday, July 19th.

As you meet in your groups to prepare for this, here are some ideas that may help. Feel free to use any or none of the following:

Show How Jesus Can Relate To Their Experiences

Things Jesus has in common with American Indians:

• The Creator wanted to have a relationship with human beings. But because He was Spirit, he had to come to the earth in the form of a man.
  
• The Creator chose to identify Himself through the incarnate Christ with one of the nations of the earth. He chose the Israeli people.
  What does the Bible say about the Israeli people?
  
• They were a minority.
  o “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of them all. (Deut. 7:6-7)
  
• They were a tribal group. (Genesis 49:28)
  
• The Israeli people had to struggle to survive, but they did survive.
  o Survived slavery in Egypt.
  o Survived Hitler’s execution of more than 6 million Jews.
  o Even now are fighting for the survival of Israel.
  
• Jesus was born in the ancestral homeland of his people and that land was under the rule of a dominant society – the Roman Empire.
  
• His people faced many of the same kind of atrocities that American Indians have faced.
  o When Jesus was born, king Herod massacred all of the baby boys
  o Hitler’s concentration camps and mass executions.
  
• Jesus grew up living in with a mixture of his own culture, traditions, and language but they were also held to Roman rule, including having to pay taxes and submit to the law of the donminate society.
  

A Illustration

If you prefer having an illustration for sharing the gospel, one can be found here

Another Site with Tips is here. This site disusses how to deal with hecklers.