Make Disciples That Make Disciplesნიმუში

Sharing your story

As humans, we are fascinated with stories. We tend to gravitate towards the ones that we can relate to, or at least find the things that can feel relatable to us in some capacity. One thing we can all relate to? We are broken, longing for hope and purpose.

In reality, we are all living our own story, but as followers of Jesus, we know that our stories go far beyond our personal identity. Our stories point to something so much larger than ourselves. They are a testament to the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and how He has changed our lives!

Scripture shows us that our story of what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives has incredible power to transform others' lives. In Mark 5, we read about Jesus healing the demon-possessed man. After Jesus cast out the legion of demons, the man begged Jesus to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (verses 18-20)

Did you catch that? The man begged Jesus that he might join him and learn at His master’s feet, but Jesus told him that he actually had all the training that he needed to be obedient and carry out Jesus' plan. He had his story of encountering Jesus and nothing else, yet it was enough to make the Decapolis turn upside down for Jesus. The demon-possessed man had a story, and you do too!

The more you practice sharing this story, the easier it will be to share it with the people around you when there are opportunities.

You can break down your story into three parts:

• Your life before you met Jesus.
• Why did you choose to follow Jesus?
• Your life after following Jesus and the difference He has made in your life.
• Response: ask if they have ever had something like this happen to them.

Often, we believe that we might not be ready to share Jesus with the people around us. We might say something like “I’m not trained,” but if we are to be radically obedient disciples of Jesus, we need to understand that the Lord uses the simple obedience of ordinary people in ways far beyond what we can imagine. Sharing our story is a great first step in obedience to His command to make disciples.

Questions to consider:

• What did your life look like before you met Jesus?
• How did you come to learn about Jesus?
• Does your life look any different now since you’ve had that encounter with Jesus?
• Have you ever shared your story of how Jesus changed your life?
• Is there someone that I can share my story with this week?