Avoiding Awkward Introductions

By Reverend Michael Farias

Many people make a decision to become a Christian in a church.  I’ve seen it many times. I’ve invited people to make the decision many times in my years as a pastor as well as personally experienced it once.  I’ve only experienced it once, because once is all it takes.

In order to make a proper introduction, one must know something about the parties being introduced.  While I feel I know enough about Jesus to make a proper introduction of him, I prefer to do more than make a casual introduction and walk away.  It is my hope and desire that the new acquaintances will become lifelong friends.  But really, more than that - friends for eternity.

There is an imbalance to this meeting of strangers because only one of them is a stranger.  Jesus knows everything about us, including the number of hairs on our head.  And almost certainly the other party knows little to nothing about Jesus.

To help avoid this potentially awkward introduction, Greater Than Gold has produced a tool, a Bible study titled, Introduction to the Christian Life. It is designed especially for this moment of introduction.

I wish there had been such a resource available to me when I met Jesus as a 24 year old.  I’d never laid my hands on a Bible, didn’t know anything about God, and was not really sure what was happening.  Even if I had been given a Bible on that strange day, I would not have had a clue what to do with it.  I would not even had known what the words in red signified.

Introduction to the Christian Life is a short, easy to follow Bible study, divided into 5 simple sub-sections.

1.     The New Life.  This introduces the concept of salvation and what happens when a person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ.

2.     Living The New Life.  This is a lesson on getting connected through prayer and the Church.

3.     The Tools.  This is a brief explanation of how the Bible and the Holy Spirit are provided for our spiritual growth.

4.     Activities.  The Christian life is a life of participation.  This section discusses water baptism, praise and worship and sharing our experience.

5.     Walking The Walk.  Teaches us who we are in Christ and how do deal with tough times.

When you make an introduction, do your best to assure that the relationship will last forever.