Have you ever tried sharing Christ with someone and later felt like youd blown it? I have. It was after my first semester of college. I came home excited about my relationship with Christ and anxious to share Him with my friends from high school days. Id been a believer during those years but hadnt lived my faith out loud. In college

I joined a campus ministry, grew more serious about God and made friends who showed me how to be more contagious with my faith.

So I returned home feeling a strong conviction that I needed to share Christ with some of the people I cared about most. At the time, I felt those presentations went pretty wellI said what I needed to say, and they heard what they needed to hear!

After Id learned more about effective evangelism, I realized my efforts probably benefited me more than my friends.  I hadnt considered where each of them was spiritually or how they might respond if this old buddy suddenly came home pushing salvation when previously hed kept quiet about such things.

A few years passed, and my analysis was verified by one of those friends, who told me: Youve gotten a lot less pushy about religion.  I hadnt stopped talking about Christ, but Id found better ways to bring up spiritual topics.

Could God have worked through those pushy presentations? Absolutely. But I hadnt applied all the skills and sensitivities I could have.

What about you? Are you sometimes a pushy peddler? Or the wallflower who keeps quiet about your faith? This issue of On Mission explores how we can use our social skills more effectively in relationship evangelism. Were not implying that God uses only well polished, perfectly produced presentationswere saying that our gospel presentations deserve a little work and some strategy in how we share them.

Paul wrote, To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. Paul said we should get to know people and approach them in relatable ways.

What if youve blown it with a friend or family member? Dont let that stop you from sharing your faith again. Learn from your mistake and improve. Read on and see what other Christians like you are doing. Keep using all possible means to share that message most worth hearing.

Michael Ebert, publishing director, mebert@namb.net