Becoming a Contagious Christian

“If we are not teaching people how to be saved, it is perhaps because we have forgotten the tragedy of being lost! If we’re not teaching the message of forgiveness, it may be because we don’t remember what it was like to be guilty. And if we’re not preaching the cross, it could be that we’ve subconsciously decided that—God forbid—somehow we don’t need it.”(Max Lucado, Six Hours One Friday)

Do we sincerely believe that knowing Christ is the best way to live and the only way to die? Are we convinced that everyone we know, without exception, needs to find the forgiveness, friendship, life, and leadership Jesus offers? Do we truly believe in hell, and that our friends and family members will end up there if they don’t trust in Christ before they die? If so, are we willing to invest our time and energy in becoming people that will attract, challenge, and teach them to step across the line of faith?

As a Christian, I was challenged by questions like these and motivated enough to become involved in various programs that would help me understand the dynamics that governed sharing my faith. In all these pursuits though, harnessing the power of personal relationships seemed to be an afterthought. That’s the beauty of the Willow Creek’s celebrated Becoming a Contagious Christian training course—it starts by assessing your individual personality style and ends with equipping you to effectively make a difference for time and eternity in the lives that God has placed within your sphere of influence.

Willow Creek Pastor, Bill Hybels noted, “deep inside every true Christian, there is the awareness that we are on this planet for purposes greater than having a career, paying the bills, loving our families, and fulfilling our role as upstanding citizens. What is it that’s absent in the lives of so many believers who are crying out for fulfillment? What on earth is God asking us to do? God wants us to become contagious Christians—His agents, who will first catch His love and then urgently and infectiously offer it to all who are willing to consider it. This is His primary plan, the one Jesus modeled so powerfully, to spread God’s grace and truth, person to person, until there’s an epidemic of changed lives around the world.”

The Becoming a Contagious Christian evangelism course then, is designed to help everyday Christians—like you and me—to confidently and effectively spread their faith to people they know. The emphasis is on natural approaches that work over time to bring family members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to the point of trusting in Christ. It avoids stereotyped approaches that feel intimidating to many Christians. Instead it shows ordinary believers how they can share the Gospel in a natural and powerful way, while being the person God made them to be.

Through a variety of formats including video vignettes, group discussions, role playing, and teaching segments, you will learn how to communicate the message of Christ in your own personal, God-given style. As you gain confidence and begin to put into action what you have learned, you’ll discover what thousands of people who have taken this training before you have: becoming a contagious Christian is an unparalleled adventure! It is my personal belief, that there is nothing in Christian service that is closer to the heart of God, or more vital to advancing His kingdom, than sharing your faith in this manner.

By impacting your world with the Gospel, you also become identified with the continuum of saints down through the ages that have shared in the harvest of souls. According to the experts, over 200,000 people come to a “saving” knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ every day somewhere in the world. When Jesus said, “the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matt. 9:37)—He was inviting us all to join in this “call to family.” So here’s your opportunity to say “yes” to the One, who said yes to the cross for you.

If you have the desire to discover your own natural evangelism style, and share biblical truth in everyday language, then don’t miss the opportunity to sit through this seminar. As you put the principles of this course to work, you’ll notice a sense of personal adventure, purpose, spiritual growth and confidence, as you make enduring investments in others, and have the honor of being God’s agent.

Sure, making this commitment will involve some effort and risk on your part, but let me assure you it’s worth it—a thousand fold, paid in eternal dividends.

Roy Tanner