We often encourage Christians to tell people their story of how Jesus has made a difference in their life.

That is good.

But recently, as some of our MyFriends trainers practised sharing their stories, another thought emerged:

Your story is not really about you.

Of course, it is your experience. But when you share it with someone else, the goal is not simply to tell them everything that happened to you.

The goal is to help them take a step toward Jesus.

That means we need to listen before we speak.

Suppose you are talking with someone who is anxious about the future. You might tell the part of your story where you discovered you could trust Jesus when life felt uncertain.

If someone feels lonely, you might share how Jesus met you during a time when you felt alone.

If someone comes from a strong religious background, they may not need to hear that you grew up going to church. They might connect much more with how Jesus became real and personal to you.

The same story can be told in different ways because different people are asking different questions.

Before you tell your story, it can help to ask:

• What is happening in this person's life?
• What questions might they be asking?
• What has Jesus done in my life that might connect with that?

And you do not have to tell the whole story.

Sometimes 30 seconds is enough.

Share the part that connects, and then turn the conversation back toward them.

You might ask:

“Have you ever experienced anything like that?”

Or:

“What has your experience of God been?”

Then listen.

Sharing your story isn't about delivering a prepared speech. It's about sharing something Jesus has done in your life that might help someone else consider what He could do in theirs.

I call these Water Cooler Conversations—natural opportunities to share how Jesus has made a difference in our lives.

Here's a short video we use in our training to illustrate what this can look like.

Let's pray:

"Lord Jesus, thank you for the way you are working in my life and changing me. I pray that you will increase my sensitivity to the people I talk with so that I know which part of my testimony to share with them. Thank you that you have a strong desire for all my friends and family to come to know you. Amen"

Walking together,

P.S. Who do you think would be encouraged by this email? Forward it to them and let them know they can walk alongside experienced cross-cultural evangelists by visiting: https://hereslife.com/encouragement