When we moved to Maine, we were aware that it was one of the most unreached states in American with the Gospel. There are parts of Maine that have never heard the name of Jesus or the good news of the Gospel. The churches in our area are incredibly small and many of them suffer and struggle with false doctrine. Community members are closeminded to hearing about our faith and associate the church and relationship with Jesus as something to be avoided.
So how do you evangelize? The people we love are lost, hurting, and empty but do not want to be in conversations when bible verses and cliche church phrases are thrown around- even if in it is in love and meant with good intentions.
Here we have to build deep and impressionable relationships where we can meet people in genuine love and acceptance. We do life alongside each other and strive to serve and show unconditional love in every way we can. We get involved in our local groups and our jobs become an everyday opportunity to grow in relationships. As we grow and walk alongside our community, we are able to share our stories and testimony's.
Not in the context of "The Bible says you are going to hell." kind of way, but in sharing our own transformation and healing stories of God's rescue in our lives, when the gospel is our good news, we have the opportunity to share on a story level rather than teaching and instructing level.
The world is full of opinions and beliefs. The churches alone teach so many different ideas and theologies. It is an easy thing to discredit and argue another person's belief or opinion, but less easy to argue a personal experience and testimony.
So here in Maine as we live, we build relationships and share our stories. We share and engage with our neighbors, friends, and communities. We are honest and allow the Spirit to speak through us and to bear witness of our changed lives. Our fruit is the evidence of the stories we will share with the world around us.
Sometimes though, it can feel overwhelming or difficult to engage in natural conversations. One way we are looking to combat this is to use our clothing and other visible things to prompt questions which would allow us to share authentically parts or elements of the gospel and our faith.
Once a month we will be releasing a T-shirt design which is designed to subtly share the Gospel in some way. Along with the t-shirt we will be sharing a post on the biblical principles behind the design and ideas for sharing your stories based on that design with your communities. Whether you live in Maine or Georgia, we have an opportunity to share in the gospel in a way that draws people into deeper relationship and authenticity with those around us. A T-shirt is such a simple way to bring the Gospel without beating people over the head with the bible. Your story matters. We each have our own powerful testimony of how God's saving grace has not only made a way for us be with Him eternally but to have been raised from death into life and created into new people. Our weaknesses and messy moment make opportunity for the world to see Jesus and the power of the Spirit through it.
Join me in sharing your messy beautiful faith.
Riah
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