How to Witness and Minister Effectively 6-29-25

Proper training equals effectiveness. I asked someone about another person; if they were saved and the answer was “They pray to the Lord”

Example: God sent Peter to Cornelius who feared [respected God [he was morally upright] but he was not saved (Acts 10:21-22a). Philip, the evangelist was sent to the desert to witness to an Ethiopian eunuch, who was reading the Bible, Isaiah 53:, but he was not saved. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,  was returning.

And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” So, Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.  The place in the Scripture which he read from Isaiah, chapter 53 about the prophecy of Jesus suffering and dying for us.

So, the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.  Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? “Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may. “And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:26-39). Please read all of the verses.

It takes preparation; proper training equals effectiveness, know how to defend the Gospel, and be led by the Spirit of God. For instance,  Jesus said: “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces (Matthew 12:6). In other words, if you are led by the Spirit, the spirits in others will make you look like a fool.

This is an example of a saved person who had not been properly trained to witness. The person didn’t know and understand how to present the Gospel and asked me to go with them. There was a time when I was in another state and walked the person through the steps to take over the phone. I also witnessed to and prayed with someone in Ohio, (a friend did not know how to witness to the person) so she called me and I was blessed to present the Gospel by telephone and he received Jesus as his Savior.

Never say, “that person needs to be saved” and leave it at that. If someone had told me I needed to be saved without telling me why, I would have remained confused. Let them know that Adam the first human being disobeyed God (Genesis 2:7) and caused death to come on all humans (Romans 5:12). Tell them Jesus came to reverse what Adam did by becoming sin for us so that we will live forever with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

Then tell the person/s how to be saved:  That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,  not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Each of us should remember that salvation was all God’s doing; we responded by the faith He put in us.

This is a basic (elementary) guideline; a class on evangelism; this could be part of the new members class, wherever you are attending church. It is more than a follow up as far as going in the right direction, but also to help you spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ more effectively. Also, if you are really saved, that alone should be a witness to others, and of course there should be scriptures to verify how the the Lord changed your life.

His handmaiden, Betty A. Burnett ~ burnettministries.org