Introduction
As this book was coming together, I returned from a mission trip to a culturally diverse area. Unbelievers wanted to hear about what I did, and believers wanted to hear about what God did. I chose to focus on what God did. So when an unbelieving colleague heard God used our team to help about 30 people commit their lives to Christ, she was appalled.
“Don’t these people already have native faiths?” she asked incredulously. “Why would you take that from them?”
To her and all like her, I offer an analogy: If you asked someone for directions to California and instead got sent to Maine, would that person’s directions be helpful to you? Of course not, because you wouldn’t arrive at your intended destination. In fact, you would be as far from it (in terms of the continental United States) as you could be.
So it is with other faith systems. We as Christians are privileged to know there is only one way, one truth and one life (John 14:6). Jesus alone is our ticket to heaven – and not just heaven but a full and abundant life here and now (John 10:10).
We have each been appointed as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). Like earthly ambassadors in foreign lands (for we are strangers and aliens here), we must first understand the culture we’re addressing. This guide will enlighten and equip you for the task at hand. I pray it also inspires and compels you forward in your witness.
Each section of this book contains a brief overview of a faith system, followed by a path from that worldview to Christ. The paths are written so that you can share the words directly with the person to whom you’re witnessing. Do this orally or by sharing the material as a hardcopy or via email. The important thing is that you share.
It’s time for the church to be the hands, feet and mouthpiece of Christ.
Let’s get started.