It was cold at 6 am, but we got up, went to the school and loaded the bus. My daughter’s school was going skiing and she wanted me to come along, so I re-arranged my week and headed to “Mission Ridge” with them.
Within an hour of getting to the hill, most of the kids could “snowplow” and turn well enough to take the chair lift, go to the top and ski the day away.
Interestingly, about 27 years ago, I learned to ski at “Mission Ridge”. I took lessons on the same Bunny Hill. I spent most of my first day on the same “green” (meaning “easiest”) run that Katelyn and her friend were skiing. It was really special to pass on something that I really enjoy, so that my daughter could experience it too.
To me, evangelism, or the sharing of our faith, should look a lot like me teaching my daughter to ski.
It starts with a relationship. If I did not have a good relationship with Katelyn, she would not have asked me to go on the trip with her. One of the problems with many of our “evangelism techniques” is that they miss this crucial step. If we are ever going to influence anyone, it is most likely going to be done in the context of a relationship.
Secondly, I had to make the effort to go. It would not have done much good for me to sit in our living room the night before and tell Katelyn about “snowplowing”. If she was going to learn anything from me, I had to go to the hill with her. Advice from afar can be helpful at times, but it is much more effective to “walk with someone” through their life and struggles. That may take an effort, but it is worth the time.
Thirdly, I had to know something about skiing before I could teach anyone else. Spiritually, this means that if I am ever going to influence anyone, I had better take my own faith seriously.
Evangelism, passing on faith or influencing others (whatever you prefer to call it) does not have to be as hard as we often make it. What if it is all about being close to God, close to others and then passing on the good things you know so that they can experience them too?
It works on the ski hill.
“Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Within an hour of getting to the hill, most of the kids could “snowplow” and turn well enough to take the chair lift, go to the top and ski the day away.
Interestingly, about 27 years ago, I learned to ski at “Mission Ridge”. I took lessons on the same Bunny Hill. I spent most of my first day on the same “green” (meaning “easiest”) run that Katelyn and her friend were skiing. It was really special to pass on something that I really enjoy, so that my daughter could experience it too.
To me, evangelism, or the sharing of our faith, should look a lot like me teaching my daughter to ski.
It starts with a relationship. If I did not have a good relationship with Katelyn, she would not have asked me to go on the trip with her. One of the problems with many of our “evangelism techniques” is that they miss this crucial step. If we are ever going to influence anyone, it is most likely going to be done in the context of a relationship.
Secondly, I had to make the effort to go. It would not have done much good for me to sit in our living room the night before and tell Katelyn about “snowplowing”. If she was going to learn anything from me, I had to go to the hill with her. Advice from afar can be helpful at times, but it is much more effective to “walk with someone” through their life and struggles. That may take an effort, but it is worth the time.
Thirdly, I had to know something about skiing before I could teach anyone else. Spiritually, this means that if I am ever going to influence anyone, I had better take my own faith seriously.
Evangelism, passing on faith or influencing others (whatever you prefer to call it) does not have to be as hard as we often make it. What if it is all about being close to God, close to others and then passing on the good things you know so that they can experience them too?
It works on the ski hill.
“Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1).
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