Soul Winning… Tips On How To Be A Soul Winner (pt.5)

Paul Joseph

The very first requirement to have that compassion for lost souls is to actually see the world through the eyes of God. To fully understand the need to win souls is to be fully convinced of love of God for every man and woman (Jn 3:16); it is to love others because He first loved us (1Jn 3:16). We were brought out of darkness into His glorious light. Somebody threw a lifesaver to rescue us and we ought to do the same for every drowning man and woman. This is really the essence of witnessing. We owe it to them.

There are no prerequisites nor classifications to being a soul winner. None of us need to feel qualified, or  strong enough in the spirit, intellectually or spiritually wise, we do not need to feel winsome. God will use anybody who is willing to be used. Paul made it clear to the Corinthians: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” (1Cor.1:27-29). 

We are out there to share the greatest news ever. There’s no qualification needed. The gospel is nothing but good news. It’s telling people that a miracle happened 2000 years ago that changed, not only the course of history, but the whole dynamics of our world. Every man and woman is now able to live his/her full destiny by being fully re-united to their Father, the God of the universe. All men and women can now be loosed from the shackles of slavery and know true freedom, true peace, and a life without stress and worries; a life filled with true joy, true happiness, and true peace. That’s the good news. Jesus paid for all of that for every man and women and it’s made available to all for free. That’s the great news that is worthy to be shouted on rooftops. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (Jn 3:17). 

A lot of Christians feel like they need to first emphasize the sinning nature of man, to make people feel condemned first, so that they can fully repent, but the Bible says that every man is already condemned and he knows it in his heart. Yes, when comes time to pray and dedicate their life, and make Jesus the Lord of their lives, they will need to wholeheartedly decide to leave the shackles of this world behind and repent from following the god of this world. But that’s a very easy decision when faced with the glorious light of God and all that He provides through salvation in Jesus. We don’t need to show them hell to scare them into heaven. We need to show them heaven and that’ll be inviting enough, because they already know they’re living in hell. “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Rom 1:18-20). 

I have a friend who is very consistent in sharing the gospel and winning souls to the Lord. And the way he does it is very simple. Whether he is on the phone with customer service, or talking to anyone in a supermarket or in the mall, he ends every conversation by saying,  “It was so inspiring to talk with you, but before we part, I want to let you know that my wife and I are faithful to pray for people; God is a good God and a loving God, and He wants to heal us, and relieve us of our of the pain in our heart which most people carry… Is there anything that we could pray for you for, or for anyone in your family?” And once they have enumerated what they would like to pray for, he goes straight into praying, and once he has prayed for their specific needs, he says, “By the way, have you ever made Jesus the Lord of your life? You know He can give you a very fulfilling and happy life… While we’re now praying, would you join me and I can lead you into knowing Him. He not only promised a life in heaven after we are done with this life, but He also promised heaven on earth to all those who believe and make Him their Lord and Savior, so that our life can be filled with all the promises of this living Word…” And he leads that person in to a prayer of salvation. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.

If you happen to live in an area where, the minute you raise the name of Jesus people get very apprehensive and defensive, then start by talking about your own testimony, how you have found so much love, so much peace, so much happiness and spell out why. You can also talk about the different laws of God such as keeping your thoughts into captivity, being mindful of what comes into your head such as the garbage of the news media. You can talk about how you’ve learned to watch your words because they are the rudder to your destiny. You can also talk about the importance of thinking on “good things”, and not letting your mind go into toxic and negative thoughts. And not letting your life be ruled by your emotions, but rather by values and principles that are solid and true. All these are laws of the kingdom.

And then you can start talking about how God wants us to live a fulfilled life. We were created to be innovative, creative, and fulfilled by giving the beautiful gifts that He has given us to others. Once you have spoken about so many beautiful laws of the kingdom and the many blessings in your life, and how you have based your life principles on biblical values, then it’s easy to ask them if they’d like prayer for anything special before parting, and use the opportunity to lead them also into a prayer of salvation.

And after the prayer, you must leave them with something to read to firm up that confession of faith. This is a very important part of soul winning: the follow-up. Leave them with something to read, to gel and coagulate their decision. I happen to have a handbook which I have compiled for that very purpose. It’s a free download at: Http://thehandbookforadiscipleofjesus.com

Once they come into the kingdom, they need to know what the kingdom is all about and how the rules of the kingdom operate, so that they can fully embrace that “new life” of freedom and love. So, I usually take their phone number or their email address and I immediately send them the link for them to download it onto their phone. (The handbook is actually hyperlinked so that they can click on any chapter and it takes them straight to all of the verses to firm up their foundation of faith. So you can actually suggest one or two chapters to read. Http://thehandbookforadiscipleofjesus.com

I encourage you to download the handbook for yourself, and if you’d like to share it with new converts, you can either read portions of it off the copy on the desktop of your phone, or simply share the above link. The reason we have developed this tool is specifically for soul winners to feed their new converts as soon as they’re saved, so they know how to live in the inheritance and authority that Jesus has given us through the Holy Ghost.

Whether you have something feeding to leave with them or not, you must invite them to meet up with you again, as well as to accompany you to your church. You should sit with your new convert, introduce him/her to your Christian community, and further explain whatever is being shared by the pastor. I cannot emphasize the whole aspect of following up enough.

Sadly, too many people are led to the Lord and left on their own. And therefore they remain babes; at the most, toddlers; because they do not get the proper feeding to allow them to grow into full fledged disciples. You must feed them regularly. Best is for you to have a morning meeting with all your converts a couple times a week to feed them. The most important key in discipling new converts is found in John 15: “Abide in Me and I in you as the branch can’t bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine; no more can ye except ye abide in Me.”  You must share the Word and teach them to read the Word for themselves as well.

If perhaps, you consider yourself not the best Bible teacher. It’s easy enough to get on Zoom with your new converts a few times a week, and share your screen while you play a video of one of your favorite Word teachers.

Also, the best training for new disciples is for them to step out and share their testimony as early as possible after they’ve gotten saved. So on the one night that you go out soul winning, they should all come out with you, and you teach them to witness and pray with people. They must learn to create that opportunity for people to make Christ their Lord. As often as possible, they’ve got to learn lead people to a decision.

If some of your new converts can’t make it that one night, you must make yourself available some other night. Why? Because you must teach them from the start to share their faith and their testimony with conviction in order to solidify their stand of faith. Again, no conviction, no conversion. There’s hardly anything more inspiring for new converts to lead someone to the Lord. A miracle happens before their eyes.

Now that we’ve covered a number of the easy parts of witnessing, one important point to emphasize is the need to never argue. If you find the conversation going a little sour, stay loving, gentle and encouraging. As much as is possible, let your seed fall into soft ground. (See the parable of the sower.) It’s the only ground that actually will bear fruit. Some sow, others water, and yet others reap. You don’t have to reap every time. But you always want to witness.

Also, there are people who love to argue and they’re just not hungry. They just want to flex their intellect and/or win an argument. So, no need to waste your time. Best is to share your testimony with them about how you were dead, and now you’re alive. That’s one thing they can’t argue with you about. A similar situation happened in the book of Acts. “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject.’ At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.” (Acts 17:34). 

It’s like anything else, practice makes perfect. You’ll get to where you can go to the supermarket, meet someone who’s obviously ill, and you’ll walk up to them and say, “You know, when I pray for people, oftentimes they get healed!” And you’ll lay hands on them and they’ll recover. And then, it’s so easy to lead them to the Lord. (Mark 16:15-19).