If you can identify with any of these feelings, or similar ones, then worry not! Help is at hand in the shape of CMF's Confident Christianity evangelism training course. This tried, tested and popular day conference began in 1989 and since then has been run at scores of venues up and down the country and even abroad. Hundreds of students have been encouraged, equipped and enthused to communicate their faith more effectively both on and off campus. Every three years Confident Christianity has a nationwide tour and the next one runs from October to March.
The course
So what is Confident Christianity? It is a 10am-5pm day conference run by experienced trainers in several modules. It's interactive, fun and above all highly relevant to students.
One of the most important requirements to sharing the gospel is knowing what it is! Yet it's easy to spend time talking about peripheral issues instead of what's really important. The 'What is the gospel?' module looks at apostolic sermons in Acts to tease out the essential requirements of a good presentation.
But once we know all that, how many of us still find ourselves fumbling around, using 'Christianese' language that non-Christians don't understand, or rambling when we should be getting to the point? The section on 'A gospel outline' uses a simple method (God, man, God, what if I do, what if I don't?) to help us remember the key facts and talk briefly or at length depending on the situation. Skills are immediately put into practice as students are given two minutes to convince their friends before nuclear disaster wipes them out (OK, so the last bit doesn't really happen!).
Dialogue is an important concept to be grasped. So many evangelistic talks give little opportunity to raise questions afterwards, but the apostolic method was to do evangelism in a language people understood, in an environment they felt comfortable and with the opportunity for discussion. This is explored using the excellent example of the early disciples.
Perhaps one of the most paralysing fears that stops us from sharing our faith is the idea that our friends will be full of impossible questions that we can't even begin to answer. It's a comforting fact to know that most of these questions fall into a few categories that get repeated time and again, such as 'is Jesus the only way to God?', 'why do the innocent suffer?', or 'isn't the Bible full of errors?'. These are known as the 'Seven Deadly Questions' and learning a basic response to each goes an awfully long way towards allaying our fears. After all, if I went into an exam knowing what the questions would be, I would make sure I had done my homework, then lighten up and enjoy myself! Hence part of the day is spent going through the Seven Deadly Questions, followed by role plays with the trainers, who get to have a bit of fun playing the agnostic!
Getting practical
Confident Christianity is not about dry theory, but about helping you put essential skills into practice so your friends can hear and respond to the gospel. As well as the role plays, there is a session about putting on evangelistic events that are tailored to non-Christians, such as dialogue suppers, where they can enjoy good food and the chance to ask any questions, with non-Christians outnumbering Christians! The day is a great preparation for a CU mission or other evangelistic outreach.
Participants will receive the comprehensive Confident Christianity manual[1] and an excellent evangelistic booklet, The Greatest Person?, whilst copies of Bernard Palmer's very useful book Cure for Life will be on sale at discount prices.
Spread the word
During this tour, we hope to include students from CUs as well as student lawyers, nurses, dentists and therapists. Publicity for each day will soon be mailed to CMF members and further details can be obtained from your CMF rep or from students@cmf.org.uk What are you waiting for?
Reference
Available at the cmf bookstore.
