Eight-year-old Lakhvir Kaur listened to her friend Stephanie talk about Jesus like He was her best friend. He sounded so amazing that Lakhvir wondered if she could meet Him too. She kept her questions to herself, but never forgot Stephanie’s love for Jesus.
In college, Lakhvir often discussed faith with her classmate Joel. She wondered why Joel seemed so fulfilled by prayer, Bible study, and church while she felt so dissatisfied with Sikhism, her religion.
As a young adult, Lakhvir grew more and more curious about Jesus. She reached out to a local pastor, who gave her a Bible, invited her to church, and connected her to a BSF class. Her church and BSF communities faithfully answered her questions and loved her as she began to develop faith in Christ.
“Just like in the gospel of John, these people took someone they cared about and brought them to Jesus,” Lakhvir says.
We often believe that the key to evangelism is finding the right strategy, the correct words, or the perfect argument to bring someone to saving faith. But the heart of evangelism is not a path; it is a person. Our calling is to introduce the people around us to Jesus—the living source of our faith.
The heart of evangelism is not a path; it is a person.
How do I interest people in Christ?
Lakhvir grew up in the Sikh religion, which was passed down to her from her parents, who immigrated to Texas from India. She remembers going to temple and faithfully following the principles of their religion as a child. But still, something was missing.
“I just had this need to know God, to be religious. I can’t explain it, but I think I was looking for a relationship,” Lakhvir remembers.
When she heard Christians talk about God, she noticed that they had personal, intimate relationships with Him. Her friends told her about speaking to God, being loved by God, and seeing God at work in their lives. Lakhvir wanted that relationship, and she only saw it in Christianity.
Because God is our creator, we all have a deep longing for Him that nothing else can satisfy. When we think of relational evangelism, we may think that our actions are all that matter. While people may witness the impact of faith in our lives, our courage to talk about Jesus gives them the opportunity to respond.
Because God is our creator, we all have a deep longing for Him that nothing else can satisfy.
How do we support new believers?
Relational evangelism continues even after a person professes faith. After Lakhvir believed in Jesus, she still had questions. What did it mean to follow Jesus? What should she do now? How could she begin to understand the Bible?
“My first year in BSF was intimidating. I’d never even had a Bible … I didn’t say a word. All I could do was soak it in, because I thought my answers were going to be totally wrong,” Lakhvir remembers.
Lakhvir’s advice for supporting new believers or seekers, especially in BSF, is to start by buying them a Bible (if no one else has) and then meet with them one-on-one to help them understand it.
In Lakhvir’s experience, she struggled to participate in large group discussions. In a more personal environment, however, she felt comfortable asking questions and gained confidence in understanding God’s Word.
Today, Lakhvir is serving in her first year as a Substitute Teaching Leader. As a former Group Leader, she helped members grow from quietly soaking in new knowledge to fully engaging with their small groups.
How do we encourage struggling believers?
Lakhvir had been a Christian for a few years when she met her fiancé, Rusty. When he unexpectedly passed away, she relied on the strength and faith of other believers. “That grief could have choked me,” she says. Instead, Lakhvir remembers, “All the women in BSF reached out to me. I felt beloved in the arms of the Lord, not just in prayers but in everything through these women.”
Her future mother-in-law, also a BSF member, had now lost both her sons and loved Lakhvir as her own daughter. Without these fellow believers, Lakhvir does not know how she could have remained steadfast in her faith.
“I opened up my Bible and I continued wherever I had left off. I’m just sitting there crying, but praising God and I can’t even remember why. Why am I praising God in this moment? I couldn’t help it, my soul was just praising God. That is the importance of being in the Word, of having that relationship.”
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
JOHN 13:35
When we engage in relational evangelism, we recognize that sharing our faith is not a one-time event. Instead, our lives are dedicated to loving the people around us.
In John 13:34-35, Jesus Himself shared our greatest evangelism tool when He said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”