Breaking Down the Basics: Witnessing
In his book The Kingdom of God Is a Party, Tony Campolo relates an experience he had late one night in Hawaii.
Up a side street I found a little place that was still open. I went in, took a seat on one of the stools at the counter, and waited to be served. This was one of those sleazy places that deserves the name, "greasy spoon." I did not even touch the menu. I was afraid that if I opened the thing something gruesome would crawl out. But it was the only place I could find.
The fat guy behind the counter came over and asked me, "What d'ya want?" I said I wanted a cup of coffee and a donut.
He poured a cup of coffee, wiped his grimy hand on his smudged apron, and then he grabbed a donut off the shelf behind him. I'm a realist. I know that in the back room of that restaurant, donuts are probably dropped on the floor and kicked around. But when everything is out front where I could see it, I really would have appreciated it if he had used a pair of tongs and placed the donut on some wax paper.
As I sat there munching on my donut and sipping my coffee at 3:30 in the morning, the door of the diner suddenly swung open and, to my discomfort, in marched eight or nine provocative and boisterous prostitutes.
It was a small place, and they sat on either side of me. Their talk was loud and crude. I felt completely out of place and was just about to make my getaway when I overheard the woman beside me say, "Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm going to be 39."
Her "friend" responded in a nasty tone, "So what do you want from me? A birthday party? What do you want? Ya want me to get you a cake and sing 'Happy Birthday'?"
"Come on," said the woman sitting next to me. "Why do you have to be so mean? I was just telling you, that's all. Why do you have to put me down? I was just telling you it was my birthday. I don't want anything from you. I mean, why should you give me a birthday party? I've never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?"
When I heard that, I made a decision. I sat and waited until the women had left. Then I called over the fat guy behind the counter, and I asked him, "Do they come in here every night?" "Yeah!" he answered.
"The one right next to me, does she come here every night?" "Yeah!" he said. "That's Agnes. Yeah, she comes in here every night. Why d'ya wanta know?"
"Because I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday," I told him. "What do you say you and I do something about that? What do you think about us throwing a birthday party for her—right here—tomorrow night?"
A cute smile slowly crossed his chubby cheeks, and he answered with measured delight, "That's great! I like it! That's a great idea!" Calling to his wife, who did the cooking in the back room, he shouted, "Hey! Come out here! This guy's got a great idea. Tomorrow's Agnes's birthday. This guy wants us to go in with him and throw a birthday party for her—right here—tomorrow night!"
His wife came out of the back room all bright and smiley. She said, "That's wonderful! You know Agnes is one of those people who is really nice and kind, and nobody does anything nice and kind for her."
"Look," I told them, "if it's okay with you, I'll get back here tomorrow morning about 2:30 and decorate the place. I'll even get a birthday cake!"
"No way," said Harry (that was his name). "The birthday cake's my thing. I'll make the cake."
At 2:30 the next morning, I was back at the diner. I had picked up some crepe-paper decorations at the store and had made a sign out of big pieces of cardboard that read, "Happy Birthday, Agnes!" I decorated the diner from one end to the other. I had that diner looking good.
The woman who did the cooking must have gotten the word out on the street, because by 3:15 every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. It was wall-to-wall prostitutes and me!
At 3:30 on the dot, the door of the diner swung open, and in came Agnes and her friend. I had everybody ready (after all, I was kind of the M.C. of the affair) and when they came in we all screamed, "Happy birthday!"
Never have I seen a person so flabbergasted, so stunned , so shaken. Her mouth fell open. Her legs seemed to buckle a bit. Her friend grabbed her arm to steady her. As she was led to sit on one of the stools along the counter, we all sang "Happy Birthday"' to her. As we came to the end of our singing with "happy birthday, dear Agnes, happy birthday to you," her eyes moistened. Then, when the birthday cake with all the candles on it was carried out, she lost it and just openly cried.
Harry gruffly mumbled, "Blow out the candles, Agnes! Come on! Blow out the candles! If you don't blow out the candles, I'm gonna hafta blow out the candles." And, after an endless few seconds, he did. Then he handed her a knife and told her, "Cut the cake, Agnes. Yo, Agnes, we all want some cake."
Agnes looked down at the cake. Then without taking her eyes off it, she slowly and softly said, "Look, Harry, is it all right with you if I I mean is it okay if I kind of what I want to ask you is is it O.K. if I keep the cake a little while? I mean, is it all right if we don't eat it right away?"
Harry shrugged and answered, "Sure! It's O.K. If you want to keep the cake, keep the cake. Take it home, if you want to."
"Can I?" she asked. Then, looking at me, she said, "I live just down the street a couple of doors. I want to take the cake home, okay? I'll be right back. Honest!"
She got off the stool, picked up the cake, and carrying it like it was the Holy Grail, walked slowly toward the door. As we all just stood there motionless, she left.
When the door closed, there was a stunned silence in the place. Not knowing what else to do, I broke the silence by saying, "What do you say we pray?"
Looking back on it now, it seems more than strange for a sociologist to be leading a prayer meeting with a bunch of prostitutes in a diner in Honolulu at 3:30 in the morning. But then it just felt like the right thing to do. I prayed for Agnes. I prayed for her salvation. I prayed that her life would be changed and that God would be good to her.
When I finished, Harry leaned over the counter and with a trace of hostility in his voice, he said, "Hey! You never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?" In one of those moments when just the right words came, I answered, "I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning."
Harry waited a moment and then almost sneered as he answered, "No you don't. There's no church like that. If there was, I'd join it. I'd join a church like that!"
Wouldn't we all? Wouldn't we all like to join a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning?
Well, that's the kind of church that Jesus came to create!
------------
What if Agnes had never shown up that night? What if Tony had thrown the birthday party and the honored guest never arrived?
Every week in churches all across America, people are planning and preparing for parties. Pastors, volunteers, and staff members all gather to throw these incredible church services for unbelievers. But what if we throw these parties and no one ever came but those who are saved? What would be the point of throwing a party if the guests of honor weren’t there?
“When Jesus heard this, he told them, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.’”
A Home for the Lost
The heart of church shouldn't be a social gathering for Christians (although the fellowship is important), but to be a home for the lost.
The most common reference for the term witness is a legal one and is defined as: one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced.
At the core, a witness is someone who can represent and speak to something they have experienced first hand.
Your testimony and own experience with Christ is one of your most powerful tools in sharing the Gospel. It’s personal to you, which will make it more meaningful to others. Share what God has done in your life and let that intimate experience be a connection to telling people about Him.
Biblically, here is what we know about a witness:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The word “will” means the act of witnessing is inevitable. It is something that will naturally happen. Furthermore, it’s in relation to being filled with the Holy Spirit and it’s by the Holy Spirit we have the ability to be a witness.
It is a mandate that we be a witness, that is, give a first-hand account of Christ to the people around us.
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”
A witness is something we are naturally as we live out our lives for Christ. Our natural love and commitment to Him should shine forth and point people to God. Living our lives so that others see Christ in us is essential. If we only tell people about God and yet neglect to show them a glimpse of Him within ourselves, we have only empty words.
“As for us, there’s no question—we can’t keep quiet about what we’ve seen and heard.”
The Characteristics of a Witness
One commentator wrote, “There has to be a verbal witness because there cannot be communication of important convictions without language. We must use words because our faith must be something vastly greater than ourselves. We make a witness by telling not who we are but whose we are.”
From these three verses we see three characteristics of a witness:
We are called to be a witness.
We should live out our faith so that people see Christ in us.
We must not neglect to speak about him.
So, how do we practically live out the call the be a witness? Campus Crusade for Christ has outlined 5 ways to be a better witness for Christ so instead of recreating the wheel, I'll let the experts speak here. You can find these five steps here.
Being an effective witness is first and foremost living your life in a way that others will want to know more. But it’s also about the verbal component of telling people about Christ, sharing your testimony, and personally inviting people to church.
So, who will you invite to the party?