Revive Ohio. Their foundation for reaching people is founded upon the principles found in the Gospels. They believe Jesus is the best example to follow when sharing the good news.

Love: Love looks like something. Love may look like an act of kindness or a caring hug. Love could look like a bottle of water on a hot day or a sandwich to a hungry homeless person. Love is expressed by both our attitudes and by our actions. Love is patient and love is kind. 1 Cor:13:4

Love: Love looks like something. Love may look like an act of kindness or a caring hug. Love could look like a bottle of water on a hot day or a sandwich to a hungry homeless person.

Listen: To listen means slowing down on the inside to really listen with your ears and with your heart. Listening to the person you are talking to and listening to the Holy Spirit upon and within you.

Discern: Asking questions, what does this person need to know about Jesus? What’s is their spiritual address? Where is this person on their journey toward faith? Are they far away? Are they thinking about Jesus? Are they close to entering the Kingdom? Are they jaded by church and religion? Are they open or closed?

Respond: Appropriately responding to the person by being kind, helpful, interested, caring and loving. Share the Good News appealing to who they are and where they are. Asking them to respond to the Good News.

It’s the love component that stirred my heart. Love enables us to listen, discern and respond. Love is both an attitude of our hearts and an action.

Love is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1Cor 13 NASB

Love enalble us have focused listening… an ear toward heaven, and an ear actively listening to the person we are speaking to.

Learning to be a person who loves well, takes time and practice. This is the greatest challenge for every person who trains others to reach their world.

Methods are easier to learn than being a person who loves well from the heart. People using a method, rather than loving and interacting with a person is a personal frustration.

Jesus was probably just a little frustrated. He had two disciples who wanted to call fire down from heaven and nuke a town. Wrong attitude. Wrong response. Honoring a person’s space, and honoring their right to end the conversation at any time is part of loving a person.

Questions to ask ourselves. Am I being kind? Am I being patient? Am I seeking my own success? Am I just going through the process of this method, or do I genuinely care about the person I am talking to.

In my book, Go. Sow. My Forward states:

“The people we reach are not projects, nor are they targets. They are human beings who are fearfully and wonderfully made. They are created in the image of God and are deeply loved by God.
Every person on earth has a life story which filters their world-view. People are complex, and most have a God history. Their experiences and their pursuit or non-pursuit of spirituality is unique; no two people are alike.

This understanding is the beginning place. We must ground ourselves in this truth as we seek to share who we are and what we have received with others.
How well people are listened to, understood, spoken to, and loved by you and me is all important.

Jesus came to seek and to save. His life reflected genuine love. It’s my hope we too will be reflections and expressions of His love as we reach out to our world.”

A guy on a swing.                                 

Our Revive team had a powerful encounter with a man on a swing. When we headed out we had a map. The map helped guide us. One of the ladies said, “I think we need to go to the green area, a local park.”

When we arrived there was a man on a swing. He was the only person in the park. We walked up and started a conversation. As the conversation continued we discovered his life was a train wreck… not of his making or choosing.

He mentioned three different tragic relational, and health issues. He was sitting on the swing pondering the shattering events of his life. Any One of the issues he was facing would have destroyed most people.

He needed hope. That day, this one man on a swing, was the day he encountered the God of all Hope. He decided to follow Jesus.

The Bible and wristband Revive use to share the Gospel were a great help to communicate the good news in a way he could understand. We prayed with him and for him.

When we left he was sitting on the swing reading the Bible we had just given him. The hour and a half encounter became one of the most radical encounters I’ve ever had in my life. I still have the map.

Reaching out effectively requires us to love in attitude and in action. Practicing Love, Listen, Discern and Respond are great attitudes and life skills to practice. You can use the four steps with your family, friends, people you meet or with the people you are reaching.