Mile 5: Tell your friends
Becoming a Contagious Christian is a proven course designed to equip believers for effective evangelism in today's world. It avoids sterotyped approaches that feel intimidating to many Christians. Instead, it shows ordinary believers how they can share the Gospel in a natural and powerful way while being the person God made them to be.

Each session's exercises, discussions, self-assessments, and video vignettes give step-by-step guidance to help participants become effective communicators for Christ to those around them. There's even a section on everyday answers that will help believers respond to difficult questions regarding Christianity.

"In their heart of hearts, I think all true followers of Christ long to become contagious Christians. Deep down they sense that there isn't anything as rewarding as opening a person up to God's love and truth. This course will help build the values, skills, and confidence needed to do just that."        Bill Hybels 

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Week 1
We start by praying: "Dear Father, we want to start our time together by telling You we are thankful to be on the receiving end of our love and grace. What an amazing thing that You have not only forgiven our sins, but You have given us the incredible privilege of being tools in your hands to reach others. Please use this time to make us confident and effective in communicating our faith, and may the result be an eternal impact onthe lives of many friends and family members who will come to konw You. Help us to become contagious Christians, infectiously influencing those around us. In Christ we pray, amen."

In this lesson we watch a video by Bill Hybels and identify 7 components of relational evangelism.

1. Authentic

2. Natural

3. Personal

4. Verbal

5. Process-Oriented

6. Team-Oriented

7. "Putting others First"


Week 2
After taking the Evangelism Style Questionaire, we will take an in depth look at each of the 6 styles of evangelism: confrontational, intellectual, testimonial, interpersonal, invitational and serving Each participant will identify one or a combination of styles that best fit them. We will also identify steps to develop our styles. Isn't it a relief to know that we can be ourselves while being used by God to reach others? Be encouraged! God knew what He was doing when He made You!


Week 3
In this lesson we point out the importance of developing authentic relationships. Whether you include your friends and acquaintances in the activities you are already doing, have a "Matthew Party", or a "Barbecue" , the importance of developing authentic relationships cannot be underestimated.

But how do you introduce a conversation about spiritual things? We will help you with that in this lesson. 


Week 4
In the last session, we learned practical ways we can build relationships and start spiritual conversations with people we are trying to reach for Christ. Now we want to look at how we can communicate what Christ has done for us once we've started those conversations.

In this lesson you learn how to organize your story in the same way that the Apostle Paul did. After doing this and answering the six questions in the curriculum, you should feel confident in telling your story to others. 


Week 5
This is the most important session of the whole course. It is about the central message of the Christian faith, the Gospel, and can you communicate it in a concise fashion? By the end of this session, you will not only know what to say, but you will feel confident saying it. Enjoy! 


Week 6
In this lesson we identify the steps in leading a person "across the line" of faith from a non-believer to a Christian and then practice praying with them. 


Week 7
The title of this lesson is "Putting it Together." That describes what is important for us at this point. By analogy, someone learning how to swim may master individual skills, like cupping their hands and moving their arms, extending their feet and kicking their legs, and turning their head and breathing properly. But those isolated abilities do not guarantee that they will swim well. They have to get in the water and "put it together." Only after doing so for a while will they get past their awkwardness and begin to coordinate these skills in a way that becomes, over time, almost automatic. The same is true for relational evangelism. Only as we practice in sequence the steps we have learned will we begin to feel natural. 


Week 8
In this last lesson, we will indentify some common objections that people have concerning Christiantiy. We will practice responding to two of these objections and list some points to remember for our approach and attitude when dealing with these issues.



Congratulations! If you have successfully walked the 5 miles on the Quest, way to go! But don't stop now. Keep on going. Live out what you have learned and be the leader that God intends for you to be.