We've been talking a lot about leading people to follow Christ. For this week's installment of my Messages About Purpose and Strategy, I want to provide a small training tool that you may find helpful. The following outline suggests one way to organize our thinking about what is involved in becoming a Christian.

1. Acknowledge the existence of a holy God.
2. Admit that you have fallen short of his standard.
3. Affirm that the only hope is through God's gift of Jesus Christ.
4. Accept Christ's sacrifice as the payment for sin.
5. Apply the same grace and faith to daily living.

When I get a chance to help someone understand the way they can become a Christian, I often think about these steps, even though I would seldom use this terminology. This way of wording things may be more helpful to us than to those who do not yet understand gospel. We need to translate this into the language of the person we are talking to. Then they will be able to grasp what God has done for them.