1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect
This article was written by Tracey, who led a seminar during our recent church Weekend Away. Over the coming weeks we hope to share more articles about the talks and activities that took place there.
The 30 minute seminar I led at the Weekend Away (4th– 6th September 2026) was aiming to encourage people to remember how they came to Christ and to start to prepare some words that they may be able to use in conversation if the opportunity arose.
I came to Christ as a 17 year old, 50 years ago. Not out of sex, drugs and rock and roll. I was a good student in Year 11 at Coonabarabran High School when at a Christian Youth Camp at Dubbo I heard clearly for the first time that Jesus death on a cruel cross made me acceptable to God. It was like a good friend had paid a debt for me that I could never have paid off myself.
Previously I had thought I needed to make myself good enough. This was proving very difficult. Among other things I seemed to have this inclination to speak my mind to my parents. It wasn’t always appreciated! Although God has done a good work in me to change me to make me more like Jesus I still have a long way to go as my husband will attest. So I am grateful every day that I am reconciled to my Heavenly Father through His gracious gift of forgiveness rather than me having to make the grade.
This IS a story worth sharing. Anyone who has come to Christ has actually experienced the most amazing miracle – to have our hearts turned to honour Jesus above ourselves.
1 Peter 3:15 is a good motivator for this seminar. Peter says, “But in your hearts honour Christ as Lord. Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
We looked at a simple framework to help us present our story of faith.
- Before Christ? What were we like? Our beliefs about God and sin and death and the afterlife? Where did we find meaning? Etc
- How did we come Christ? A church service? A friend? A difficult experience? Etc
- What has Jesus done in our life since then? Purpose? Community? Forgiveness? Learned to forgive? Never alone? Hunger to read God’s Word?
With this in mind I shared my story for 3 minutes and then everyone had a chance to share for 3 minutes with their neighbour but only focusing on their coming to Christ. (Point 2) . We discussed briefly how people felt about doing that.
We discussed what not to do:
Don’t:
- Preach a mini sermon
- Pretend you have all the answers. It is OK to say, “I don’t know”.
- Get in an argument. Remember to be ‘gentle and respectful’.
- Fail to listen
- Feel you have to say everything
- Push people to make a commitment
Finally, OUR story matters but let’s not make ourselves the hero.
Jesus is the Hero
You were lost. Jesus found you.
You were broken. He restored you.
You were far from God and He brought you near.
Point people to the Saviour not to yourself.
– Unknown.
Image attributions:
Cross in Nature – TungArt7 on Pixabay