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Priorities

Prayer-Care-Share-Dare

A Dare2Share Team pursues 4 priorities in their sphere of influence: Prayer-Care-Share-Dare.

Prayer

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people (1 Timothy 2:1-5 NIV).

Prayer isn’t just preparation for the work. Prayer is the work—the first work we must do. Here are some things to pray about.

• Pray that you might be a Christ-like example to your coworkers, neighbors or classmates.

• Pray that God would bless those around you and open your eyes to their needs so you can serve them with Jesus’ love.

• Pray for deeper relationships with them.

• Pray that God would give you opportunities to share Jesus with them.

• Pray for the Kingdom values of unity, integrity, respect and service to come to your workplace.

• Pray for creative solutions to the problems in your sphere of influence and for His favor to be on you.

This prayer may be helpful.

Father, I pray for _______'s salvation. Help me to live a consistent and attractive Christlike life around _______. Show me _______’s needs so that I can serve him/her with Your love. Do something in _______’s life that can only be explained by Your presence and power. Deepen our relationship together. Open doors for me to have spiritual conversations with _______ and help me to share the Good News of Jesus with him/her. Overcome Satan's blinding of  _______'s heart and mind so that he/she will turn from sin, trust in Jesus as Savior, follow Him as Lord and join a community of believers.

Part of your prayer time is asking the Lord to lead you into ways of impacting those around you. Is there something specific that you can do as an individual or as a team to minister to those around you? What is it? What can you do about it?

After you meet several times as a Dare2Share Team, let your neighbors or coworkers know that your group is praying and that if they have any need for prayer, you would gladly pray for those needs. You’ll be surprised how many people will welcome your prayers.

Care

Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith (Galatians 6:9-10 NLT).

In our dog-eat-dog world, goodness and kindness will get people’s attention. Be consistently good and creatively kind. Look around you and ask the Holy Spirit, “Whom can I bless and how can I bless them?” And then do it!

For example, when my friend is in line at a coffee shop, he sometimes asks the person behind him what they like to drink. Then when he gets to the barista, he orders whatever he wants and what the person behind him likes. You can imagine the kind of questions he gets when he hands them their café mocha. 

• Take time to help your co-worker with their project.

• Bring in donuts to celebrate your boss’ birthday.

• Straighten out the staffroom—even clean up the bathroom!

• Support someone going through a tough time.

As you let Jesus’ love flow through you to others, you’ll find that kindness kills skepticism and creates questions. Like, “Why are you doing this?” Whatever you do, don’t wimp out and say, “I thought it would be something nice to do.” Say, “I thought it would be something Jesus would do.” That ought to create more curiosity and open up further conversations.

Share

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone (Colossians 4:5-6 NLT).

The best conversations begin with good questions and continue with even better listening.

• How are you today? You seem frustrated. Are you okay?

• You have a son or a daughter, right? How are they doing? How’s parenting going for you?

Or here’s a good question:

• How can I pray for you?

It’s amazing how many people will allow you to pray for them and how deeply they’ll appreciate you asking. Listen to their request and then pray right then and there for them.

People love to talk about themselves. So give them something to talk about by asking questions like these:

• What’s your spiritual background?

• What have you embraced from your spiritual background?

• What have you rejected?

• What do you think of Jesus?

If you actively listen, you might find that your good question gets a good question in return. Like:

• What’s your spiritual background?

• What have you embraced from your spiritual background?

• What have you rejected?

• What do you think of Jesus?

The point is, if you ask good questions and really listen to their story, you’ll earn the right to share your story and Jesus’ Story.

Here’s a simple and quick way to share your story. It’s called The 15 Second Testimony.

Take some time to prayerfully fill in the 6 blanks in the graphic. Don’t worry about getting the exact words. Just go with first impressions. You can hone your thoughts later. You can make this your salvation testimony (how you came to Jesus) or your sanctification testimony (how you overcame some difficulty or fear or addiction or weakness through Jesus). Either way, keep it short and sweet and others will be interested to hear your story.

After sharing your story, share Jesus’ Story. Here’s a question to get you started. It’s both direct and disarming.

• Has anyone ever explained to you the Good News of Jesus?

People may just respond, “Actually, no. No one has really explained that to me. I have some ideas, but I would like to know.”

If you are looking for a clear and compelling presentation of the Good News, check out 2Kingdoms.org.

Here’s the Good News of the Bible. The Apostle Paul writes ...

For [God the Father] has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins (Colossians 1:13-14 NLT).

There’s more to life than what meets the eye. That’s because, behind the scenes, there are two very different kingdoms. The first is the kingdom of darkness and it’s characterized by brokenness, sin and death. Satan is the king of this kingdom. The second is the eternal Kingdom of God and it’s characterized by love, forgiveness and life. The King of this Kingdom is the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s One and Only Son. And through His death on the cross and His resurrection to new life, Jesus has purchased our freedom, forgiven our sins and demonstrated that He is the True King. You don’t have to be a captive any longer. You can find true freedom and full forgiveness by turning from your sin and trusting in Jesus. As Jesus said …

The time has come. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news! (Mark 1:15)

This video will help visualize this Good News.

Dare

People don’t just wander into a commitment to Jesus. They need to be encouraged and even challenged to consider Jesus’ claims and reign. That’s why the last priority is DARE. In love, we urge people to repent of their sin, believe in Jesus and become His followers. As Jesus said, “Come, follow me.” (Matthew 4:19).

So there’s one more question to ask:

• What would stop you from believing in Jesus and becoming His follower right now?

That should lead to a good conversation and maybe even to someone’s salvation.

(By the way, don’t use “churchy” language when praying and sharing. For example, don’t assume people will even know what the word “Gospel” means. Keep it simple and direct.)

And turning from our sin and trusting in Jesus is just the beginning. Challenge the person to become Jesus’ disciple. In other words, help them to grow as a fully devoted follower of Jesus. Follow The Way Disciple Journey is a great resource to work through together.

Prayer-Care-Share-DARE!

Are you ready to start a Dare2Share Team? Not so sure yet – Let me double dog dare ya to step out in faith and start a team in your sphere of influence.

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