How to Share the Gospel With an Atheist

After moving back home, I enrolled in State University. After settling into my dorm, I began to build a relationship with my new roommate. To protect his privacy, I will refer to my roommate as "X". X was raised in the suburbs of Richmond, VA. He claims to be an atheist and is very knowledgeable about Christian-Atheist debate topics. As I have built a relationship with him, I learned that he was raised in a family where his father was never around. He was a successful athlete, student, and musician, and he brought many of his trophies and awards to college with him. He openly speaks about himself and his accomplishments. He recently opened up to me about an emptiness that has always been in his life. He said that he has always felt like he has had to perform for attention and affection from his mother, and deep down, he always dreamed that he would be so successful that his father would come back. Unfortunately, his father never did come back.

Up to this point, I have been deliberate about how I communicate with him. There are many mistakes that can be made while communicating that can ruin a relationship or turn people from God. Communication is not merely made up of spoken and written words; there are many elements that are involved in communication. The elements of communication can be categorized into three main types. These types are verbal, nonverbal, and speech acts.

As the name implies, verbal communication consists of word choice, and tone. In every culture, there are words that have positive or negative connotations associated with them. By choosing words carefully, a positive and healthy relationship can be built and maintained. In the case of X, who has had troubles with his father, I have been careful to ...

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...he choice to accept or deny the gift of Christ. I will read Romans 10:9-10 and make sure that he understands how special he is. I will emphasize how God is a loving father and has always loved him. I will talk about how God will never leave him (Deuteronomy 31:6). Since X was raised in a competitive culture, I will make sure that he understands that he cannot earn his salvation, but it is only attained through the gift of Christ. Then, I would give him some time to think over it and make sure that he understands it fully. I would pray for him silently, and if he wanted to make a decision for Christ, I would pray with him and help him to voice his feelings to God. The rest of the work would be up to the Holy Spirit.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Livermore, David A. 2010. Leading with Cultural Intelligence: The New Secret to Success. New York: American Management Association.