Over the past thirty-five years, I have had the privilege of being the vehicle for explaining the the process of salvation to many non believers. Also, I have been able to more fully explain the gospel to many who had not ever heard or understood the full story. There is need to more fully explain what happens when you are first exposed to the good news of Jesus Christ and when you are invited to love and trust Him.
Most of us came to Christ in a church environment where a counselor of pastor explained the story of how Jesus died for us and forgave us of our sins. Most of the time this is done using a small tract that fits in a man’s shirt pocket. The process takes about five to ten minutes when you add some scriptures. I have done this myself as a new member counselor many many times. I knew better but remained frustrated even though I also knew this was the work of the Holy Spirit, and not me. I always felt a need to tell more, explain more, reveal more about what happens when you are saved; when salvation occurs. I have come to believe when the full story of what happens when you are saved is told and understood, the later need for rededication, Christian counseling, revival, and all the other “re” factors that we might go through to come back to our initial love of Jesus is reduced or eliminated.
It is critical to understand that the moment we pray to accept and trust Jesus Christ, we exchange lives with Him. He comes to live in us and gives us eternal life. His eternal life is forever in the future and forever in the past. Therefore, we are able to go back two thousand years in His life and we are crucified with Him. (Galatians 2:20). Our old self dies at that time and we become spirit with Him. We are one with Christ!
This concept may take time to digest, but it is true and if this truth is told at the beginning of the salvation experience, the process begins and the intellectual intake is simpler. This is the basic message of How to be a Child of God, a fifty-eight page booklet that might take thirty minutes to read, but the benefits are forever.
Men and women in a solitary cell have a lot of time on their hands and are able to read, meditate and regurgitate the truths of gospel message. We are a little more harried outside. That is why our basic audience for evangelism is the 2-12 million in and out of jails and prisons each year in America. That is why How to be a Child of God is the best tool for evangelism for those who are to know the complete gospel.
David Howell
Prison Evangelism, Inc.
510 Bering Drive
Suite 300
Houston, Texas 77057
713-623-0690
www.prisonevangelism.com