Cahill says 60-80 percent of the believers who

hear his message share their faith within 24 hours,

feeling 'totally empowered by God to reach the lost.'

"Witnessing Being a Light in a Dark World" is the topic of a youth seminar by Mark Cahill being held at 7 p.m. today and next Wednesday at Peachtree Christian Fellowship, in the Governor's Walk Shopping Center on Ga. Highway 54, just east of the Peachtree City city limit.

Young Christians will learn that when they share their faith with others, it is a winning situation 100 percent of the time. Cahill will teach clear, powerful questions that youth can use to break the ice and start a spiritual discussion with people they would like to see come to know Jesus as their personal lord and savior.

Cahill is a Bible teacher at a Christian high school near Stone Mountain, Ga., who recently "took a year and a half off from life" to share Jesus Christ with others. He has been speaking on witnessing to churches, college groups, camps and Fellowship of Christian Athletes groups. He says 60-80 percent of the believers who hear his message walk out and share their faith within the first 24 hours, feeling "totally empowered by God to reach the lost."

There are only three responses to sharing the Gospel, Cahill says. Either the hearer will accept Christ, a seed will be planted in his or her mind, or the person will reject Christ. Most people need to hear the Christian message have a "seed" planted seven or eight times before they will accept Christ personally, he says. And even when the person rejects what a believer shares about the Gospel, it is still a winning situation: Cahill shares how in I Peter 4:14 and in Luke 6:22-23, the Bible says when believers are rejected and hated because of Christ, the spirit of glory and of God rests upon them, and great is their reward in heaven.

The seminar will teach youth how to comfortably ask questions like, "If you died tonight, are you 100 percent sure that you are going to heaven?" and, "If you were standing in front of God and he asked you, 'why should I let you into heaven?' what would you tell him?" and, "Have you ever sinned before? What are you going to do about it?"

Cahill teaches that a main point of the Gospel message is that no amount of good works can cleanse us of all our sins, so that we can be in God's presence for eternity. Rather, the only way to be forgiven of our sins is to accept God's free gift of salvation through the sacrificial death of his son Jesus on the cross a punishment that we sinners deserved, not him.

Youth will learn colorful, impactful examples of this crucial point, such as the burnt cake example (burnt cake covered with pretty white icing looks great, but tastes awful like sinners trying to cover their sins with good deeds), and the Nike shoe illustration (if your grandmother gave you a new pair of shoes for Christmas, how would she feel if you whipped out $120 and tried to pay her for her gift? that's how God feels when we try to "pay" him for salvation by doing good works, when the gift is free if we just believe in and follow Jesus.)

"It is too late to ask someone at a funeral or once you read their name in the obituary page whether they know Jesus," Cahill says. "So, let's ask now to make sure that we just don't have temporary friendships, but eternal ones."

Everyone is invited to the seminar, though it is primarily for youth. For more information, call Peachtree Christian Fellowship at 770-631-2811.

Back to the Top of the PageBack to the Religion Home Page