Jesus said, “Wherever you go in the world, tell everyone the Good News” (Mark 16:15 GW).

Have you ever led someone to faith in Christ? Whether it’s someone in your neighborhood, at the office, or in your own family, bringing someone into the family of God is the greatest thing you can do.

If you’re not sure how to share the hope you have in Jesus, I’d like to give you six practical steps to get you started. We’ll look at three today and three tomorrow.

Live it. Long before you talk about your faith, you should live it. The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:12, “Live properly among your unbelieving neighbors . . . They will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God” (NLT). If people like what they see in you, they are more likely to listen to what you say.

Learn it. You could know about the hope that is in you and still have a hard time expressing it. But 1 Peter 3:15-16 says, “Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect” (GNT). As people see something different about your life, you need to be ready when they ask, “Why do you live the way you do?” And then you share “with gentleness and respect.”

Apologize for not sharing sooner. There may be people in your life you’ve known for 10, 20, or even 30 years. How do you break the ice and talk about Jesus with people you’ve known for a long time? You apologize and say, “You’ve been a good friend for a long time, but for some reason, I haven’t told you about the most important thing in my life. I’m sorry. I wish I had told you sooner.” You’ve known them long enough to know you don’t want to spend eternity without them.

The Bible says, “The righteous person is a guide to his friend” (Proverbs 12:26 GNT). Guiding your friends the right way means caring enough about them to want them to spend eternity with you in heaven.