As Professor Sweet talked about his ministry in class, and how it is a sales opportunity, it got me thinking about how our faith is something that we are called to sell each and every day. I think that we can apply a lot of sales principles to our ministry. One of these is the 80-20 rule. As Christians, by the example set for us by Jesus, we are called to pay attention to, and to listen to “The least of these”, which Jesus talks about in Matthew 25:40, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” I think that loving on the least of these brothers of sisters is selling your faith, and what a better way to do it by listening.
Another Sales Principles that can be used in selling your faith is what Wendy Mascio talked about, in staying in contact with potential clients. I think that Christians can stay in contact with those around them pretty easily by a simple note, or phone call every once in a while, so that people who may or may not be Christians have the opportunity to come and talk to them when they need to. People aren’t always ready to be sold on Christianity in the moment, when you are telling them about it, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t have an affect on them, and I’m sure often times, people will have questions about Christianity and faith later on down the road, but without staying in contact with them periodically, Christians lose the opportunity to sell someone on faith because of their inability to stay in contact with them over long periods of time.
BoweryJE22
I am so encouraged by this post. Your insight about the 80/20 rule is important, too–how frequently we hear complaints from non-believing friends who are tired of having people “preach at” them. How much more effective it is when we take time to listen and love people, before trying to convert or convict them. It’s the relationships developed as a foundation that make any spiritual or evangelistic conversations effective.