I wrote the Life booklet because of a problem that surfaced in my personal witnessing. I would share the Bad News/Good News with a person, and then ask him to trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Usually the person would pray a prayer with me and I would go away thinking I had led him to Christ. But I noticed something happening with certain people when I tried to follow up with them. Some showed little interest in going forward with discipleship and others avoided me. One couple turned out the lights in their apartment when they saw me at the door. And that was after I had “led them both to Christ” the week before.
I analyzed the situation and realized that I am a good salesman with some powers of persuasion. I am also 6’4” tall and probably a little intimidating. I concluded that I was convincing people to “pray the prayer” but God was not saving them. That was a big problem!
I therefore wrote the Life booklet as a tool I could use with those with whom I shared the gospel. I continued to share the Bad News/Good News and emphasized the importance of trusting Christ for a new life. But I did not ask the person to pray the prayer with me. Instead, I gave the person a Life booklet, asked him to read it two or three times and pointed out the commitment on page 20 he needed to make. I told the person I did not have to be there and that it was between him and God. I promised to call the person in two or three days to answer any questions he had.
It was then that I had person after person come to Christ and experience a changed life by the power and grace of God. It was then that I began to see the Lord work in the lives of many people through the Life booklet.
