The Contagious Witness: Exploring Christian Conversion

God’s call to salvation is a call to a conversion from one way of life to another. Christians know that they are called to participate in the conversion of others by bearing witness to the salvation they have experienced in Christ. Yet most, uncertain of how they will be perceived and of the appropriate times and circumstances in which to share the gospel, are intimidated by the biblical mandate to witness to others. Through extensive interviews, Ronald Crandall and his associates have asked a basic question of thousands of Christians: How did you come to believe? The answers they have found provide important, practical guidelines for pastors and all those who seek to help others learn to engage in personal witness.

The key, Crandall asserts, is the fact that most of us come to faith through certain central relationships. These relationships are principally with our parents or other family members, our friends, our Sunday school teachers or other lay workers in the church, and our pastors or youth leaders. How one comes to faith through each of these relationships is surprisingly different. By using the stories of how others experienced personal conversion, Crandall offers essential insights into the proper ways and contexts in which to share the Christian message

(2008): Ron Crandall, Professor Emeritus, Asbury Theological Seminary, and Executive Director, SCLI/ABIDE.

(2001) Ron Crandall is the McCreless Professor of Evangelism in the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky. Previously, he worked with small churches as evangelism director for the General Board of Discipleship, United Methodist Church. He sings in the Lexington, Kentucky, Community Chorus and was the president of the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education. He is the author of WITNESS: Exploring and Sharing Your Christian Faith, a 25-week small group resource to be released by Discipleship Resources.