The Difference Between Witnessing and Souwinning Pt. 2

Have you ever handed someone a Christian tract, or invited them to one of your church services, or perhaps said to someone, “I won’t be able to go to that reunion because it’s on the day that I have responsibilities with my church.” Those are all examples of being a witness – that is, you have identified yourself with the Lord in someway and they know it.In my previous article I mentioned that the difference between a witness and a soulwinner has to do with different actions and skills learned.Come with me into a modern day courtroom. There you will see the difference between soulwinning and witnessing, the difference between these two specialties and very distinct skills.

In a courtroom setting, witnesses are called in to testify. The witness is asked to take the witness stand. When the witness is seated, he is asked to make statements and declarations of what he knows. He is asked to speak (testify) about what he has seen and heard --- what he knows. The witness tells, he does not probe or challenge. He only gives forth what is asked of him and that’s all. Once he has completed this task, he is done. That is the extent of his role.Now let’s take a look at the prosecutor. He doesn’t take the stand. He’s a lawyer; skilled in the art of extracting information from others and using their words to prove his point. He’s a sharp handler of people. He knows how to take facts and present them to win his cases. That’s what he’s trained to do, and do well. All of his moves are aimed at getting a conviction. He works to get a decision out of a judge or jury.

THE SOULWINNER – A PROSECUTING ATTORNEY

The soulwinner’s moves are calculated to extract information from a prospect. He uses that information, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, to bring conviction. He then skillfully maneuvers his prospect to the point where he must face Christ.Far from telling a person what he knows, his efforts are all geared to getting a prospect to DO SOMETHING about Jesus. He’s not content to just tell people something. He wants them to ACT --- to do something about Jesus Christ standing at the door of their hearts.

UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE

When you see the difference between a prosecuting attorney and a witness, you are in a better position to understand the difference between a soulwinner and a witness. They are two distinct specialties. As long as a believer simply tells another ABOUT Jesus, he is a witness. But the moment he tries to get that person to DO SOMETHING with Christ, he shifts over to the role of soulwinner.The soulwinner’s single task consists of bringing a lost person face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ and pressing him to receive the Lord as his Savior. For the soulwinner there is no in-between. You either get a man to make his decision or you don’t. If there is no decision, there is no soul-winning.The witness’s task on the other hand, is a work which can be done in many different ways. As a matter of fact, the moment a person does anything to share the word of Christ with another, he is completely successful as a witness. Witnessing can be anything from leaving a tract with someone or somewhere to telling another what Jesus means to you.Therefore, soulwinning and witnessing are NOT the same. While anyone can witness for Jesus, not everyone can win souls – at least not right away. AN EXTREMELY LIBERATING TRUTH

I don’t know how often I have heard Christians say, “I’m ashamed to say it, but I just can’t seem to witness for the Lord. I just don’t know how to win souls. Fear always seems to get the best of me.” These kinds of expressions are the reason you must understand the difference between being a soulwinner and being a witness for the Lord. Most believers think that they cannot be witnesses for the Lord without winning souls. The fear of soulwinning blinds the minds of many well-meaning Christians.Can I say to you that you will never be an effective soulwinner until you are an effective witness first. So, for now, forget about winning souls. Yes, you read that right! You must begin by concentrating on being a witness of Jesus Christ, first.Don’t be counted among the multitude of Christians who remain silent because they have wrongly believed that unless they can win a soul to Christ, they are unqualified to speak for Christ. Satan uses this confusion to keep believers from becoming witnesses of Jesus Christ.Don’t blame Christians for being fearful about winning souls. Soulwinning is a terrifying business, until you are equipped with the skill, AND you have the strength to use it.So for now, forget soulwinning. Does that mean that I am saying, don’t win souls. No, what I am saying is be a witness first, and then win souls. You must learn to first work with the Holy Spirit as a witness. Then once you have developed strength as a witness, then you can tackle the task of soulwinning with confidence and enthusiasm. Unless you are one of those few in the Lord’s army who have a rigorous personality strength which allows them to start right off as a soulwinner, you should forget about it – for a while.

The confusion is now gone. This is an extremely liberating truth – that the witness is not the prosecutor. That one can be a witness without being a soulwinner. Once again, I am not saying that Christians should not win souls … “he that wins souls is wise”, the scripture says. What I am saying is that most Christians should start off as witnesses rather than soulwinners.Now that you understand the difference between witnessing and soulwinning the first worry of witnessing – “I just can’t win souls” – is gone.

Joy in the journey,

Danny

The Difference Between Witnessing and Soulwinning (from my article in Reaching and Teaching e-Newsletter). If you’d like to subscribe yourself to the Reaching & Teaching e-Newsletter, just send a blank email with “subscribe R&T” in the subject line to: daniro45@hotmail.com You can unsubscribe at any time.